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Ipanema beach, Rio de Janeiro
Incredible Journeys
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Tackle the four-day hike between Cusco and Machu Picchu, a spell-binding mountain trek into the Inca past.
Wend your way along this spectacular Patagonian highway, rounding ice-fields, vast glaciers and jagged fjords.
3 Cycling the Death road, Bolivia
A hair-raising adventure on two wheels in the mountains near La Paz.
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Travel this epic 5000km highway along the Andes, from the Bolivian border to the bottom of Patagonia.
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This enchanting train ride winds around mountains and traverses one of the largest Atlantic Forest reserves in the country.
6 The Circuit, Torres del Paine, Chile
This seven-to ten-day hike is the best way to soak up the charms and wildlife of the rugged national park.
Architectural Wonders
Colourful half-painted houses cascade down the hills alongside distinctive ascencores (funiculars) in Chile’s quirkiest city.
2 Historic Centre, Salvador, Brazil
Locals know it as Pelô and love this UNESCO World Heritage Site for its pastel-coloured buildings in their restored Renaissance glory.
This former capital of the Inca empire charms with its colonial and Incan architectural treasures, which often battle it out on the same site.
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4 Niemeyer’s masterpieces, Brazil
Latin America’s greatest architect, Oscar Niemeyer, designed the capital, Brasília, while his Museum of Modern Art, in Niterói near Rio, clings to the cliff like a recently landed flying-saucer.
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5 Cartagena de Indias, Colombia
The walled Old City is a beauty, its narrow old streets crammed with picturesque corners, while cool, new Afro-Colombian music blows in from Cartagena’s neighbourhoods into the night.
6 La Compañía de Jesús, Quito, Ecuador
Opulence? Try seven tonnes of gold to dress up this decadent wonder, which took 163 years to build.
Amazing Wildlife
The world’s largest wetland is home to thousands of animal species; giant river otters, giant anteaters, jaguars, pumas and capybaras among them.
Witness the giant tortoises, marine iguanas, penguins, sea lions and flightless cormorants that Charles Darwin observed, developing his theories on evolution here.
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3 Amazonian Basin, Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador and Peru
Explore the Amazon and you’ll find everything from poison dart frogs to snapping piranhas.
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The best place in the Andes to see condors rise up the sides of a mesmerizing canyon wall.
Take a thrilling boat trip to see the sea lions, penguins, whales and seabirds of Tierra del Fuego.
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This tropical grassland supports hordes of capybaras, crocodiles, anaconda, armadillos, scarlet ibis and over sixty species of waterbirds.
Local Flavours
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There’s a fierce rivalry between Chile and Peru about where the spirit pisco originates, but everyone agrees it’s best drunk in a pisco sour. You can visit pisco distilleries in Chile’s Elqui Valley and Ica in Peru.
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Eat fresh street food at Mercado 4, one of Latin America’s great markets, or make for the neighbourhood of Loma San Jerénimo where local houses have been converted into homespun restaurants, and roof terraces into bars.
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3 Mendoza’s bodegas, Argentina
Splash out on a degustation – and a glass of wine, naturally – among the vineyards with views of the cordillera.
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A wining and dining delight for everyone, the city offers fashionable restaurants in converted mansions, tasty empanadas on the go and edgy bars in revamped warehouses.
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Head to the neighbourhood of Lapa on Friday night for its street parties and samba.
6 Miraflores and Barranco, Lima, Peru
These swanky neighbourhoods are Lima’s sparkling coastal highlights; treat yourself to delicious lime-marinated ceviche and ocean views.