Introduction to South America - The Rough Guide to South America on a Budget - page 5

Where to go
Due to its vast size, Brazil alone could occupy several months of travel, though
many pan-continental itineraries also begin or end with Rio de Janeiro , one of
South America's most alluring cities: with the world's most exuberant carnival,
hip nightlife, trend-setting beaches and that mesmerizing skyline, it's hard to beat.
South of Rio lie the wealthier parts of the country, from the colonial elegance of
Paraty , the sprawling business and cultural hub of São Paulo and awe-inspiring
Iguaçu Falls (also accessible from Argentina and Uruguay), to the golden beaches
of Florianópolis and backpacker-friendly Ilha do Mel . Heading towards Uruguay,
Porto Alegre is the home of belt-busting Brazilian churrasco (barbecue). In Northeast
Brazil, the easy-going city of Salvador is one of the most energetic in the country
and the home of tropical beaches and Afro-Brazilian culture. The interior of Brazil
contains the enchanting colonial heartland of Minas Gerais , the unfairly maligned
Modernist capital of Brasília and ultimately the Amazonian Basin , an unimaginably
vast region of rivers and rainforest, rich in wildlife, best accessed from Belém or
Manaus. It's possible to travel by boat from the mouth of the Amazon all the way
to Peru, a spell-binding adventure.
Trips to Chile and Argentina are easily combined, often beginning with grand old
Buenos Aires , Argentina's capital and the ravishing city of Evita, tango, Borges and
Boca Juniors. To the west sits Mendoza , centre of Argentina's ever-improving wine
regions, while across the pampas to the south lies Patagonia , divided from its
Chilean counterpart by the jagged peaks of the Andes. Slicing between the two
countries are mind-boggling glaciers and ice-fields, shimmering mountain lakes,
volcanoes and activity-based mountain towns, from Bariloche and the trekking centre
of El Chaltén in Argentina, to Pucón and Puerto Natales across the Chilean border
- the latter is the gateway to the jaw-dropping Parque Nacional Torres del Paine .
hese days Tierra del Fuego is more a land of penguins, sea lions and flamingos than
a “land of fire”, and is also split between the two countries, with isolated Ushuaia in
Argentina the world's southernmost city. North of Chile's capital, Santiago , and the
elegantly faded port city of Valparaíso , the Atacama Desert provides a dramatic,
witheringly beautiful contrast. The sandy beaches of Arica in northern Chile make
a pleasant stop en route to Peru or Bolivia.
Sandwiched between Argentina and Brazil, and easily tacked on to a trip to either,
Paraguay and Uruguay lack major showstoppers, though landlocked Paraguay's Jesuit
ruins and national parks offer a glimpse of a South America untrammelled by the
twenty-first century. While adventure tourists may not flock to Uruguay, its relaxed,
cultured capital Montevideo (an easy day-trip from Buenos Aires) sports crumbling
churches and enlightening museums. Punta del Este 's upmarket beach resorts
are only a couple of hours from here and are worth checking out, if only briefly,
by those on a budget.
RIGHT FROM TOP VALPARAÍSO, CHILE; BRAZILIAN FOOTBALL TEAM