The Sacred Capital of the Inca: Cusco
The best place to start exploring the Sacred Valley is to start from Cusco. Before it was conquered and large portions of it destroyed by the Spanish, this city was the capital of the largest empire in America’s history: the Inca. The Inca originally came from around Lake Titicaca and established their capital here sometime in the 13th century AD. They built a vast empire and ruled until coming into contact with Spanish conquistadors lead by Francisco Pizarro in 1533.
Categories: All Blog Posts, Attractions, Fun Things To Do, South America Uncovered Tags: Cusco, Inca, incas, machu picchu, peru, sacred valley, urubamba
The Sacred Valley of the Inca
The center of tourism for Perú is located south east of the capital in the middle of the Andes. This is where the mountain range is at its widest point, sloping down one the one side to the deserted beaches along the Pacific coast, and cutting through cragged ridges into the Amazon on the other. It sets the scene for some of the most spectacular views in the world, with tall mountains and glaciers running down to hidden lakes, rivers tumbling through deep green gorges, cascading over waterfalls into deep pools, swaying fronds from all sorts of trees and shrubs teeming with exotic birds and animals. No wonder this is where the Inca chose to locate their capital of their vast empire, Tawantinsuyu.
Categories: All Blog Posts, Attractions, Fun Things To Do, South America Uncovered Tags: Inca, inca ruins, machu picchu, peru, sacred valley, south america, tawantinsuyo
The Summer Ski Season
One of the advantages of South America for the Eurasian and North American tourist is that the seasons are reversed in the southern hemisphere. That is, when it’s summer in the north, South America is in the middle of the winter. This is because of the alternating tilt of the Earth’s rotating axis. The end result are some interesting Christmas parties in South America, featuring pools, outdoor barbeques and trips to the beach.
Categories: All Blog Posts, Attractions, Fun Things To Do, South America Uncovered Tags: bariloche, sierra blanca, skiing, south america, summer skiing, valle nevado
Ecuador’s Fountain of Youth
A small isolated village in the Cuenca region of Ecuador (that’s to the south east of Guayaquil in the middle of the Andes) gained a certain amount of notoriety in the 1960s when doctors announced that it had some of the longest living people in the world. While it wasn’t exactly the fountain of youth (judging by the aged faces of the villagers), it was certainly remarkable how these people were living well into their 130s. Clearly there was some secret these people were keeping about keeping old age at bay.
Categories: All Blog Posts, Attractions, Fun Things To Do, South America Uncovered Tags: equador, fountain of youth, hotsprings, nature, south america, vilcabamba
Iguazú Falls, Argentina
For getting up close and personal to the falls, the Argentine side is a lot better. There are two routes: the paseo superior and the paseo inferior. They both are a series of trails, bridges and catwalks that give you spectacular views of the falls. The paseo superior goes over the top, while the inferior climbs down to the base of the falls, so you can get a good view looking up.
Another advantage to the Argentine side are the two free boat tours that will get you close to the falls as well. It seems the locals will do anything to get you wet.
Categories: All Blog Posts, Attractions, Fun Things To Do, Hotels, South America Uncovered Tags: cataratas, hotels, Iguacu, iguazu, Puerto Iguazu, waterfalls, waterways, wildlife
Iguazú Falls, Brazil
One of the things that you can’t miss when traveling in South America are the Iguazú Falls. They are called Cataratas de Iguazú or Foz do Iguaçu depending on which side you are standing on, because they are exactly on the border between Argentina and Brazil. Seeing the falls from both sides is definitely worth the trip, and each side has its own advantages.
Categories: All Blog Posts, Attractions, Fun Things To Do, South America Uncovered Tags: boating, Foz do Iguacu, Iguacu, iguazu, nature walks, Perto del Este, Puerto Iguazu, waterfalls
Venice of the South
An entire city with waterways for streets is fairly unique; you have to give the Venetians credit for that. However, there are numerous other locations and neighborhoods that are connected only by boats, and a lot of them are surrounded by fascinating views and wildlife. One of those is a on the Paraná Delta, in north east Argentina on the border with Uruguay.
Just 50min by train from Argentina’s capital, it’s could still be considered a suburb of the capital. The positive thing is that it’s so close that it’s definitely easy to include in a couple week South America vacation. It’s still off the radar of most foreign tour routes, and is a favorite retreat for the local Bonairenses.
Categories: All Blog Posts, Attractions, Fun Things To Do, South America Uncovered Tags: argentina, boatrides, Buenos Aires, canals palaces, south america, Tigre, waterways
The Caribbean and the Spanish Main
Who hasn’t heard of the romantic tales surrounding the Spanish Main? And the Pirates that plied the waters of the Caribbean, swashbuckling and riding the high seas? Of course part of the mysticism of pirate lore is that the Caribbean is a tropical paradise. Sparkling crystal water of soft white sands, warm tranquil weather and nature just a few steps away. Who wouldn’t be entranced?
Categories: All Blog Posts, Attractions, Fun Things To Do, South America Uncovered Tags: amazon, beaches, birdwatching, caribbean, jungle, mountains, rainforest, wildlife
Rediscover Easter Island
Easter Island is famous in its own right. But there are a lot of things that aren’t common knowledge about it. Starting with why it’s on a blog about South America. While geographically, Easter Island is in the middle of the Pacific, administratively it’s a Chilean Province, and you need to go to Santiago to get there.
The official name is not Easter Island, but Rapa Nui, the native name given to the volcanic island by its original Polynesian inhabitants. Rapa Nui means “navel of the world”, and it’s symbolic of its location in the middle of the open Pacific Ocean. The nearest land mass is over 3000Km away, and is the uninhabited Chilean island of Alejandro Selkirk, part of the Robinson Crusoe archipelago.
Categories: All Blog Posts, Attractions, Fun Things To Do, South America Uncovered Tags: beaches, easter island, easter island heads, hanga roa, moai, rapa nui, south america
Surfing South America
Some people see the soft white sand of a tropical beach, with its tranquil sea breeze and beckoning shade of a parasol … and then run off into the pounding surf to stand on aboard and mock the sharks. These people are surfers.
Traditionally Hawaii and the California coast have garnered most of the surfer’s attention, but other places are starting get on the map that offer alternative experiences that are often more thrilling and challenging, depending on your vision of the sport. A lot of those are in South America.
Categories: All Blog Posts, Attractions, Fun Things To Do, South America Uncovered Tags: beaches, breakers, chile, pacific ocean, pichilemu, rolling waves, surfing