South America

Travel through South America by country:

Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, Venezuela

Travel through South America by popular city:

Bogota, Buenos Aires, Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro

Travel through South America by popular things to do:

Adventures in the Amazon, Falkland Islands, Iguazu Falls, Tierra del Fuego

Isla Viveros will keep the riff-raff away

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Golfers, vacationers and anyone looking to fly under the radar will have a new place to go in May. Grupo Viveros has sunk $300 million into the Viveros Resort on Isla Viveros (Viveros, Viveros, Vivieros … sense a theme?), and in a few months, this small, once uninhabited island off the coast of Panama will be home to a five-star resort community.

Forty-five of the 200 homes being built on the island have already been purchased, but the 140-room hotel on the island’s northern beach may be a reasonable, if short-term, alternative. The hotel won’t be open until 2010, but for now, you can always dart out there and take in a round of golf on the new course. Another hotel – for those who like to chase little white balls – is in the works as well.

Need more exclusivity? Spa facilities, upscale dining and a 300-slip marina and yacht club are on the agenda. Also, a private runway will ensure that you won’t have to mix with the proletarians.

Mark your calendars!

Alternative Treks to the Inca Trail

by Kraig Becker on

Yesterday we wrote about The Inca Trail, one of the best known and most popular treks anywhere in the world, culminating with hikers arriving at Machu Picchu following a stunning four day journey through the Andes. Unfortunately the popularity of the trail is also one of its drawbacks, with literally hundreds flocking to it on a daily basis during the high season. Those crowds can deminish the experience for those who prefer solitude on their adventures.

Fortunately, there are some excellent alternatives to the Inca Trail that offer more challenging hikes, little to no traffic, and scenery seen by only a select few. Here are three of the very best of those alternatives:

Salcantay Trail
This trail is named after the tallest mountain in the region, but has also garnered the nickname of “Machu Picchu’s Backdoor”. Much like the inca Trail, this trek is four days in length and ends at the lost city. For now it remains light on traffic, although a number of hikers are switching to this trail with increasing frequency, as the Inca Trail continues to sell out earlier and earlier each year. Unlike the Inca Trail however, there are no ruins along the path, and altitude is more of a consideration as the Salcantay climbs as high as 15,420 feet, nearly 2000 feet higher than the Inca. But those who choose the Salcantay get quieter campsites and smaller crowds, with a similar payoff.


Choquequiro
Another amazing trek that ends in an ancient Incan ruin, this time a mountain fortress known as Choquequiro. While not as famous as Machu Picchu, Choquequiro is no less spectacular, with much of the place still being reclaimed from the jungle. The trail to Choquequiro is virtually unknown outside of the backpacker crowd, and the virtually empty route reflects that, but this one is not for the tourist crowd. Far more challenging and remote than the Inca Trail, without the same high altitudes, this hike allows visitors to get up close and personal with the people who inhabit the Andes Mountains in Peru, more so than any of the other trekking options. One of the other draws for this hike is that it can still be done independently as well. Experienced backpackers are able to hike to Choquequiro on their own should they choose, although a guide is still highly recommended.

Cordillera Huayhuash
Peru has some of the best hiking in the world, with stunning landscapes all over the country. Not all of the best hikes are in the Cusco region close to Machu Picchu. Take the Cordillera Huayhuash circuit located north of Lima. This particular trek is not for the faint of heart. While the Inca Trail, and the alternatives listed here are just four days in length, this epic trail takes 16 days to complete, with more demanding hiking across its length. Trekkers pass through 12 distinct high passes and climb above 18,000 feet, surrounded by glacier covered mountains and some of the most stunning vistas in the world. The Huayhuash Circuit is one of the premiere hikes on the planet, and should only be considered by experienced adventure travelers with plenty of trekking experience. Those that do undertake it are rewarded with an adventure of a lifetime.

So, there you have it. Leave the Inca Trail to the crowds, and take one of these other hikes. Enjoy the solitude of the Andes, without giving up the adventure.

Classic Treks: The Inca Trail, Peru

by Kraig Becker on

Peru is, beyond a doubt, one of the top adventure travel destinations in the entire world. It offers an amazing array of things to see and do, perfectly blending culture with both mountain and jungle settings, along with ancient artifacts and ruins that rival those found in Egypt. Of course, the most spectacular and famous of those ruins is the lost city of Machu Picchu, located at 8000 feet above sea level, in the Andes Mountains, near the town of Cusco.

Machu Picchu is the number one tourist attraction in a country full of tourist attractions, and there are multiple ways of getting there. Most take a train to the site, preferring to enjoy a scenic ride through the mountains. But one of the other ways of reaching the “Lost City of the Incas” is hiking the Inca Trail, an option that has grown in popularity over the past few years.

The Inca Trail traditionally consists of four days of trekking through the Andes, culminating with hikers catching their first glimpse of the fabled city while passing through the Sun Gate, another small ruin not far from Machu Picchu itself. Along the trail, travelers will experience tropical jungles, cloud forests, and high alpine passes. They’ll also have the opportunity to visit several other ruins as they travel the ancient Incan highway.This option for reaching Machu Picchu is obviously more demanding than taking the train, but more rewarding as well. At least three of the days on the trail are fairly rigourous hiking, and altitude comes into play, with the trail reaching as high as 13,800 feet in a place called Dead Woman’s Pass. Nights are spent camping in tents, and the weather can vary greatly depending on the time of year. But the hikers taking the Inca Trail are there to soak in the scenery and rough it a bit anyway.

In recent years, the trail has become extremely popular, forcing the Peruvian government to put a cap on the number of hikers who can set out each day. During the peak season of June through September, the permits for the trail can sell out weeks in advance, so if you’re planning to hike the trail, get your reservations in early. During the high season, you can expect larger number of hikers, up to 500 per day, and crowded campsites, which can ruin the experience for some. Off peak season means a bit more solitude and open trails, but less predictible weather, usually resulting in more rain or snow.

The payoff for the days on the trail is at the end, when the hikers emerge from the mountains and descend the Incan Staricase from the Sun Gate into Machu Picchu, much the same way that ancient travelrs did hundreds of years ago. Completing the hike is a reward in and of itself, but finding the lost city at the end, and exploring it for several hours, just caps the whole experience.

The Inca Trail is considered by many to be one of the great treks of the world and still holds a high place on many hiker’s “life lists”, despite the fact that it has now become so popular and crowded. For many adventure travelers, it’s still worth the hike, and will always beat taking the train.

If you are interested in trekking the Inca Trail, there are dozens of guide services to choose from. A guide is required by all trekkers, and you are also required to book at least a month in advance, although that too can be flexible when you’re in Cusco. Expect to pay between $300-$500 for the trek, depending on the guides and services they offer.

Brazil’s Other Adventurous Side

by Kraig Becker on

With Brazil’s big party, Carnival, coming to an end a few days back, I thought that it was appropriate to look at the country’s other adventurous side, far away from the beaches and party scene of Rio and the other major cities. Brazil has plenty to offer the traveler who is looking to get off the beaten path, and explore some of its more remote regions.

One of the more famous of these attractions is Iguassu Falls, located along the border between Brazil and Argentina. Iguassu is a collection of more than 275 waterfalls compressed into an area that is roughly 1.5 miles in length. Some of them are as tall as 270 feet, and the total amount of water that crosses over Iguassu Falls is more than twice that of Niagara.

While Iguassu doesn’t see nearly as much traffic as Rio or the other major cities, plenty of intrepid travelers still make the journey to take in that natural wonder. For something a bit further off the tourist radar, consider a trip to the Brazilian region of Pantanal, a tropical wetland, much like the Florida Everglades, but on a much larger scale. During the rainy season, the Amazon River overflows into the area, creating a unique and diverse ecosystem with literally thousands of species of birds, fish, and other wildlife. Exploring the area by boat is akin to taking an African Safari, with giant river otter, colorful maccaw, marsh deer, and even piranha on display.Of course, the most famous region of Brazil is the Amazon Rainforest, the vast region that covers much of the South American continent in a dense jungle that is home to more than tens of thousands of plants alone, and thousands more animals. This is a part of the world that most travelers never venture into, even if they come to Brazil, but it is possible to camp and trek through the rainforest, And for those that want to experience the place for themselves, but don’t feel like roughing it, there are a number of eco-lodges in the region, such as the Araiau Towers.

Finally, for the truly adventurous, there is a little known region that falls on the border of Brazil, Venezuela, and Guyana known as Roraima. This very remote place was the inspiration for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Lost World, and has become a favorite destination for backpackers. Roraima lies beyond the Amazon Basin, and is in the most distant area of Brazil. The tallest mountain in the country can be found here, and it is possible to hike to the summit of the “table-top” mountains, known as “tepui”, that are the hallmark of Roraima. Adventurous travelers can expect to spend four to five days en route to the top, where they’ll be treated to stunning views of the surrounding area.

While Brazil has a much deserved reputation for being a party destination, there is also plenty to offer the adventurous traveler who goes there as well. Get out of the large metropolitan areas, and there is plenty of unique and interesting places, unlike anywhere else on Earth, that will give you a completely different impression of the country.

Moon Travel Guides enjoys a handsome facelift

by Brenda Yun on

My brother-in-law, Jason Salter, has been working long hours for Five Paths, his web developing company, updating the website for Moon Travel Guides for over a year now. His hard work has paid off, and Moon was so pleased with the results that Gadling recently heard from a Moon representative alerting us to the latest changes and features on its new (and quite modern) online look.

Redeveloping an already existing site was quite complicated, but Jason reports that about 10,000 pages of content were added to Moon’s website, and it will grow exponentially in the near future to about 100,000 pages of online travel information, which is fantastic news for online travel information seekers.

On the new Moon website, there are now full descriptions of all published Moon books, which are easily searched by using the blue “Find Books” widget. Jason also tells me there is deep content for select books. Destinations in Central and South America are particularly well-developed, but Jason assures me that an increasingly larger number of books and sections are already being built.

If you don’t like searching for information based on the destination, you can also search for content based on activities using the “Find Activities” widget. This is a great search tool for someone like myself, as I’m always on the lookout for awesome surf spots in the world!

There are Q&A pages for authors of selected books, and maps for those books. Finally, Moon is hoping its readers can correspond with the authors through their author blogs.

Unlike Lonely Planet, which has been slow to move its content online, Moon appears to be fully embracing the world wide web, and I’m sure its readers are grateful.