Museo Provincial Casa del Portal
Central Highlands
This majestic home was built in 1900 and now houses Ambato's best museum. There are tons of interesting historic photos on the 1st floor. Head up to the…
Museo Provincial Casa del Portal
Central Highlands
This majestic home was built in 1900 and now houses Ambato's best museum. There are tons of interesting historic photos on the 1st floor. Head up to the…
Manizales
Located atop a hill in the neighborhood of Chipre, this massive monument to the city's founders was crafted from 50 tonnes of bronze (including keys and…
Salvador
This excellent nautical museum in Forte de Santo Antônio da Barra contains relics and displays from the days of Portuguese seafaring, plus exhibits on the…
Along the Río Paraná
The costanera of Corrientes is one of the most attractive along the entire Río Paraná with shady park areas, gold-sand beaches and a variety of bars and…
Catedral de la Inmaculada Concepción
Cuenca
Also known as the ‘new cathedral,’ construction began on this vast cathedral only in 1885. Its giant domes of sky-blue Czech tile are visible from all…
Museo Regional de Ancud Aurelio Bórquez Canobra
Chiloé
This worthwhile museum, casually referred to as Museo Chiloé, offers interesting displays tracking the history of the island, including a full-sized…
Museo y Mercado Provincial de Artesanías
Along the Río Paraná
Promoting handicrafts from throughout the province, this is a likable little place that is part museum, part shop. Ask the curator to explain things to…
Northern Patagonia
Don't miss this dramatic viewpoint, where Chile's most powerful river, the Baker, froths into a broad, behemoth cascade before merging with the milkier,…
Cali
Founded in 1545, this is Cali's oldest church. It's a lovely whitewashed building in the Spanish-colonial style, with a long, narrow nave, and humble wood…
Museo Municipal de Bellas Artes
Rosario
This gallery is worth a visit for its inventive displays of contemporary and 20th-century artworks from the MACRO collection, and its small collection of…
Museo Etnoarqueológico Kenneth Lee
Amazon Basin
Named for the gringo querido del Beni, the beloved white man of the Beni, this small museum north of the center is considered the city's top cultural…
Rio Grande do Sul
One of the region's most awarded vineyards, Almaúnica's syrahs and Quatro Castas blends are top notch. The friendly owner is often in the tasting room,…
La Guajira Peninsula
This exceptional and extremely remote beach at the very northern tip of the South American continent is La Guajira's highlight. Massive sand dunes drop…
French Guiana
This long stretch of beach is a very important nesting ground for giant leatherback turtles, which can grow up to 600kg. The females come ashore from…
Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Caracas
Caracas
Occupying the eastern end of the Parque Central complex, the Museum of Contemporary Art is by far the best in the country, though it can be a little…
Parque Nacional Torres del Paine
Southern Patagonia
Soaring almost vertically more than 2000m above the Patagonian steppe, the granite pillars of Torres del Paine (Towers of Paine) dominate the landscape of…
Amazon Basin
This vast national park in the Amazon Basin covers almost 20,000 sq km and is one of the best places in South America to see a stunning variety of…
Charles Darwin Research Station
Puerto Ayora
Just northeast of Puerto Ayora is this iconic national-park site, where over 200 scientists and volunteers are involved with research and conservation…
The Galápagos Islands
Puerto Egas is one of the most popular sites in the Galápagos – a long, flat, black lava shoreline where eroded shapes form lava pools, caves and inlets…
South Coast
The westernmost point of Ecuador has three main attractions:La Fae Beach, with a boarded walkway where you can watch a seal colony;El Morro (or little…
The Galápagos Islands
A dry landing deposits you at the beginning of a 2km-long trail that brings you past this postcard-perfect saltwater lagoon. It has twice the salinity of…
Inland Patagonia
Among the Earth’s most dynamic and accessible ice fields, Glaciar Perito Moreno is the stunning centerpiece of the southern sector of Parque Nacional Los…
Isla San Cristóbal (Chatham)
Possibly one of the nicest beaches in the Galápagos, Cerro Brujo is a huge white expanse found on the west side of the island. The sand here feels like…
Parque Nacional Noel Kempff Mercado
Amazon Basin
The wonderfully remote and globally important Noel Kempff Mercado National Park is home to a broad spectrum of Amazonian flora and fauna and has a wide…
Amazon Basin
About two hours beyond Paucartambo is the extraordinary jungle view at Tres Cruces, a lookout off the Paucartambo–Shintuya road. The sight of the…
Machu Picchu Historical Sanctuary
Cuzco & the Sacred Valley
For many travelers to Peru, a visit to the lost Inca city of Machu Picchu is the whole purpose of their trip. With its awe-inspiring location, it is the…
Puerto Ayora
In terms of sheer white-sand beauty, this beach is the rival of any in South America. You’ll find it at the end of a 2.5km paved trail southwest of Puerto…
Rapa Nui (Easter Island)
The vast majority of Rapa Nui falls within the boundaries of this national park. Think of it like an open-air museum with mysterious archaeological sites…
The Galápagos Islands
Not only is Isla Isabela the largest Galápagos island, but its imposing skyline of grumbling volcanoes makes it the most striking. Volcán Wolf, at the…
Isla San Cristóbal (Chatham)
This modern and easily digestible center explains the history and significance of the Galápagos better than anywhere else in the country. Exhibits deal…
Santuario de Flora y Fauna Malpelo
Pacific Coast
The vast Santuario de Flora y Fauna Malpelo, the largest no-fishing zone in the Eastern Tropical Pacific, provides a critical habitat for threatened…
The Inca Trail
An exquisite little Inca site along the Inca Trail; it's name is variously translated as ‘Forever Young,’ ‘To Plant the Earth Young’ and ‘Growing Young’ …
Amazon Basin
Probably Parque Nacional Manu's loveliest lake, at least amongst the part of the park visited by tourists, with camping and hiking possibilities.
Cuzco
A squatter on the site of Viracocha Inca’s palace, the cathedral was built using blocks pilfered from the nearby Inca site of Sacsaywamán. Its…
Cuzco
If you visit only one Cuzco site, make it these Inca ruins forming the base of the colonial church and convent of Santo Domingo. Once the richest temple…
Complejo Arqueológico la Huaca el Brujo
North Coast
This archaeological complex right on the coast, about 60km from Trujillo, consists of the Huaca Prieta site, the Huaca El Brujo, which has only been…
Reserva Nacional Pacaya-Samiria
Amazon Basin
At 20,800 sq km, this is the most immense of Peru’s parks and reserves. Pacaya-Samiria provides local people with food and a home, and protects…
Cuzco & the Sacred Valley
This immense ruin of both religious and military significance is the most impressive in the immediate area around Cuzco. The long Quechua name means …
Norte Grande
Watching the sun set from the exquisite Valley of the Moon is an unforgettable experience. From atop a giant sand dune, you can drink in spectacular views…
Sur Chico
The 3125m Volcán Llaima, one of Chile's most active volcanoes, forms the focal point of Parque Nacional Conguillío and the Unesco Biosphere Reserve in…