The Atacama Desert is one of Chile’s most exciting places to visit, comprising as it does incredible landscapes of salt flats and saline lakes, high-altitude geysers, softly smoking volcanoes and lunar rock formations. However, when I visited San Pedro de Atacama in Chile in 2016, I struggled to find much information about how to see …
South American Highlights
The spellbinding sight of the sun lifting above the surrounding mountains to bathe the neat terraces of Machu Picchu in the light of a Peruvian dawn. The swish of a puma’s tail, disappearing between the Magellanic beech forests of Torres del Paine National Park in Chile. A deep blue shard of ice, as tall as an eight-storey apartment block calving with a shuddering crash off the snout of El Perito Moreno Glacier and into the cobalt waters of Lago Argentino, Argentina. The proud, stoic faces of the moai of Easter Island face inland, watching the changes of the centuries.
There are parts of South America that have captured the imaginations of explorers – both modern and historic – across the centuries. Although these places certainly need to explored sensitively to help protect them, they remain an essential feature of any South American trip. Our guides explore different ways of appreciating these outstanding places of natural beauty and cultural heritage – all with a focus on doing so in a sustainable, responsible way.
