The Alto Parana region is to the east of Paraguay and its main city is Ciudad del Este on the shore of the Parana River.
Across the Parana River is where you will find Foz do Iguaçu in Brazil and the Iguaçu Falls.
The Itaipu dam – one of the largest of the world – can be visited and just South of Ciudad del Este the Monday falls are worth a visit.
The Tati Yupi Biological reserve offers the outdoors enthusiast interpretative trails of the wildlife and fauna as well as bike trails for the more energetic.
The best way to get a feel for the famous Amazon rainforest region is aboard a river cruise.
From these comfortable boats, you will be able to explore the mighty Amazon and Negro rivers. There are also jungle lodge options, so you can immerse yourself in nature.
The city of Manaus in the heart of the Brazilian Amazon and is the gateway to the rainforest.
Boasting its famous opera house, built at the end of the 19th Century on the back of the rubber boom, the city itself is well worth a day of exploration, too.
The beautiful colonial city of Arequipa is replete with history and culture, and is the gateway to the condors of Colca Canyon.
Nestled at 2,325m/7,627ft, the ‘white city’ sits at the foot of three tremendous volcanoes: El Misti (5,821m/19,098ft), Chachani (6,075m/19,930ft) and Pichu Pichu (5,542m/18,182ft).
Arequipa’s attractions include the Cathedral, Compañía de Jesús Church, Santa Catalina Convent and the Dama de Ampato (Juanita Mummy) Museum.
With a year-round spring climate and sunshine guaranteed for 300 days of the year, it is the perfect place to begin acclimatising before continuing upwards.
Nearby is the famous Colca Canyon. At hundred kilometres long, this incredible gorge is said to reach a maximum depth of 3,400m/11,155ft – twice that of the Grand Canyon.
An overnight tour to Colca gives you the chance to see the iconic, soaring condors of the canyon.
Asuncion is the capital of landlocked Paraguay and sits on the shore of the Paraguay River.
Asuncion is one of the oldest cities in South America and its character reflects the harsh and varied history of the region.
It also represents the diverse nature of Paraguay where Spanish and Guiarani – the indigenous language – are the official languages.
Places to visit include the National Pantheon of Heroes and the Independence House Museum.
A guided tour is recommended, to help you get the most out of your visit.
Get up into the trees like monkeys at Atta Lodge, for some up close and personal wildlife viewing.
The major attraction here is a 154m/505ft long canopy walkway, with four platforms some up to 30m into the canopy.
An array of birds and animals you struggle to see from the forest floor soon zoom into view.
Among these are endangered and protected species such as the jaguar, the bullet wood tree, greenheart and the waramadan (endemic in Guyana only to the Iwokrama Forest).
The lodge provides comfortable accommodation with 8 private rooms, three home-cooked meals per day, and ample opportunities to explore the surrounding rainforest by foot, canoe, or 4X4.
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We chose Andean trails after finding you online. As soon as we got talking about our options, it was clear you guys were hugely knowledgeable and could help us plan the perfect trip. We had an incredible time! Overall Organisation: excellent, couldn’t have been better! Highlight: It’s hard to pick just one, but exploring the suspension bridges above Grey glacier was amazing, exploring the French Valley, and watching a huge chunk of glacier carve away were some of our favourites. Low point: I’m not sure we really had a low point, it was all amazing. Accommodation: hotel in Puerto Natales was great, really quirky, good service. As expected the refugios on the trek were pretty basic but perfectly ok, the cabin at Cuernos though was brilliant! Food: Again, as expected the food in the refugios was very basic, but edible. Our food in Cuernos refugio was actually very good, a nice treat in the middle of our trek! In the hotel, our breakfast was very good. Guides: We didn’t really have any, but the lady that met us at the bus station and took us to our hotel was very friendly and helpful. We enjoyed spending a short period of time in Puerto Natales, spending money in the local shops and restaurants. All the locals were super friendly. Hopefully we contributed to the tourist economy. We were very aware of our impact on the natural environment in the park, and the clear impact humans are having with erosion of paths etc. We were as careful as we could be to make sure we had as little environmental impact as possible. What would we do differently? Not much really. Other than do some training for the hike, 32km on the first day was hard going!! We love hiking and spending time in the outdoors. We had a couple of friends that had done the W trek and their experience sounded amazing. We weren’t disappointed! Thanks for all your help and advice in making our trip an experience we will remember forever!
Anna Redman, UK, 2019 » Patagonia Self-guided Trekking Tour
Andean Trails helped us organise a memorable family trip through Peru and Bolivia. We loved exploring the diversity these countries have to offer - coast, desert, mountains, salt flats and rain forests – with a balance of culture, activity and a little bit of R&R! I generally like to do the research for trips myself but after the initial research phase, it was great to have Tom as an expert partner, focused on delivering what we wanted to get out of the trip, whilst adding value by suggesting things that would enhance our experience. He provided an invaluable sense check on what was possible, adding support and expertise to make our ambitious plan a reality - e.g, organising private transfers to get us to where we needed to be before the border closed etc. and providing the reassurance of a ‘go to’ person on the ground for help when needed. He was fabulous to work with and it felt like planning the trip with a friend. Tom really knows the people and places in all the locations and his suggestions for activities to keep everyone in the family interested and entertained were spot on, meaning we had lots of cool things to do with wonderfully knowledgeable guides, including special times on Lake Titicaca with a home stay on Amantanti. Thanks for helping us create the most memorable family trip.
Lynn Oliver, UK, 2017 » Colca Canyon Condors Tour
