Southern Paraguay is dotted with the ruins of Jesuit reductions from the 17th Century, offering a fascinating glimpse to that period of history.
The ruins at Santisima Trinidad del Parana are some of the best preserved of the region, built around a Plaza Mayor.
The ruins at San Cosme and Damian are also of interest as in the early 1770 they started astronomical studies.
The observatory can be visited to this day, making this trip well worth the travel.
The Pantanal is a vast tropical wetland in the West of Brazil and the best place for those wanting to see wildlife.
Here there are over 1,000 bird species, 400 fish species, 300 mammal species as well as 480 reptile species – and the jaguar is the king.
The main gateway airports are Campo Grande and Cuiaba.
There are many lodges offering a great wildlife experience in an area that is over 20 times larger than the Florida Everglades.
The Valdez Peninsula on the northern coast of Argentine Patagonia is a paradise for nature lovers.
The Southern Right whale can be spotted from June to December, killer whales from September to April and Magellanic Penguins from September to March.
Sea lions, dolphins, seals as well as guanacos, rheas and armadillos can be found all year round.
There are lots of shells, fossils and natural history on full display in the rocky cliffs.
The gateway airport is at Trelew and the ideal base for exploration is Puerto Madryn.
Puerto Natales has the feel of a small frontier town.
Located on the banks of the Last Hope Sound this town had its origins in the shipping out of lamb from the local estancias.
Now it is the gateway to the Torres del Paine National Park and boasts an impressive selection of accommodation and restaurants.
Nearby attractions include the Milodon Cave and a full day sailing tour to the Balmaceda and Serrano Glaciers.
If you have time it’s worth trekking to the top of the nearby Dorotea hill for a spectacular view of the surrounding country side.
Rio de Janeiro is a vibrant, beautiful, lush and fascinating city, with something everyone.
Just enjoy the picture postcard beaches, take the cable car up the iconic Sugar Loaf Hill or the train up Corcovado mountain to the stature of Christ.
The city has rainforest in the Tijuca forest and an incredible botanic garden. There is enough scenery to keep you going for days!
Food is available in every form and guise from street stalls selling coconuts and fresh pineapple juice, to Brazilian meat rodizio restaurants to fine dining.
If not why not have a snack and a beer in one of the many beach side terraces and watch the girl, or boy, from Ipanema or Copacabana go by.
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W. Kyle, USA. 4-day Inca Trail trek, Cusco and Sacred Valley, April 2025 Food was awesome, at our Cusco hotel and on the Inca trail. There were so many highlights: the way our guide explained in great detail about all the birds, plants (especially all the different orchids), in addition to his knowledge on all the ancient historical sites was quite amazing. It made the trail more like an adventure, instead of a hike. All of the people at the hotel in Cusco were very helpful, especially Kevin, who brought oxygen to my room Saturday morning when I was still having issues adjusting to the high altitude in Cusco. The other tour guides, Eddie on the walking tour of Cusco, and Mateo, who did the Sacred Valley tour were good. Andean Trails was recommended by Responsible Travel, my first contact for this adventure.
W. Kyle » 4-Day Inca Trail Hike To Machu Picchu, Peru
D. Joselow and family, USA. Land-based Galapagos holiday, April 2025 The accommodations were great - clean, comfortable, and well located. The food was good, especially the farm lunches. We also really enjoyed the meals on the boats. The overall organization of the trip was terrific. We were a big group and everything ran as expected. We could not have felt better taken care of. Everyone was very kind and very gracious. Honestly, the entire trip was exceptional. We definitely loved the wild life, on land and on/in the water. Learning the history was also great. The Interpretation Center on St Cristóbal was small but very informative. We also loved our boat trips - Kicker Rock, Española,Tuneles. Guide Maritza is a treasure. She has great energy and a clear passion for the place. She was patient and good humored, exceptionally hard working and incredibly knowledgeable. We were told she was a last minute substitute. We sure got lucky. We didn’t know we were going to have our own private guide for the entire time. That actually made the trip and I would recommend this to anyone traveling to Galapagos. The boat crews on St Cristóbal and Isabela were kind and funny and thoughtful. We had a blast spotting dolphins and whales and other creatures. The crew members were always looking out for us and doing everything they could to make us comfortable. Everything felt very local - the farms and ceviche evening and brewery were all about our hosts. But the boats and buses and hotels and restaurants felt the same. The kids rented surf boards and had a great time talking surf with the owner. We found warmth and kindness everywhere so hopefully we did no harm and showed appropriate respect and appreciation. Honestly we can’t imagine a better trip. We would absolutely recommend the itinerary - and Andean Trails - to anyone. We chose Andean Trails because someone we know used the organization to tour the Galapagos and had a great trip. We wanted to do a land-based trip and couldn’t find another organizer who seemed to have the expertise and offered various land options. This was a pretty unusual trip for us, our first time out of the U.S as a family. We didn’t closely examine other Andean Trails offerings but would certainly recommend the group to others. I have to close by thanking you for all your help. We had lots of different questions and lots of different needs in throughout the planning. You were very patient on all of it. That made us very confident that the trip itself was going to be as wonderful as you were. It was. Thanks so, so much. This was a bucket list adventure. I am not sure how any future trip can compare.
» Galapagos Island Hopping: San Cristóbal, Isabela and Santa Cruz
