South America

The continent is bounded by the Pacific to the west, the Atlantic to the east and the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ends at the Tierra del Fuego archipelago, divided between Chile and Argentina. The Andes run for roughly 7,000 km down the western side through Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile and Argentina; Aconcagua in Argentina is the highest summit. East of the range the Amazon basin covers much of Brazil and reaches into Peru, Colombia and Bolivia, the Orinoco drains Venezuela, and the Paraná, Paraguay and Uruguay rivers meet at the Río de la Plata between Buenos Aires and Montevideo. Useful subregions are the Caribbean north (Colombia, Venezuela and the Guianas), the Andean countries (Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia), the Southern Cone (Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay) and Brazil, which takes up most of the east. The Atacama Desert in northern Chile and Patagonia in the far south are separated by thousands of kilometres.

Many visitors follow the Inca. Cusco in Peru was the capital of their empire, and Machu Picchu and the Sacred Valley lie nearby. Older sites include Caral in Peru, a Norte Chico city more than 4,000 years old, the Nazca Lines on Peru's southern coast, and Tiwanaku in Bolivia, close to Lake Titicaca. Spanish rule left walled and fortified towns such as Cartagena in Colombia, the historic centre of Quito in Ecuador, Colonia del Sacramento in Uruguay and the silver city of Potosí in Bolivia. Portuguese Brazil is represented by gold-era Ouro Preto. The Jesuit missions of the Guaraní survive as ruins at San Ignacio Miní in Argentina and São Miguel das Missões in Brazil. Most countries won independence in the 1810s and 1820s, and Simón Bolívar's campaigns are commemorated in plazas and museums across the northern Andes.

The main international hubs are São Paulo-Guarulhos (GRU), Bogotá El Dorado (BOG), Lima Jorge Chávez (LIM), Santiago Arturo Merino Benítez (SCL) and Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE), with Quito (UIO) as a further Andean gateway. There is no continent-wide rail network, so most crossings are by air or long-distance coach; Sky Airline and JetSMART run low-cost routes among Chile, Peru, Argentina and neighbours. Rail is mainly scenic: PeruRail connects Cusco with Machu Picchu and Puno. Ferries cross the Río de la Plata from Buenos Aires to Colonia del Sacramento and Montevideo, and a boat-and-bus route links Bariloche in Argentina with Puerto Varas in Chile. Peru and Bolivia meet by road at Lake Titicaca. Flying is necessary for the Amazon interior, Patagonia from the north, and routes such as Bogotá to Buenos Aires.

Seasons depend on subregion and altitude. In the Andean highlands around Cusco, La Paz and Quito the dry season runs roughly May to September, with sunny days near 20°C in Cusco and nights close to freezing in June and July; rain is heaviest from December to March, which also brings the wet season on the Bolivian altiplano. The Amazon stays hot at around 25–32°C year-round, with heavier rain from about December to May. The Southern Cone has a December–February summer: Buenos Aires and Santiago reach around 30°C, and Patagonia is most accessible from November to March, when days are mild and winds strong. Winter closes many Patagonian services. The Caribbean coast of Colombia is driest from December to March. Peaks to plan around include Carnival in February or March, Semana Santa in March or April, Inti Raymi in Cusco on 24 June, Peru's national holidays in late July, Chile's on 18 September, and Christmas and New Year.

No single currency covers the continent. Ecuador uses the US dollar; most others have their own, including the Brazilian real, Peruvian sol, Colombian, Chilean, Argentine and Uruguayan pesos, and the Bolivian boliviano. Plug types differ: Brazil uses types N and C, Argentina I and C, Chile C and L, Peru A, B and C, and Colombia A and B, so carry an adaptor set. Spanish is the working language in most countries, Portuguese in Brazil, English in Guyana, Dutch in Suriname and French in French Guiana; Quechua, Aymara and Guaraní are widely spoken locally. Traffic drives on the right except in Guyana and Suriname, where it keeps left.

• The Andes stretch about 7,000 km, the longest continental mountain range.
• Aconcagua, in Argentina, is the highest mountain outside Asia.
• Chile and Ecuador are the only countries that do not border Brazil.
• Lake Titicaca is shared by Peru and Bolivia, at roughly 3,800 metres.
• The equator crosses Ecuador, Colombia and Brazil, and gives Ecuador its name.