South America, the fourth largest continent on the planet, is full of beautiful places to visit. The Andes is the most extended mountain range in the world, Lake Titicaca is the highest navigable body of water, and the Salar de Uyuni is the largest salt flat in the world. Here are 4 places you can't miss if you visit South America.
1. Iguazu and Iguaçu National Park, Brazil and Argentina
Iguazu National Park, in Argentina and Brazil, is home to one of the largest waterfall systems in the world. This place has been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Although most of the falls are in Argentina, the panoramic view from the Brazilian side is especially impressive.
On three circular trails at different heights, you get dangerously close to the falls and can already feel the cold spray. It is not uncommon to end the photo session soaking wet. The bravest can get even closer to the bubbling waters in an inflatable boat. At the same time, the less courageous can take a small boat to the pretty island of St. Martin, which lies between the two central falls.
The highlight of Iguazu Park is the Garganta del Diablo, a U-shaped gorge 150 meters wide and 700 meters long into which the water pours. When you look into the depths here, you feel tiny as a human being.
But beyond these natural spectacles, both parks are worth visiting. Here, where the last remnants of the Atlantic rainforest are protected, exotic animals such as the colorful toucan, cheeky coatis, curious monkeys, and numerous vultures roam. If you don't feel like walking any further, take the park train and rest in one of the restaurants.
2. Machu Picchu, Peru
If you haven't seen Machu Picchu, you haven't been to South America. At least that's what many South Americans claim. Undoubtedly, the "ancient peak," as Machu Picchu is called in Quechua, is the most impressive Inca ruin on the continent. During the high season, from late May to early September, up to 2,500 visitors flock to this mystical site daily, which was declared a World Heritage Site in 1983.
Its unique location, 2,360 meters above sea level in the middle of the Andes, offers countless photographic opportunities. Early risers can witness a fantastic sunrise over Machu Picchu and the surrounding mountains with some luck.
There are two ways to reach Machu Picchu: on foot in two to four days along the famous Inca Trail -prior registration- or by train from Cuzco to Aguas Calientes, a small town near Machu Picchu. From there you can take a bus or walk for about two hours to the entrance.
3. Uyuni Salt Flat, Bolivia
With an area of more than 10,000 square kilometers, the Salar de Uyuni is probably the largest salt lake on the planet. Located at an altitude of 3,653 meters, it is one of the most exciting landscapes of the "Altiplano," the undrained plateau between the high mountain ranges of the western and eastern Andes.
Almost no living thing can survive in this vast salt desert. Only a few species of South American flamingos breed in this inhospitable region. But one exception is worth seeing: in the middle of the lake lies the island Incahuasi, which means "house of the Inca" in Quechua. Here, columnar cacti grow up to 20 meters high; some are more than 1,200 years old. An isolated group of vizcachas - rodents related to chinchillas - also inhabits the island, which rises 169 meters above the salt lake.
In Bolivia, the small town of Uyuni, located southwest of the salar, is the starting point for excursions to the Salar de Uyuni. Trips to the Salar can also be booked from Chile, for example, in combination with a visit to the Atacama Desert.
4. Chile's Lake District
High mountains, green valleys, deep blue lakes: we are not talking about Upper Bavaria, but the "Chilean Switzerland." Visitors from home and abroad are enchanted by this unique landscape, located more than 1,000 kilometers south of the capital Santiago. You can spend weeks in this region, driving from lake to lake, visiting the places marked by German immigrants, or discovering the beautiful national parks.
Rare animals such as pumas, dwarf deer, and condors live here. Unusual plants thrive here, such as the Chilean elm (Ulmo) with its many trunks, white flowers, and the southern beech trees reflected in the clear water of the lakes.
Time should also be set aside for the "Route of the 7 Lakes": it passes through the most beautiful national parks of the Chilean and Argentinean lake region. It can be traveled by boat or rental car. The only risk factor here is the unstable weather.
5. Atacama Desert, Chile
There is no way around the Atacama Desert, even if the tourist town of San Pedro is not exactly on the way from northern to southern Chile. In the late afternoon, in the popular but overpriced boom town, the crowds throng the streets, invade restaurants in droves and crowd into travel agencies to book even more excursions. However, that should not deter anyone from visiting, because the desert with its salt lakes, geysers, colored rocks and oases is absolutely worth seeing and San Pedro at 2,443 meters is the starting point for the tours.
One of the shorter excursions leads to the salt lake Salar de Atacama, which is the size of Lake Constance. Snow-capped volcanoes such as the 5,916 meter high Licancábur volcano on the border between Chile and Bolivia stand out against the deep blue sky and make the cameras click every second.
Another half-day excursion takes you to the sparsely vegetated landscape of the Valle de Luna (Moon Valley) just outside of San Pedro. Especially many tourist groups come here in the evening to see from a dune how the setting sun colors the cliffs reddish .
To visit the more distant Tatio Geysers, you need to get up very early and dress warmly: due to the morning activity of the volcanoes, the geysers steam most impressively just after sunrise . However, at an altitude of over 4,000 meters it also gets very cold.
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