Ecotourism South America:
Soaring to New Heights

Ecotourism South America offers an endless opportunity for adventure. With such a vast range of cultures, geography and climates, you could keep going back to South America and never repeat the same ecoholiday experience.

Just to give a quick overview of some of the continent's superlative features, South America boasts:
• the world's longest river,
• the world's highest waterfall,
• the largest rainforest,
• the driest desert,
• the longest mountain range,
• the highest capital city,
• and the world's southernmost city.
Any idea what the answers are? Check at the bottom of the page to see whether you are correct.

Early South American cultures were largely agrarian and many of the ruins you can see today--much of the phenomenal stonework has survived centuries in remarkable condition--reflect the terracing that allowed successful farming in challenging mountainous terrain. Journeying to experience the ruins, the cuisine and the cultures makes for an amazing trip.

Emerging from days trekking the Inca Trail to see Machu Picchu is a magical experience.

Whether your adventure dreams lean towards mountaineering, hiking, skiing, kayaking, rafting, horseback riding, birdwatching or whatever your pleasure, you can find ample opportunitites to scratch that itch.

And to balance the active adventuring, traveling between the twelve countries and the three territories that comprise South America can give you a chance to practice over a dozen languages (brush up on your Portugese and Spanish), try out your tango and samba, and taste the flavors of native dishes as well as African and European-influenced cuisines, and toast it all with local wine, Mate tea, or a Pisco sour made from glacier ice.

Ecotourism South America offers a neverending wonderland. Take your pick:
• from Darwin's paradise of the Galapagos Islands,
• to the penguins on the Patagonian glaciers,
• to the lost cities in the Andes Mountains,
• to rafting in the Amazon,
• to the cosmopolitan centers that rival any European city, this continent can keep you happily ecotouring for years!

Oh, and the answers to the South American superlatives are:
• the Amazon River,
• Angel Falls in Venezuala,
• the Amazon Rainforest,
• the Atacama Desert,
• the Andes Mountains,
• La Paz, Bolivia, and
• Puerto Toro, Chile.

Considering Ecotourism South America? Check out Travel Photo Tips before you go.