Central & South America Travelers Recommend

Spend the day relaxing and getting to know El Calafate, capital of Argentina’s glacier country. As you take a stroll through the heart of town, next day, the soaring icy walls of Perito Moreno Glacier in Los Glaciares National Park await. Take a guided walk along pathways to the glacier face, for breathtaking views of the surrounding snow-covered mountains, then on the third day cross over into Chile for the day to spend time amongst the granite pillars, turquoise lakes and jagged peaks of Torres del Paine National Park.

From Ronaldo’s record setting World Cup goals to Pele’s hat-trick of World Cup victories, few countries have churned out so many legendary international soccer players as Brazil, so it’s no surprise that football is serious business in Rio de Janeiro. With Brazil set to host the 2014 FIFA World Cup, it seems everyone in Rio has caught football fever and from the beach to the favelas, everywhere you turn, you’ll see local kids kicking a ball around a makeshift goal. If you’re not lucky enough to get tickets for the 2014 World Cup games, there are still plenty of opportunities to watch world-class soccer in Rio with regular games by the city’s four local teams - Flamengo, Botafogo, Fluminense and Vasco. Rio’s football season runs from January through till May, with local teams competing for the Gunabara's Cup and Rio's Cup, after which the Brazilian Championship games take place from May until December, featuring 20 teams from around the country.

A popular destination for cruise ships, the coastal resort of Puerto Madryn offers a range of outdoor activities. Go hiking or horse riding along the coast; take a trip to the Punta Tombo Penguin Colony. The undeniable highlight of El Calafate is the neighboring Los Glaciares National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site home to the magnificent Perito Moreno Glacier, one of Patagonia’s most iconic sights. One day hiking or boating trips to see the glacier are possible, but with more time you could also include a visit to the remote Upsala Glacier. As the world’s southernmost city, Ushuaia is the last frontier before Antarctica and dubbed the ‘end of the world’ by many arctic cruise liners. Choose from exploring the dramatic landscapes of the Tierra del Fuego National Park; sailing or kayaking among the islands of the famous Beagle Channel; riding the evocatively named End of the World train line.

Rio's 900+ favelas are home to hundreds of thousands of people, packed tightly in astonishing density and replete with all the violence, criminality and squalor that one might expect when extreme poverty is combined with extreme overcrowding. While conditions in some areas border on middle class, many of the more infamous favelas are so fraught with rampant drug trafficking and brutal gang warfare that law enforcement personnel refuse even to set foot within their borders. In recent years, there has been an increase in “reality tourism” in the area, as locals attempt to raise awareness about both the appalling conditions as well as the vibrant subcultures of samba, funk and soccer that take route and flourish in the more stable favelas. Guided tours offer safe, intimate access to a side of life in Brazil that many tourists only glimpse from a distance.

Cusco is the central hub of the Sacred Valley, a magnet for lovers of Inca handicrafts and ruins, colonial charm and churches. Get to know Cusco and its famous markets from the ground up on a Cusco Markets and Ruins Small Group Tour. You’ll take a guided walk through busy San Pedro Market, joining locals shopping for dinner, then visit the impressive Inca fortress of Sacsayhuaman, the source of much of the stone used to build Cusco. Cusco is known for its richly ornamented baroque churches, the most famous being the 1560s cathedral filled with colonial art and gold decoration on central Plaza de Armas. The oldest church in Cusco, the Iglesia de El Triunfo, is on the right of the cathedral. One of the most ornate of Cusco’s churches is Iglesia de La Compania, with its decorative baroque facade also on Plaza de Armas. Cusco is surrounded by the Quechua hill towns of the Sacred Valley, ideal for a day trip into the countryside of terraced fields.

Cusco is Peru’s shopping hotspot for handicrafts, textiles, ceramics, art and jewelry, and the best place to shop for this booty is in the markets. There are several open-air and undercover shopping and market areas to browse, including several areas dedicated to Quechua handicrafts and textiles. To visit the workshops and showrooms of local craftspeople, head for Plaza San Blas. Traditional weavings and textiles are also displayed at the Center for Traditional Textiles. The Centro Artesenal Cusco is a good place to pick up souvenirs and alpaca wool handicrafts.