Bogotá
On the south side of Plaza de Bolívar, beyond the Capitolio Nacional and reached via Carreras 8 or 7, this is Colombia's neoclassical presidential…
Bogotá
On the south side of Plaza de Bolívar, beyond the Capitolio Nacional and reached via Carreras 8 or 7, this is Colombia's neoclassical presidential…
Observatorio Interamericano Cerro Tololo
Elqui Valley
Probing the mysteries of stars billions of miles into the past is all in a night's work at the futuristic Observatorio Interamericano Cerro Tololo, which…
Ceará
It's the smallest national park in the country, but Parque Nacional de Ubajara crams plenty of attractions into its boundaries. Atop a thickly forested…
La Paz
The hewed stone basilica of San Francisco was founded in 1548 by Fray Francisco de los Ángeles. The original structure collapsed under heavy snowfall…
Bogotá
Housed in the expansive, Greek-cross-shaped building called El Panóptico (designed as a prison by English architect Thomas Reed in 1874), the Museo…
Buenos Aires
Argentina's green-domed Congress building, modeled on the Capitol Building in Washington, DC, was completed in 1906. Worthwhile free tours of the Senate…
Ecuador
At the center of the Mitad del Mundo stands the centerpiece of the park: a 30m-high, stone trapezoidal monument topped by a brass globe containing a…
Bolivia
The 5395m-high Cerro Chacaltaya peak atop a former glacier is a popular day trip. The glacier diminished over several decades and, tragically, had melted…
La Paz
Although it’s a relatively recent addition to La Paz’s religious structures, the 1835 cathedral is impressive – mostly because it is built on a steep…
Quito
Located in the circular, glass-plated, landmark building of the Casa de la Cultura is one of the country’s largest collections of Ecuadorian art, with…
South Coast
Grandiosely nicknamed the ‘poor man’s Galápagos,’ the Islas Ballestas make for a memorable excursion. The only way to get here is on a boat tour, offered…
Buenos Aires
French landscape architect Carlos Thays designed the leafy Plaza San Martín, which is surrounded by some of Buenos Aires’ most impressive public buildings…
La Paz
As in many Latin American cemeteries, bodies are first buried in the Western way or are placed in a crypt. Then, within 10 years, they are disinterred and…
Quito
On Plaza Grande's southwest side stands Quito's cathedral. Although not the most ornate of the Old Town’s churches, it has some fascinating works by…
Reserva Provincial Parque Luro
The Pampas & the Atlantic Coast
Home to a mix of introduced and native species, as well as over 150 species of birds, this 76-sq-km reserve is a delightful spot to while away some easy…
Palacio de las Aguas Corrientes
Buenos Aires
Following cholera, typhoid and yellow fever epidemics, city officials commissioned the English engineer John Batemen to plan a water purification system –…
Museo de la Solidaridad Salvador Allende
Santiago
Picasso, Miró, Tápies and Matta are some of the artistic heavyweights who gave works to the Museo de la Solidaridad Salvador Allende. Begun as a populist…
Brownsberg Nature Reserve & Brokopondo
Suriname
Brownsberg Nature Reserve, named after the eponymous 560m peak at its heart, was founded in 1969 and is made up of 112 sq km of pristine jungle populated…
Museo de Arte Hispanoamericano Isaac Fernández Blanco
Buenos Aires
This museum is in a 1920s mansion in the neocolonial Peruvian style that developed as a reaction against French influences in turn-of-the-19th-century…
Elqui Valley
The star of the stargazing show, the purpose-built Observatorio Cerro Mamalluca, 9km northeast of Vicuña, is Elqui Valley's biggest attraction. So big, in…
The Pampas & the Atlantic Coast
This desert-like park is a haven for native cats such as puma and yagouaroundi. You can easily spot armadillo, guanaco, mara (Patagonian hare) and…
Parque Nacional Sierra de las Quijadas
Córdoba & the Central Sierras
Fans of the Road Runner cartoon will feel oddly at home among the red sandstone rock formations in this rarely visited national park. The park comprises…
Cartagena
Work on Cartagena’s cathedral began in 1575, but in 1586, while still under construction, it was partly destroyed by the cannons of Francis Drake. The…
Quito
To the right of the Iglesia de San Francisco’s main entrance, and within the Convent of St Francis, this museum contains some of the church’s finest…
North Coast
This archaeological site, around 30km north of Lambayeque on the Panamericana, is not particularly well known, but it's the most impressive collection of…
Lima
This bright-yellow Franciscan monastery and church is most famous for its bone-lined catacombs (containing an estimated 70,000 remains) and its remarkable…
Quito
Topped by a 41m-tall aluminum mosaic statue of La Virgen de Quito (Virgin of Quito; completed in 1976), with a crown of stars, angelic wings and a chained…
Quito
While wandering around colonial Quito, you'll probably pass through the Plaza Grande several times. Its benches are great for soaking up the Andean…
Cordillera Blanca
A dirt road ascends 1350m from Yungay, winding over 28km to the Llanganuco Valley and its two robin-egg blue lakes, which are also known as Laguna…
Parque Nacional Serranía del Aguaragüe
Bolivia
The long and narrow 1080 sq km Aguaragüe National Park takes in much of the mountains of Serranía del Aguaragüe, which divide the vast Gran Chaco and the…
Lima
To the northeast of Plaza de Armas is the block-long Palacio de Gobierno, a grandiose baroque-style building from 1937 that serves as the residence of…
Amazon Basin
Created in 1988, this 622,600ha park has some of Bolivia’s most easily explored cloud forest. It skirts a large portion of the road between Cochabamba and…
Bogotá
One of Bogotá's most richly decorated churches, the Santa Clara is also its oldest (along with Iglesia de San Francisco). Deconsecrated in 1968, it was…
Rio de Janeiro
This is one of the finest colonial churches in Brazil. It was built between 1617 and 1641 on Morro de São Bento, and has an excellent view over the city…
Elqui Valley
The gravesite of Gabriela Mistral lies on a hillside just south of Montegrande's main plaza. A winding path to the top is lined with quotes and…
Elqui Valley
Like Mamalluca, the shiny hilltop Observatorio Collowara in Andacollo is built for tourists; no serious interstellar research is conducted here. Two-hour…
Bogotá
This two-floor museum is run by military guys in fatigues, and features playful models sporting the history of military uniforms (note the 'antiterrorist'…
Elqui Valley
Capel distills pisco at this facility and has its only bottling plant here. Located about 2km (a 20-minute walk) southeast of town, this large pisco maker…
Lima
One of Lima’s most storied churches was part of a 17th-century shantytown inhabited by former slaves. One of them painted an image of the Crucifixion on a…
Bogotá
Bringing a bit of the country into the middle of high-rise Bogotá, this lovely historic home–museum is set in a garden at the foot of the Cerro de…