South America Off The Beaten Path

  Iglesia Pedro Claver dome from port at...
by richiecdisc
 
  • Iglesia Pedro Claver dome from port at dusk
      Iglesia Pedro Claver dome from port at...
    by richiecdisc
  • one of Colombia's stunning churches
      one of Colombia's stunning churches
    by richiecdisc
  •   Off The Beaten Path
    by henri123
  • Walk Like a Penguin!
      Walk Like a Penguin!
    by HispanicYob
  • Macaws
      Macaws
    by grandmaR
 

Most Viewed Off The Beaten Path in South America

1.

Tigre   Buenos Aires

Tigre, Buenos Aires

 36 Reviews  It was founded on may 20th 1892 Address: Paseo Victorica 602 (1648) Tigre Pcia. de Buenos Aires - Argentina Fundado el 20 de Mayo de 1892 Paseo Victorica 602 (1648) Tigre Pcia. de Buenos Aires -... 

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2.

Niterói   Rio de Janeiro

Niterói, Rio de Janeiro

 52 Reviews  Niterói Contemporary Art Museum is one of the more interesting buildings in Rio de janeiro state. It´s located in Niteroi which is Rio´s quiet neighbour where not many tourists venture over to, but... 

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3.

Museos - Museums   Lima

Museos - Museums, Lima

 8 Reviews  Lima is by excelence, a city of museums. With more than 50 museums in the city, the best ones in Peru are located here. From public to private and from general to specialized museums, visiting them... 

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4.

Ocean beaches   São Paulo

Ocean beaches, São Paulo

 5 Reviews  If you are in town, you can take a car and in less than two hours you are in the sea, and Praia Grande is one of the most popular holiday destinations for the Paulistanos. It is not the most beautiful... 

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5.

Sacred Valley   Cusco

Sacred Valley, Cusco

 10 Reviews  Our horseback ride from Urubamba up past the salt terraces to Maras and Moray was the best adventure of our entire visit to Peru, For a mere $US60 a person, Rancho Casa Hospedaje supplied a... 

 See All 78 Off The Beaten Path in Cusco

6.

Zipaguira   Bogotá

Zipaguira, Bogotá

 5 Reviews  Zipaquira is an unassuming small town about 50 kilometers north of Bogota and would most likely not be visited by anyone aside from its star attraction, a salt mine of all things. But this is no... 

 See All 41 Off The Beaten Path in Bogotá

7.

Morro de Sao Paulo   Salvador da Bahia

Morro de Sao Paulo, Salvador da Bahia

 6 Reviews  It takes two hours to get to Morro on the Catamaran from Mercado Modelo... and it really is idyllic heaven. I stayed on the fourth beach which is quiet and ideal fro a relaxing getaway... There is... 

 See All 46 Off The Beaten Path in Salvador da Bahia

8.

El Hatillo   Caracas

El Hatillo, Caracas

 4 Reviews  It's a small town but very cozy. There are several handicraft shops with the nicest things! The day I was there there were some performers in the Plaza Bolivar.... And seemed like a very family thing... 

 See All 36 Off The Beaten Path in Caracas

9.

Inca Trail   Machu Picchu

Inca Trail, Machu Picchu

 16 Reviews  Stumbled across a really great way to see machu Piccu and to see some authentic Peruvian life along the way. Some friends found a Dutch guy in Cusco who arranges tours on behalf of a Coffee... 

 See All 41 Off The Beaten Path in Machu Picchu

10.

Amazon Islands   Manaus

Amazon Islands, Manaus

 3 Reviews  If you are interested in doing some real amazon hiking and stick close to Manaus, you can go to some of the Islands in the Amazon side of the city (if it isnt flooded - when the river is hige these... 

 See All 13 Off The Beaten Path in Manaus

11.

"Death" Road from La Paz to Corroico   La Paz

"Death" Road from La Paz to Corroico, La Paz

 5 Reviews  The Death Road *** the fighting troops Forget their useless trivia Want to know who dies for their country? Meet the truckers of Bolivia. Neither to save their power Nor secure their glory As you... 

 See All 32 Off The Beaten Path in La Paz

12.

El Tatio geysers   San Pedro de Atacama

El Tatio geysers, San Pedro de Atacama

 6 Reviews  If you ever wondered how Earth looked like in prehistoric times, before massive life forms appeared on the surface of the planet, here’s the answer: it was like El Tatio ("weeping old man" in Kunza... 

 See All 17 Off The Beaten Path in San Pedro de Atacama

13.

Palermo's Park   Buenos Aires

Palermo's Park, Buenos Aires

 8 Reviews  If you feel tired of the city and want to see a green space, then Los Bosques de Palermo is a good place. They are located 15 minutes away from downtown and they get packed with locals, mostly at the... 

 See All 224 Off The Beaten Path in Buenos Aires

14.

Street Markets   Rio de Janeiro

Street Markets, Rio de Janeiro

 5 Reviews  The smell and colour of the fruit and vegetables, the relaxed atmosphere, make the market a good place for anyone wishing to get to know the profusion and variety of the ingredients at close... even... 

 See All 287 Off The Beaten Path in Rio de Janeiro

15.

Tiete river banks and other parks   São Paulo

Tiete river banks and other parks, São Paulo

 11 Reviews  The Tiete River bank Park is great - wonderful trails, good picnic and barbecue areas, there is even row boats for rental. However, the Tiete River is very polluted and during hot, dry periods the... 

 See All 63 Off The Beaten Path in São Paulo

16.

Las Salinas de Maras   Cusco

Las Salinas de Maras, Cusco

 4 Reviews   This was definitely one of the more bizarre sights we saw on our trip to the Sacred Valley! A huge salt mine carved out of the hillside, with terrace after terrace of mini salt-pans spread out in... 

 See All 78 Off The Beaten Path in Cusco

17.

Chapada Diamantina   Salvador da Bahia

Chapada Diamantina, Salvador da Bahia

 2 Reviews  The Chapada Diamantina National Park is unique with its wonderful landascapes, waterfalls, canyons, natural swimming pools... Culture and Ecotourism in the Vale do Capao : Many tourists are going to... 

 See All 46 Off The Beaten Path in Salvador da Bahia

18.

Avila National Park   Caracas

Avila National Park, Caracas

 2 Reviews  Best destinations : Level of training, none: Quebrada Quintero ( take the right instead of the left when you get to the path that takes to Sabasnieves). This place is one of my favorites since... 

 See All 36 Off The Beaten Path in Caracas

19.

Ruins   Machu Picchu

Ruins, Machu Picchu

 13 Reviews  We can upon these impressive ruins which were only rediscovered in 1941 enroute to the Sun gate as you can see from my photo restoration work in going on using techniques which are as ancient as the... 

 See All 41 Off The Beaten Path in Machu Picchu

20.

Presidente Figueiredo   Manaus

Presidente Figueiredo, Manaus

 3 Reviews  This is a pretty cool place if you are looking for a relaxing trek/picnic. Plan on spending the whole day here, not just a few hours. Its best to drive to PF in the morning. Its a beautiful scenic... 

 See All 13 Off The Beaten Path in Manaus

21.

Nearer and farer Surroundings   La Paz

Nearer and farer Surroundings, La Paz

 14 Reviews  Chacaltaya mountain around 5400 m, 1-2 hrs drive from la paz. They say it was a bolivian skiing RESORT. I was skiing there 2 years ago. There was not too much of it beacuse even during the season (... 

 See All 32 Off The Beaten Path in La Paz

22.

Moon Valley   San Pedro de Atacama

Moon Valley, San Pedro de Atacama

 1 Review  Beware ! There are a few South American countries with Valle de la luna's (Moon Valley) on their maps. I have to say that the Valle de la luna in Argentina near San Juan is the best. Everyone in San... 

 See All 17 Off The Beaten Path in San Pedro de Atacama

23.

National Fine Arts Museum   Buenos Aires

National Fine Arts Museum, Buenos Aires

 3 Reviews  I went to Malba and the Museo de Bellas Artes. Bellas Artes was far superior to Malba, so if you can't make it to both, go to the B.A. There is so much to see you will need at least a couple of hours.... 

 See All 224 Off The Beaten Path in Buenos Aires

24.

Favelas   Rio de Janeiro

Favelas, Rio de Janeiro

 6 Reviews  Many people are often hesitant to do a "tour" in the favelas thinking that they will leave the people who live there feeling like zoo animals or a tourist attraction, but I can promise you that we do... 

 See All 287 Off The Beaten Path in Rio de Janeiro

25.

Petar caves   São Paulo

Petar caves, São Paulo

 5 Reviews  Petar trip group,some of these friends are in the geology school in my university,what made them a real guides (oops,it was their first time there as well!!) This picture was taken inthe exit of " DO... 

 See All 63 Off The Beaten Path in São Paulo

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Reviews from VirtualTourist Members

Fireland: a great museum of whale-bones

by globetrott

Museo Acatushun de Aves y Mamiferos Marinos Australes is the full name of a small museum in Estancia Haberton / Fireland, where you will see a large collection of whale-bones inside and outside of the building. It is a walk of 10-15 minutes to get there by foot from the ship and you normally will have enough time to go there and take a look at least at the whalebones that are displayed OUTside of the building.Museo Acatushun is where you enter the farm-area, when arriving by car, in a distance of maybe 1500 meters from the main farmbuilding / restaurant of Estancia Haberton.The entrance to the garden of the farmbuilding is also decorated by a gate made of whale-bones, see it in my last picture !

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Fireland: Puerto Haberton

by globetrott

Estancia Haberton & the first white settlers in FirelandEstancia Haberton was the first settlement of the europeans in Tierra del Fuego / Fireland. It is still a farm today and includes a great museum of whale-bones, a good restaurant and a lot more ! Haberton is also a great daytrip from Ushuaia: take the boat or drive there by car, in both cases you will almost need a whole day to explore everything there.A day in Haberton takes you back into the past, as in this place it seems they did not thrown away anything, but kept it for spare-parts or what-ever and so you can still see old washingmachines, a sawmill, various cars, trucks and boats - read more about in my Haberton-page !

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Fireland: San Pablo & the wreck of the Desdemona

by globetrott

San Pablo is a really tiny village at the Atlantic Coast of Tierra del Fuego / Fireland. The wreck of Desdemona is more or less the only sight in San Pablo, that is not even a village, but rather a few houses and an old motel, that is not used anymore and most of its windows are broken.You will see the ships-wreck of the Desdemona already a long time in the distance, but it takes some time,until you will find the best path to get there. In any case you have to walk the last 200 meters on the beach, through the muddy ground, but it was worth it.See the size of that ship, when you click on my last pic and see my brother with his video-camera in comparison with the ship !When driving along the dust-road to San Pablo you will see a great and scenic landscape, with several narrow brooks, wild sheep and cows and even some guanakos - and when you are lucky you will not meet them, while they are...

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Fireland: Misión Salesiana de Santo Domingo

by globetrott

Misión Salesiana de Santo Domingo is a small village in the north of Rio Grande and it was there, where the first monks from Europe started to build a mission and teach the locals how to improove agriculture.Nowadays the Misión Salesiana de Santo Domingo is at one side a national monument and at the other hand it is still a well-known school for agriculture and while we were walking around the mission we saw quite a lot of pupils of all ages there, a part of them was riding on horses close to the school and we could hear some others in the classrooms. The founder of the salesianer-monchs, Don Bosco from Torino / Italy, can be seen on top of the school-entrance Dont miss to take a look inside the small church of the mission, it dates back to the year 1898 and it has an interesting interior. You can enter it freely and without restrictions, you just have to find the right entrance of the...

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Argentina: Montes Martial, a glacier in Ushuaia

by globetrott

Montes Martial is a glacier high above the town of Ushuaia, the southernmost town on earth. You can take the bus up there or you drive in your own car, it is a drive of just a few minutes and you will be able to touch snow and take a little walk and of course you will also have an excellent view of the bay of Ushuaia and its surrounding mountains.There is a great mountain-restaurant as well, we had an excellent vegetable-soup there.

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Argentina: Isla Martillo, a penguin-island

by globetrott

Penguins are the main attraction of Isla Martillo, a small island in the Beaglechannel, rather close to Puerto Willimas and Haberton.In case that you would like to walk around Isla Martillo you have to take one of the organized bustours from Ushuaia, BUT ask there as well, how long you will be allowed to stay on the island.I just saw it from some distance, from the catamaran going to Haberton and there also were not a lot of penguins at this place at the beginning of November. November is their breedingtime and the chicks will be there from December onwards.There are 2 possibilities to take a look at Isla Martillo:1) Take a fulldaytrip to Estancia Haberton by ship from Ushuaia and Isla Martillo is a place, that you will visit on the way to Haberton. The ships are not leaving daily, but 2-3 times a week and mostly 2 different shipping-companies will start at 09.30am in Ushuaia. You will...

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Carmelo and the Nandu...

by pepples46

at the beautiful Rio Tigre in Uruguay, can be reached by boat from Buenos Aires or from Rio Grande do Sul City of Quarai or Urugaiana on a very idylic river cruise.Carmelo is know for its Nandu Nurseries and lovely setting at the River, a quite Town to set back and relax.the Nandu is the smalles species from the Family of Oistiches and Emus, the fightles birds. the Male looks after the offspring, while Mum goes of for more exiting times.

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beaches in uruguay

by rkearns

i have not traveled within uruguay besides by bus from buenos aires to florianopolis in brazil. the buses are very comfortable, equipped with a/c and a bathroom. you should have no problems with your baby girl. 4 hrs. is not too much time and most of the time, in my experience, there are other youngsters on the bus. as far as uruguay beaches go, here's an article on two distinctly different beaches within reach from montevideo:http://www.myworldsouthamerica.com/uruguay-punta-cabo-polonio.htmlthey both have a different feel. see what works. cabo sounds more interesting to me, being more isolated and colonial, but to each his own. they are two hrs. apart by car.

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Volunteer work in the Amazon

by Nelven

One of the best options I've seen for volunteering in South America is this one: www.peacevillages.org . They are the direct recepients of the help. No finders fees or middlemen. They've been there for many years, are well organized, have various accomodations and plans. You volunteer whatever you know how to do. The longer you stay the better the price for accomodations.Cheers!Nelson

From Venezuela to Guyana

by cochinjew

If you can get to Puerto Ordaz ( the old ciudad Guyana) from Caraccas, then you have the choice of begining your journey in Barrancas or Tucupita or Curiapo. I know that you can hitch a ride on a boat going to Guyana from Barrancas and certainly from Curiapo. No scheduled service, and the ride is rough, through the orinoco delta and then on to open seas to the guyanese coast. from there by bus to Georgetown.Alternatively, fly into Puerto Ordaz from Caracas, just a short one hour ride from Caracas and you can connect with international flights into Caracas, aeropostal is one of the airlines plying that route. from there you can take a bus or get a ride to Santa Elena de Uiren, through some delightful scenery of Tepuis, and various Indian tribes. At Santa Elena Uiren, make sure that you have a visa to Brasil and also Yellow Fever certificate, otherwise Brasilian authorities will turn you...

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Off The Beaten Path: Cities in South America
  1. Buenos Aires Off The Beaten Path
  2. Rio de Janeiro Off The Beaten Path
  3. Lima Off The Beaten Path
  4. São Paulo Off The Beaten Path
  5. Cusco Off The Beaten Path
  6. Santiago Off The Beaten Path
  7. Bogotá Off The Beaten Path
  8. Salvador da Bahia Off The Beaten Path
  9. Quito Off The Beaten Path
  10. Machu Picchu Off The Beaten Path
  11. Caracas Off The Beaten Path
  12. Montevideo Off The Beaten Path
  13. Cartagena Off The Beaten Path
  14. Manaus Off The Beaten Path
  15. La Paz Off The Beaten Path
  16. Fortaleza Off The Beaten Path
  17. Mendoza Off The Beaten Path
  18. Ushuaia Off The Beaten Path
  19. San Pedro de Atacama Off The Beaten Path
  20. Foz do Iguaçu Off The Beaten Path
  21. Isla Margarita Off The Beaten Path
  22. Cali Off The Beaten Path
  23. San Carlos de Bariloche Off The Beaten Path
  24. El Calafate Off The Beaten Path
  25. Puerto Iguazú Off The Beaten Path
  26. Arequipa Off The Beaten Path
  27. Valparaíso Off The Beaten Path
  28. Cuenca Off The Beaten Path
  29. Florianópolis Off The Beaten Path
  30. Isla Margarita Off The Beaten Path
  31. Santa Marta Off The Beaten Path
  32. Curitiba Off The Beaten Path
  33. Parati Off The Beaten Path
  34. Colonia del Sacramento Off The Beaten Path
  35. Punta del Este Off The Beaten Path
  36. Natal Off The Beaten Path
  37. Recife Off The Beaten Path
  38. Punta Arenas Off The Beaten Path
  39. Barranquilla Off The Beaten Path
  40. Porto Alegre Off The Beaten Path
  41. Isla de San Andrés Off The Beaten Path
  42. Guayaquil Off The Beaten Path
  43. Viña del Mar Off The Beaten Path
  44. Medellín Off The Beaten Path
  45. Bùzios Off The Beaten Path
  46. Uyuni Off The Beaten Path
  47. Puerto Natales Off The Beaten Path
  48. Puerto Montt Off The Beaten Path
  49. Iquitos Off The Beaten Path
  50. Ilha Grande Off The Beaten Path

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Popular Countries in South America

Brazil Off The Beaten Path  Argentina Off The Beaten Path  Peru Off The Beaten Path  Colombia Off The Beaten Path  Chile Off The Beaten Path  Ecuador Off The Beaten Path  Venezuela Off The Beaten Path  Uruguay Off The Beaten Path  Bolivia Off The Beaten Path  Paraguay Off The Beaten Path  Suriname Off The Beaten Path  Guyana Off The Beaten Path  Falkland Islands Off The Beaten Path  French Guiana Off The Beaten Path 

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Questions and Answers

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Q:  Hi there. I'm to plan a 14 day trip and it's proving to be difficult. There's so much to see and so little time! Thank you in... 

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A: You can go to Osorno by train and bus and from there take the 30 hours bus ride through Argentine Patagonia to Punta Arenas (you'll see the most beautiful mountains... 

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