From the Inside Flap
Fodor's South America 4th ed.
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Destination: South AmericaFor everyone from bird-watchers to beach bums, South America is the perfect destination. Increasing numbers of restless vacationers are being drawn by the continent's fascinating contrasts, its bustling metropolises, and its dramatic landscapes. Often those who visit are dreamers, escapists, lovers of the unusual. Those who visit often do so with great expectations and few prejudices.
Any number of appetites can be satisfied on the same vacation. In Rio, for example, you can spend the afternoon touring the historic Palácio Catete after a splendid morning of sunbathing on the beach at Ipanema or hiking through the lush Floresta da Tijuca that surrounds the Corcovado stature. In Buenos Aires, you can pass the day at one of the all-season horse-racing tracks, followed by an excellent dinner (accompanied by a superb Argentine wine) and a night of tango in La Boca, the city's picturesque waterfront district. Such diversity means that there's something, somewhere, for everyone, on any budget, to see, do, and treasure in South America.
ArchaeologyThe mysteries of ancient ruins such as the silent, windswept stones and temples at Tiahuanaco, near La Paz in Bolivia, and the majestic remains of Inca civilizations never fail to tantalize. Peru alone has a wealth of pre-Columbian sites that would take weeks, if not months or years, to fully explore. Almost everything in the country is worth seeing, but the especially exceptional sights include Machu Picchu, the fortresses of Pisac and Ollantaytambo, and the Coricancha. If you have more time, visit the Nazca lines, gigantic, mysterious "drawings" in the desert; the Chimú city of Chán Chán, outside Trujillo; and the Moche tomb of the warrior priest at Sipán. In Colombia, you can visit la Ciudad Perdida (the Lost City), near the Caribbean coast, or the intricately decorated tombs of Tierradentro and mysterious megaliths of San Agustín, near Cali. In Ecuador, there are Inca and pre-Inca ruins at Ingapirca.
Natural WondersVolcanoes, some still active, run the length of the Andes; at their feet lie everything from the desolate, windswept desert and dunes of Peru's Paracas National Reserve to the turquoise lakes and burbling hot springs of Chile's lake district. The 30,000-year-old Perito Moreno Glacier broods in Argentina's Glacier National Park, while spires of ice slide off the San Rafael Glacier, south of Puerto Montt in Chile. A mighty roar fills the air as the raging waters of Iguazú Falls -- higher and wider than Niagara -- plunge over basalt cliffs where Argentina, Paraguay, and Brazil meet. Angel Falls crash nearly two-thirds of a mile down a cliff in a corner of Venezuela so remote that it was unknown to the world until 1937.
WildlifeYou can come nose to nose with sea lions and giant tortoises in the Galápagos Islands or spot the pterodactyl-like hoatzin on Venezuela's vast savannas. In Argentina, see whales and elephant seals frolic at Península Valdés and attend the annual gathering of the Magellanic penguin clan on the beaches at Punta Tombo. Flamingos, llama-like guanacos, and foxes inhabit Chile's Torres del Paine National Park.
