South America is an irresistible destination for many travelers. With amazing natural beauty to explore from stunning mountains, pristine beaches and wild rain forests. Then there are amazing precolonial ruins to rival any found around the world from cultures still strong today. Spanish and Portuguese colonial buildings and churches dominate major cities with more gold in them then any other churches in the world where African, Latin and indigenous cultures have fused. Modern art have exploded in many cities next to thumping dance clubs filled with beautiful people. Add in thundering waterfalls surrounded by vast jungles, massive street parties around Carnival time, and lost then found Inca cities. South America can take a lifetime to truly explore and experience.
Adventurous Geography
The geography of South America is extremely diverse stretching north of the equator to almost touching northern Antarctica. Along the Pacific coast there is the stunningly high mountain range of the Andes, which is also the longest mountain range in the world. This mountain range runs for over 7,000 kilometres and its highest mountain is Aconcaguareaching a stunning 6,962 metres above sea level and one of the most famous mountains on the continent. There are also hundreds of volcanoes in the Andes, many of them being extremely active. Large parts of the Andes are also giving place to relatively flatter areas called Altiplano. Here you’ll find salt lakes, adapted wildlife and even some settlements.
The north central area of South America is largely filled with the amazing Amazon Rainforest, which is the largest rainforest in the world and is home to amazing biodiversity. The most southern part of the continent is generally called Patagonia, comprising the southern section of the Andes mountains to the southwest towards the Pacific Ocean and from the east of the cordillera to the valleys it follows south through Colorado River towards Carmen de Patagones in the Atlantic Ocean. To the west, it includes Tierra del Fuego. Argentine Patagonia is for the most part a region of steppelike plains. South America is also home to the Angels Falls in Venezuela, which are the highest waterfalls in the world, the Amazon River, which is the largest river by volume of water and the Atacama Desert, which is the second driest place on earth (after the Dry Valleys on Antarctica) and the highest navigable lake in the world Lake Titicaca on the border of Peru and Bolivia. Anyone looking for high mountains, amazing beaches or steaming jungles can find their perfect place in South America.