South America

Introduction

Wild Deer

© All Rights Reserved Renae Jane

South America is an irresistible destination for many travellers. With amazing natural beauty to explore from stunning mountains, pristine beaches and wild rain forests. Then there are amazing precolonial ruins to rival any found around the world from cultures still strong today. Spanish and Portuguese colonial buildings and churches dominate major cities with more gold in them then any other churches in the world where African, Latin and indigenous cultures have fused. Modern art have exploded in many cities next to thumping dance clubs filled with beautiful people. Add in thundering waterfalls surrounded by vast jungles, massive street parties around Carnival time, and lost then found Inca cities. South America can take a lifetime to truly explore and experience.

Geography

The geography of South America is extremely diverse stretching north of the equator to almost touching northern Antarctica. Along the Pacific coast there is the stunningly high mountain range of the Andes, which is also the longest mountain range in the world. This mountain range runs for over 7,000 kilometres and its highest mountain is Aconcagua reaching a stunning 6,962 metres above sea level and one of the most famous mountains on the continent. There are also hundreds of volcanoes in the Andes, many of them are extremely active.

The north central area of South America is filled with the amazing Amazon Rainforest, which is the largest rainforest in the world and is home to amazing bio-diversity. The southern part of the country on the east coast is Patagonia, which is high altitude plain on the eastern side of the Andes. South America is also home to Angels Falls in Venezuela, which are the highest waterfalls in the world. The Amazon River, which is the largest river by volume of water. The Atacama Desert, which is the second driest place on earth and the highest navigable lake in the world Lake Titicaca. Anyone looking for high mountains, amazing beaches or steaming jungles can find there perfect place in South America.

Subregions

Countries and Territories

Mystery blobs

© All Rights Reserved BatSoo

Sights and Activities

Leaving Buenos Aires 11

© All Rights Reserved mancmiller

Major Cities

• Bogota, Colombia
• Buenos Aires, Argentina
• Caracas, Venezuela
• Guayaquil, Ecuador
• La Paz, Bolivia
• Lima, Peru
• Montevideo, Uruguay
• Quito, Ecuador
• Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• Sao Paulo, Brazil
• Santiago, Chile

Landmarks

See also: Famous Landmarks

• The Amazon Rainforest and river make up one of the largest rainforest watershed regions in the world.
• The Andes Mountains are stunning mountains that reach dizzying heights up to almost 7,000 metres above sea level.
• The Galapagos Islands are one of the most famous wildlife preserves in the world and home to some very strange animals. Follow the foot steps of history when you visit this untouched wilderness.
• The Iguazu Falls are one of the most famous waterfalls in the world.
• Machu Picchu is one of the most famous ruins in the world.
• Patagonia is an amazing region in the south of of South America with great plains, mountains, glaciers and untouched wilderness. Just remember to be bring your rain gear and sweater for those chilly evenings.
• The Pantanal is one of the most famous wildlife preserves in the world.
• The Salar de Uyuni is the world's largest salt flat at well over 10,000 square kilometres.
• Angel Falls in Venezuela are the world's highest waterfalls at nearly 1,000 metres.

Getting There

South America has good connections to both North America and Central America, as well as quite a few direct flights from Europe, especially from Spain and Portugal and some other main cities. The Caribbean Islands have some good connections as well. Ferries to South America hardly exist, the best options are getting a ride on a boat between Panama and Colombia (overland route from Central America), or the irregular ferry between Venezuela and Trinidad and Tobago.

Learning South American Languages

These language phrasebooks were created by Travellerspoint members to help travellers pick up some basic phrases, grammar and pronunciation skills before their trip:

• Dutch phrasebook
• Portuguese phrasebook
• Spanish phrasebook

Find out about contributing to or starting a new phrasebook on our project page: Learning Spanish in South America.

Learning Spanish

If you want to combine your travels with some study, consider taking a Spanish language class. More general information is found in Learning Spanish in South America.