Everyone obviously knows about Machu Picchu, Bolivian Salt Flats, and Buenos Aires, to name a few but the following are the experiences we believe many miss out on when travelling through South America. Disclaimer: We have not travelled the entire of South America in depth. For reference, we covered a large proportion of Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia and dipped into both Argentina and Chile.
1. San Pedro de Atacama, Chile
San Pedro is a popular town to stop at, as you exit the salt flats into the Atacama desert, don’t let this just be a pitstop, stay and enjoy what San Pedro has to offer. The Atacama desert is the driest desert on earth. There is an abundance of things to do, most people just pass through at the end of their journey across the Salt Flats but don’t miss out on exploring San Pedro.
If you haven't before, go dune buggying and sandboarding, it is a must at some point during your journey in South America (Another opportunity to do this is during a stay in Huacachino desert oasis, Peru)!
Take a trip to Valle de la Luna, you’ll feel like you’ve landed on Mars, stay for sunset and you’ll witness the snowy mountains light up with a vibrant red glow.
The town itself is full of artists, sculptors, graphic designers and jewellery makers, making it the ideal place to pick up beautiful unique crafts and not just your standard market buys that you’ll find throughout a large majority of South America.
To top it off, an unmissable experience during the night. We drove out from San Pedro de Atacama into the Atacama desert to visit the SPACE Observatory, where we wrapped up in blankets as the temperature dropped. First off we took a look at what we could see with the naked eye; constellations, planets, the brightest star and shooting stars. Then we moved over the telescopes which were 150 stronger than the human eye, to take a look up close. After, we headed inside to have a chat with the Astronomer that owns the observatory over hot chocolate to warm up. Having been blown away by the stars over the Salts Flats in Bolivia and witnessed the stars over the Namib desert, and over Jasper NP (other top places for stargazing), I can understand why the Atacama desert holds the top spot. For me San Pedro was the most unexpected gem. Coming from a country situated in the northern hemisphere (UK), it was an amazing opportunity to view and also learn about constellations from the southern hemisphere, realising just how different the earths night sky truly can be depending on where you are in the world.
2. Colca Canyon, Peru
As you head high into the Andes, prepare yourself for the altitude. As the second deepest canyon in the world, its sheer size is unfathomable. Some of the best views of the whole trip including an amazing sunset were here at Colca Canyon. Look out for volcanoes, see the farming terraces cascade the canyon and watch as the mighty condors soar above your head. See the volcanoes on the horizon and take a trip to the hot springs or opt to do short hikes or multi day hikes. Pit stop at one of the cafes to try a variety of tea, including coca tea and inca tea, which supposedly helps with altitude sickness. Look out for Vincuna, Alpacas and Llamas all over.
3. Sucre, Bolivia
As the constitutional capital of Bolivia, Sucre has plenty of things to do, including opportunities to immerse yourself in the Bolivian culture with cooking lessons. On its outskirts there are areas to go rock climbing, which look back over the city. As keen rock climbers we jumped at our first opportunity of our tour through South America to rock climb.
However, this is not why we have included Sucre on this list. Sucre is located near Parque Cretácico, where you can find Cal Orck’o Cliff, the largest site of dinosaur footprints in the world. How many people can say they’ve seen that? Make sure you time your trip to the park, for the walking tour down to the cliff (included in ticket price) to learn more and see them up close. Bolivia have sought for many years to get Cal Orck’o registered as an UNESCO World Heritage site to little avail, they wish to protect it for many generations to come, considering its proximity to the quarry this is essential. Alternatively, opt for a hiking day trip which takes you outside of Sucre to see different dinosaur footprints in the ground up close.
4. Potosi, Bolivia
At over 4000m above sea level lies Potosi, South America’s highest town. Steeped in history, Potosi became the foundation of the Spanish empire, its silver excavation making it one of the wealthiest cities in the world by the 17th century. Bolivia gained independence in 1825, with silver depleting and the price of silver crashing, Potosi's population plummeted. To this day, Potosi is yet to recover. Potosi, remains an anomaly to the surrounding altiplano. Where most rely on agriculture, the people of Potosi still try to mine what they can from the Cerro Rico mountain. One of the main experiences tourists visit Potosi for is a tour of one of these mines, a decision to do a mine tour should not be taken lightly and should be researched and undertaken for good reason, check out our blog post on how to do a mine tour ethically.
If you haven't had enough of hot springs across South America there are some close by, otherwise enjoy the colonial architecture or the national mint in the city. Unexpectedly, we found an amazing cake shop in Potosi and went back twice, I believe it was called or was near Magic Dragon, we can't exactly remember. Stop here before heading to Uyuni on your salt flats adventure.
5. Easter Island
Yes, technically not South America but a territory of Chile so we will count it. Plus there’s only 2 places you can reach Easter Island from; one being Tahiti the other being Santiago, Chile, in South America. So we are giving it an honourable mention. Easter Island is one of the most remote inhabited islands in the world, a 6 hour flight from Santiago. Considering how long it takes to get there, and the size of the island, I’d recommend tying in the trip with travels close by like South America or other Pacific islands, but it isn’t one to be missed, especially if you are on the trip of a lifetime, which every tourist we met on Easter Island certainly was. The island has so many unanswered mysteries, like how 100s of years ago, did they move a 100 tonne Moai over 11 miles without the invention of the wheel or trees strong enough. Look out for turtles and do not miss sunsetting between the Moais at Tahai, it's truly magical.
Socks and Sandals
Comments