South America travel tips and stories. Vacations ideas, cruises spa and resorts

Destination Chile, a virtual travel guide to the long coastal strip between the Andes mountains and the Pacific Ocean. This page aims to give you a broad overview of Chilean art, culture, people, environment, geography, history, economy and government.

Beside a country profile with facts and figures, the page contains links to sources which provide you with all the information you need to know about this South American nation, e.g.: official web sites of Chile, addresses of Chilean and foreign embassies, domestic airlines, city- and country guides with extensive travel and tourism information on accomodation, tourist attractions, events and more like weather information, maps, statistics and local newspapers from Chile.

Continue reading Chile is a country of startling contrasts and extreme beauty

Iguazu Falls are one of the most spectacular sights in the world. Taller than Niagara Falls, twice as wide with 275 cascades spread in a horsehoe shape over nearly two miles of the Iguazu River, Iguazú Falls are the result of a volcanic eruption which left yet another large crack in the earth. Iguazú Falls is undoubtedly the most visited place in Misiones and one of the most imposing natural attractions in Argentina, and why not in South America.

The waterfall system consists of about 270 falls along 2.7 kilometres (1.67 miles) of the Iguazu River. The average drop from the top of the falls to the narrow canyon below is 240 feet (by contrast, Niagara Falls drops 170 feet on the Canadian side and only 110 feet on the American side). Iguazú river is born in Paraná state in Brazil, and after crossing 1,200 km. on a plateau where it receives several affluents, it reaches a fault forming a crack in the interleaved layers of sandstone and basalt where the river runs.

Continue reading Maybe the Most Amazing Waterfalls on the Planet – Iguazu Falls

Probably everyone alive has ever heard about the world’s most dramatic ruins, the Machu Picchu. Machu Picchu is a city located high in the Andes Mountains in modern Peru. It lies 43 miles northwest of Cuzco at the top of a ridge, hiding it from the Urabamba gorge below. The ridge is between a block of highland and the massive Huaynac Picchu, around which the Urubamba River takes a sharp bend. The surrounding area is covered in dense bush, some of it covering Pre-Colombian cultivation terraces.

Machu Picchu is probably the most familiar symbol of the Inca Empire. Machu Picchu (which means “manly peak”) was most likely a royal estate and religious retreat. It was built between 1460 and 1470 AD by Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui, an Incan ruler.

Continue reading The Lost City of the Incas Machu Picchu

A trip to the Galapagos Islands will be the journey of your lifetime. Located 1,000 km from the Ecuadorian mainland, the archipelago consist of 13 major islands, of which 5 are inhabited. This geographical isolation enabled Galapagos Island creatures to slowly change into new versions of themselves, ones that are found nowhere else on earth. Famous examples include the marine iguana and giant tortoise. The islands were the catalyst for the evolution theory developed by Charles Darwin in the early 1800s.

The archipelago has been known by many different names, including the “Enchanted Islands” because of the way in which the strong and swift currents made navigation difficult. The first crude navigation chart of the islands was done by the buccaneer Ambrose Cowley in 1684, and in those charts he named the islands after some of his fellow pirates or after the English noblemen who helped the pirates’ cause. The term “Galápagos” refers to the Spanish name given to the Giant Land Tortoises known to inhabit the islands.

Continue reading Journey of a lifetime at Galapagos Islands

Colombia is bordered on the northwest by Panama, on the east by Venezuela and Brazil, and on the southwest by Peru and Ecuador. Through the western half of the country, three Andean ranges run north and south. The eastern half is a low, jungle-covered plain, drained by spurs of the Amazon and Orinoco Rivers, inhabited mostly by isolated tropical-forest Indian tribes. The fertile plateau and valley of the eastern range are the most densely populated parts of the country.

Official Name: Republica de Colombia.
Capital: Bogota.
Independence day: July 20, 1810.

NATURAL FEATURES
Area: 440,831 square miles (1,141,748 square kilometres), includes the San Andres y Providencia archipelago.
Climate:Tropical. Varies according to the altitude.
Highest Peak: Pico Cristobal Colon, 19,020 feet (5,800 meters).
Major Rivers: Magdalena, Cauca, Meta, Guaviare, Caqueta, Putumayo, Atrato, Vaupes, Vichada.
Mountain Ranges: Occidental, Central, Oriental.

PEOPLE
Population: 39,309,422 (July 1999 est.); 89.2, people per square mile (34.5 people per square kilometer); 73 percent urban, 27 percent rural.
Major Cities: Bogota, Medellin, Cali, Barranquilla, Cartagena, Cucuta, Bucaramanga
Religions: Roman Catholicism, 95.4%.
Language: Spanish (official).

Continue reading One of the most impressive things about Colombia is the landscape that surrounds the country

The state capital, the city of Rio de Janeiro, contains some of the country’s most well-known postcard views, including Copacabana Beach, Sugarloaf, Corcovado, and the Maracanã soccer stadium. Some federal government agencies still have their headquarters in the state, a legacy of the period when Rio was the nation’s capital. This is true of the State petroleum company, Petrobrás, and sports federations such as the Brazilian Soccer Federation (CBF). The economy is based on industry (metallurgy, steel-making, chemicals, mineral extraction, food products, mechanical goods, publishing and printing, and paper and cellulose), and tourism. The state is located in the eastern part of the

Continue reading A little dancing on the sand will put the jingle back in your tambourine.

Roatan’s most exclusive boutique resort, Royal Playa is just what you were looking for… a Paradise where nobody can find you. The location is in historic Port Royal, where the island remains pristine. No roads, no rush, only the sound of the breeze and ocean. Surrounded by the National Reserve lands containing the tallest mountains on the island, privacy is assured. Access is by boat over the beautiful reef that runs for miles in front of our own private beach.

Continue reading A paradise where nobody can find you

The park is located in the pacific coast, in the Peninsula de Osa, in the province of Puntarenas. Corcovado is located in the life zone that correspond to the very humid Tropical forest in the south pacific of Costa Rica and you can be sure that no other wild area in the country protects plants and animal as this park. This wild area is considered an excellent life laboratory, in which you can study the structure and function of the tropical ecosystems and the relationship between them.

Continue reading Corcovado National Park in Costa Rica

You are maybe looking for nice beach which is not too far from the center of action but also not surrounded by densely populated, check out what Jamaica’s Turtle Beach has to offer.

This cozy little coastline features a well-manicured beach shrouded in lush, green, shady palm and almond trees. When you need a break from Turtle Beach’s watersports, or shelter from the sultry island sun, there’s plenty of places to cool off. Those of you, who are hoping for a taste of seclusion in Jamaica may find that Turtle Beach is just the right spot and will not be disappointed. You’ll find urban areas without going far, but you won’t be too far from the beaten path, it is an excellent middle ground.

Continue reading World’s Best Beaches: Jamaica’s Turtle Beach cozy little coastline

The river Urubamba (or Urupanpa) is born in the knot of Vilcanota, in Peru, from where it crosses great part of the territory of the Cusco Region with the name of Vilcanota river. When passing by the city of Urubamba, it receives the name of Urubamba river.The turbulence of the Urubamba river, crossing the Sacred Valley of the Incas, is lent for the practice of the reduction of rivers, that is one of more interesting the tourist attractions of adventure in Peru.

Continue reading Photo of the day – Rio Urubamba Slithers