South America Things to Do

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Most Viewed Things to Do in South America

1.

La Boca   Buenos Aires

La Boca, Buenos Aires

 154 Reviews  This is the classic place that all the tourists flock to. The buildings are tiny and thin, painted in odd, bright colors, seemingly randomly selected. The story is that this area, being by the docks... 

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2.

Christ The Redeemer, Corcovado   Rio de Janeiro

Christ The Redeemer, Corcovado, Rio de Janeiro

 201 Reviews  As you stand at the feet of the Christ, you will be able to pick out other city landmarks such as Copacabana beach and the world-famous Maracana football stadium. Standing with outstretched arms,... 

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3.

District Of Miraflores   Lima

District Of Miraflores, Lima

 45 Reviews  Want to shop for things Peruvian or eat your lunch or dinner with a spectacular view? Larcomar is a shopping presinct designed to fit into the cliffs of Miraflores. From the street all you see is a... 

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4.

Parque Ibirapuera   São Paulo

Parque Ibirapuera, São Paulo

 34 Reviews  Designed in 1954, but built only in 2005, Auditório Ibirapuera is the work of the famous architect Oscar Niemeyer. The ultra-modern music hall is considered one of the best venues for concerts in São... 

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5.

Sacsayhuaman   Cusco

Sacsayhuaman, Cusco

 62 Reviews  Sacsayhuamán is a walled complex on the northern outskirts of the city of Cusco. The complex is typically Inca. The cut boulders are massive and fit tightly together without the aid of... 

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6.

Cerro San Cristobal   Santiago

Cerro San Cristobal, Santiago

 32 Reviews  Cerro San Cristóbal is a hill in northern Santiago. It is 880 meters above sea level therefore about 300 meters over Santiago. It was named after St Christopher by the Spanish conquistadors because of... 

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7.

La Candelaria and Downtown   Bogotá

La Candelaria and Downtown, Bogotá

 60 Reviews  For anyone interested in art, Museo Botero has to be very top of the list of things to do in Bogotá. The magnificent 208-piece collection was donated by the famous Colombian artist Fernando Botero... 

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8.

Churches   Salvador da Bahia

Churches, Salvador da Bahia

 26 Reviews   We went for a long walk in the historical district and passed a few of Salvador's many churches. But only a few of them… It is said that Salvador has 365 churches - one for each day of the... 

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9.

Colonial Quito   Quito

Colonial Quito, Quito

 169 Reviews  Construction of La Merced started in 1701 and the church was inaugurated in 1747. There had been an earlier church at the same site, but it was destroyed in an earthquake in 1660. Beside La Merced... 

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10.

Huayna Picchu   Machu Picchu

Huayna Picchu, Machu Picchu

 39 Reviews  You will have to climb for a very narrow path, it will take you 45 minutes to 1 ½ hour to complete it and you will arrive to a plce where you will see and amazing landscape of Machu Picchu Citadel, it... 

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11.

Avila National Park   Caracas

Avila National Park, Caracas

 15 Reviews  Once in Caracas, you must go to Mariperez, where Avila M?gica (cable car station) its located. Go Up must take around 15 minutes, Will enjoy the view from the city while the car its going up. Dont... 

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12.

Things to see walking around   Montevideo

Things to see walking around, Montevideo

 30 Reviews  The City was once protected by walls and a large fortress. Here at the western edge of Plaza Independecia is the one remant of the colonial citadel – razed in 1833. You can also get a feeling for the... 

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13.

Take a trip along the river,...   Manaus

Take a trip along the river,..., Manaus

 29 Reviews  We had a nice tour with Amazon Backpackers. We left Manaus with a comfortable boat to the Meeting of the Waters, where 2 river flow together to build the Amazon River. Then we visit a kind of floating... 

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14.

Valle De La Luna   La Paz

Valle De La Luna, La Paz

 15 Reviews  This is one of the most amazing geological features I have seen. It ranks with the Fairy Chimneys of Cappodocia and Bryce Canyon (USA). Valley of the Moon is close to the centre of La Paz - only 7km... 

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15.

Death Valley   San Pedro de Atacama

Death Valley, San Pedro de Atacama

 9 Reviews  I enjoyed this place so much I visited there 3 times: once for hiking, once on horseback and once for sandboarding. Most agencies will organize a hike of this place along with the tour for Valle de La... 

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16.

Beaches   Recife

Beaches, Recife

 12 Reviews  A good option to visit Recife is to take a boat tour along Capibaribe river. "Catamaran Tours" offers a few options of tours. "Rio Capibaribe e suas pontes" (Capibaribe River and its bridges),... 

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17.

Old City   Cartagena

Old City, Cartagena

 1 Review  The old city is encircled by walls that are 12 foot in height. Inside you willl find restaurants, a plaza with a statue of Simon Bolivar the liberator. You will also see beautiful flowers hanging over... 

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18.

Diving and Snorkeling   Galápagos Islands

Diving and Snorkeling, Galápagos Islands

 47 Reviews  The snorkeling along the edge of the lava flow at Sullivan Bay was excellent and we stayed in the water for 1.5 hours. We visited several great snorkeling locations during the cruise with M/S... 

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19.

Recoleta   Buenos Aires

Recoleta, Buenos Aires

 196 Reviews  Feria Artesanal de la Recoleta features top quality crafts. It takes place in Plaza Francia and has become the city's largest fair, completely taking over all the walkways in the area. Even the... 

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20.

Sugar Loaf - Pão de Açucar   Rio de Janeiro

Sugar Loaf - Pão de Açucar, Rio de Janeiro

 163 Reviews  It may be more than a little touristy, but there´s many a good reason why visitors flock to take the cable car ride up to the top of Sugar Loaf mountain. Rising sheer out of the ocean and towering... 

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21.

San Francisco Church And Convent   Lima

San Francisco Church And Convent, Lima

 60 Reviews  The church and monastery of Saint Francis were consecrated in 1673 and completed in 1774. The church, built in the Spanish Baroque style, survived earthquakes in 1687 and1746 but was extensively... 

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22.

Beaches   São Paulo

Beaches, São Paulo

 10 Reviews  Santos is a very interesting place that I got to go 2 when I went to Brasil. Not too far from Sao Paulo and recommended if you can't make it 2 Rio (which I couldn't). Pros: Shopping areas close by,... 

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23.

Machu Picchu   Cusco

Machu Picchu, Cusco

 30 Reviews  If you choose not to trek to Machu Picchu the train from Ollantaytambo is the next best choice. Peru Rail offers a number of daily departures and three standards of travel - Backpackers has standard... 

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24.

Plaza de Armas   Santiago

Plaza de Armas, Santiago

 33 Reviews  The Plaza de Armas or city square has the same points of interest as Plazas de Armas world wide - it is the goverment and justice centre and the centre for worship. In Santiago this one of the few... 

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25.

Monserrate   Bogotá

Monserrate, Bogotá

 25 Reviews  Cerro de Monserrate is the main symbol of Bogotá. This peak of 3.160m is a famous religious site though many come for its spectacular view. On the top of the mountain is a church with a statue of the... 

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Reviews from VirtualTourist Members

Brazil

by traveldave

Official Name: Federative Republic of Brazil; Land Area: 3,286,478 square miles (8,512,000 square kilometers); Population: 203,429,773; Capital: Brasilia; Largest City: Sao PauloRio de Janeiro's most prominent landmark is Christ the Redeemer statue, which is situated at the summit of 2,340-foot (713-meter) Corcovado Peak. In fact, the statue has become an iconic symbol of not only Rio de Janeiro, but of Brazil as a whole.Made of reinforced concrete and soapstone, the 635-ton (576,062-kilogram) statue was constructed between 1922 and 1931. It was designed by Brazilian engineer Heitor da Silva and sculpted by French sculptor Paul Landowski. Christ the Redeemer is considered to be the largest art deco statue in the world. It is 130 feet (40 meters) tall, including its base, and the arms stretch 98 feet (30 meters).The peak can be reached by taking the two-and-a-half-mile (four-kilometer)...

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Colombia

by traveldave

Official Name: Republic of Colombia; Land Area: 439,735 square miles (1,138,910 square kilometers); Population: 44,725,543; Capital: Bogota; Largest City: BogotaThe area that would eventually become Bogota was first settled by the local Muiscas Indians, and their settlement, called Bacatá, was the center of their civilization. The Spanish, lured by gold, arrived in South America in the 1500s to establish colonies. In 1538, a Spanish settlement was founded by Gonzálo Jiménez de Quesada on the site of the former Muiscas settlement. The new Spanish settlement was called Santa Fé de Bacatá. (Santa Fé was the town in Spain that Jiménez was from). Eventually, Bacatá was corrupted to Bogota, and its official name became Santa Fé de Bogota.Bogota was elevated to the capital of the New Kingdom of Granada, which was part of the Viceroyalty of Peru at the time. Later it became the capital of the...

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Peru

by traveldave

Official Name: Republic of Peru; Land Area: 496,200 square miles (1,285,000 square kilometers); Population: 29,248,943; Capital: Lima; Largest City: LimaOne of the most recognizable sites in the world is Machu Picchu, which is the highlight for most visitors who travel to Peru. Machu Picchu, Quechua for "Ancient Peak," was the only Inca city not discovered by the Spanish during their conquest of Peru. This fact has given rise to the phrase "Lost City of the Incas" to describe the site. It probably escaped detection due to its inaccessible location on a narrow ridge thousands of feet above the Urubamba River. In fact, even today it is not visible to visitors until they arrive right at the top of the mountain.Machu Picchu sits on a narrow saddle between the peaks of Machu Picchu and Huayna Picchu at an elevation of 7,970 feet (2,430 meters). It is 1,480 feet (451 meters) above the Urubamba...

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Ecuador

by traveldave

Official Name: Republic of Ecuador; Land Area: 109,483 square miles (283,560 square kilometers); Population: 15,007,343; Capital: Quito; Largest City: GuayaquilPlaza de la Indepencia, also known as Plaza Grande, is the heart of colonial Old Town Quito. When the Spanish colonial city was built on the ruins of the former Inca city in 1535, the plaza was designed to be the hub from which the new city was to spread. Most of the most important buildings of the Spanish colonial period surround the plaza, including the Government Palace, the Metropolitan Cathedral of Quito, the municipal buildings, the Arobispal Palace, and the Casa de Alcade. The large monument in the center of the plaza honors those heroes who fought for Ecuador's independence from Spain.Nowadays, Plaza de la Indepencia is the lively focal point of Old Town Quito, with Sunday strollers, street vendors, and tourists. And any...

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Dont go stamp collecting while Travelling..

by cochinjew

we dont have much time, but we want to see as much as we can... writes the OPto be realistic forget Santiago de Chile.. Arrive in BA, enjoy BA, as suggested take a domestic flight to Puerto Iguazu on argentine side, stay on the argentine but visit both sides, then take a domestic flight from foz to Rio and spend the time there. in this way, you can have a SENSE of having visited the three places..It may be different for others, but it took me 10 different visits of one week each before I could say I have been to BA and know BA.. I have a good sense of Iguassu, having been there nearly that many times but Rio, I have been only twice and have only a superficial view of the place.. But if you have only two weeks, try to limit yourself to BA Falls and Rio..

Salar De Uyuni Trip

by dalmatiana

Me and my friend went for Estrella del Sur agency and booked a 3-day-trip through Uyuni to the Chilean border (well when you sum it up it less than 48 hours, but you start at 10-11am on the 1st day and arrive at the border early on the 3rd day).The agency had mixed reviews, but as we heard every agency received some bad comments...its a luck of the draw i suppose. as far as our trip is concerned, we had a friendly driver who took good care of us, helped us take cool photos in the desert and cooked for us. we were 6 in the toyota 4WD and we slept as a group in a dorm on both nights.the only trouble we had was a tyre breaking down in the middle of nowhere and again engine giving us trouble, but it worked out in the end - it all adds to the adventure!all in all, it was a great experience, perhaps even a highlight of our 4-month-trip on the continent. i hope the othes are as lucky!p.s. - it...

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The old prison & Maritime museum

by globetrott

The old prison is one of the major sights of Ushuaia, you will see the cells of the prisoners and many background-stories about the people who had been in prison there. The original prison-train is shown in the innercourt of the museum, dont miss that, there is a great locomovil as well.There is a Maritime museum as well in that building.The old prison & Maritime museum is open for visitors:April to October open daily: 10.00am - 8.00pmNovember to March open daily: 9.00am - 8.00pm LAST ADMISSION is at 07.30pm The Museum is OPEN EVERY DAY except on Christmas Day, New Year's Day and public holiday.ADMISSION PRICES :General Entrance A$70 Foreign Students A$40 Family Ticket A$150

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Santiago de Chile: Museo Colonial San Francisco

by globetrott

When you are visiting Santiago de Chile, dont miss to take a look inside this great museum: Museo Colonial San Francisco was built inside the former franciscan monastery next to Eglesia San Francisco and it is really worth seeing ! The museum is divided into several rooms and you will enter each of them through a different door from the monastery-garden. In the first one photography was not forbidden, while in the other ones sign-posts at the entrance clearly said : No photography. So you will see in my photographs only the best exhibits from this first room, the other rooms are similar !Museo Colonial San Francisco is open for visitorsdaily except Monday from 10am - 01.30pm & 03 - 06pmsundays & holidays between 10.00am and 02.00pmentrancefee is 1000 $ (=2 euro)

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Cape Hoorn

by globetrott

I always had the feeling, that Cape Hoorn / Kap Hoorn is the very end of the southamerican continent, BUT in fact Cabo da Hornos / Cape Hoorne is quite a large island and in its southern part it ends with a steep rock that reminded me a lot of Gibraltar. This is also the side of the island, where the storms are quite heavy all the time, because the Atlantic streams and storms merge there with the ones from the Pacific. Over the last 5 centuries hundreds of ships sank there and thousands of sailors lost their lifes. At the same time there is almost NO wind at all in the northern part of the island, where the lighthouse, the flag of Chile and the monument of the Albetross are !We arrived at this rock early in the morning, the storm war really heavy and also quite cold, we had a local pilot onboard the ship Celebrity Infinity and as soon as we approached the lighthouse it got warmer and the...

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The Beagle Channel

by globetrott

Argentina & Chile:The Beagle-ChannelThe Beagle channel is one of the most important natural waterways in Tierra del Fuego and it was named after the ship "Beagle". There are a lot of small islands, where you will be able to watch seabirds, see-wolfs, seals, penguins and other interesting animals. A lot of ships are offering halfday and fullday-tours of the Beagle-channel,one of the highlights of such a tour is always "The lighthouse at the end of the world".Most tours are made by catamarans, that are able to get very close to the islands, so you are able to take perfect photographs !

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Fun things to do in South America

Top 3 Hotels in South America

The Glu Hotel  Buenos Aires

 1 Review and 223 Opinions  I was snookered by the website and photos. The hotel is not what is seems. Its located in Palermo,... 

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Copacabana Palace  Rio de Janeiro

 21 Reviews and 355 Opinions  A veritable Rio landmark, Copacabana Palace continues to enjoy a reputation as one of the most... 

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JW Marriott Hotel Lima  Lima

 7 Reviews and 251 Opinions  We did not stay here, but it was pointed out to us as the hotel used for some of the VIPs that came... 

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Reviews and photos of South America attractions posted by real travelers and locals. The best tips for South America sightseeing.

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

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Questions and Answers

EzzaK profile photo

Q:  Hi, I fly into Santiago at the end of the month; I am travelling through S. America for three months. Looking to see if my... 

glabah profile photo

A: > 5 days Iguassu Falls The amount of time you spend here depends on if you go to the Brazilian side, or what you like to do. There are a lot of hiking trails on the... 

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South America Members Meetings

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