Travel: the most beautiful places in South America

The biggest flowing river (the Amazon), the most extended mountain range (the Andes), the most arid desert (the Atacama), the highest capital (La Paz, in Bolivia)... World records that make you want to go and see for yourself the spellbinding power of this breathtaking continent. Here are eleven ideas to inspire you.

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Let's go back to our topic and discover some of the most beautiful places in South America:

Peru

In the heart of the Peruvian Andes, on the heights of the Sacred Valley, a strange white honeycomb landscape can be seen: the Maras salt pans defy the laws of nature. Clinging to the mountainside, these thousands of basins, exploited by the Incas, supplied salt to the whole of Peru around the 2nd millennium BC. Still in operation today, these salt mines are a marvel of ingenuity and one of many examples of the heritage handed down by the Inca civilisation.

Chile

In this super-country of crazy geography, the landscapes are surreal, with arid deserts, XXL lakes, solemn volcanoes, crunchy glaciers and Patagonian peaks. A land of legends, Chile has never ceased to obsess travellers, from conquistadors thirsty for riches to explorers eager for wide open spaces. Like a long poem, this thin ribbon of land stuck to the Pacific unrolls an Eldorado of freedom.

Brazil

Go deep into Brazil's most primal wilderness, where man has remained in his place. Stretching across the immense plains of Mato Grosso do Sul; the Pantanal is one of the world's largest nature parks. The wet season, from October to March, makes it easy to travel by boat. From April to September, the dry season is perfect for observing animals - birds, reptiles and rare mammals such as the jaguar, the swamp deer and the black howler monkey.

Bolivia

The Bolivian altiplano is home to a multitude of saltwater lakes and lagoons, precious ecological niches now threatened by global warming and water evaporation. Some areas have turned entirely into salt deserts, like the famous Salar d'Uyuni. Others offer a fascinating palette of colours—turquoise blue, milky white, and incandescent pink—all limpid mirrors reflecting the blue of the sky in a realm of purity.

Amazon rainforest

What an intense experience to be immersed in the heart of the Amazonian selva. There are two aesthetically complementary elements: on the one hand, the exuberant primary forest, whose chlorophyll is unrivalled anywhere in the world; on the other, the mysterious waters of the Napo River, which winds its way through the Amazon. A few splashes of colour stand out against the deep emerald of the tree leaves:

• The neon green of a parrot.
• The red of the earth.
• The rust of a butterfly.
• The mauve of a wildflower.

Colombia

While the Andes are austere and majestic, the Caribbean coast is gentle, friendly, sparkling and musical. Between land and sea, Tayrona Park protects the coastal area of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. The canopy climbs to thirty or even forty metres on the jungle side. The peregrine howler monkey is the No. 1 soundscape. The birds display a shimmering palette of colours. In the early morning, you might come across a stealthy tapir, an otter or a red daguet.

Uruguay

Sandwiched between giant neighbours with fiery tempers, Uruguay seems like a laid-back sage. Influenced by a European heritage that resurfaces in its architecture and gastronomy, this miniature country is nonetheless the epitome of Latin American culture. A gaucho's soul was brought up on mate and riding through the pampas to gather his herd - here there are four cows for every inhabitant - before heading off to the estancia: a pocket-sized country, to be sure, but one where space sometimes seems more significant than elsewhere.

Andean epic trip: Peru/Bolivia/Chile

Imagining landscapes more dissimilar to Machu Picchu mountains and Uyuni's salt desert would take much work. They are as opposed to the vertical and the horizontal. And yet they are part of the same Andean landscape, where Inca heights, high-altitude deserts, flamingos, and Madonnas meet. A three-in-one journey from Peru to Chile via Bolivia reveals all the splendour and diversity of an epic nature. It also shows the extent to which the Indians have long since come to terms with it and the ingenuity with which they have settled there.

Chilean and Argentinean Patagonia

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