Central & South America attractions

The world’s most extensive collection of Costa Rican artwork is housed in this Spanish-style building, which served as San Jose’s main airport terminal until 1955. With a permanent collection of more than 6,000 pieces, the Costa Rican Art Museum (Museo de Arte Costarricense) is among the country’s top destinations for art lovers.

Plunging from high-altitude La Paz to the lush forest of the Yungas region, the North Yungas Road—often called Death Road—is a dramatic downhill route through constantly changing scenery. Popular as a bike tour, the road has an elevation loss of more than 11,800 feet (3,600 meters) between La Cumbre Pass and the lowland town of Coroico.

Located across the Río de la Plata from Buenos Aires, Montevideo Cruise Port (Puerto de Montevideo) is Uruguay’s largest cruise port. A popular stop for large cruise liners touring South America, the port also welcomes regular ferries from neighboring Argentina.

Perched atop El Calafate’s nearest peak, with access to a vast stretch of snow-blanketed slopes and rugged mountain trails, Calafate Mountain Park offers a host of adventures. Skiing, tubing, snowshoeing, and snowmobiling can be done in winter while hiking, mountain biking, and kayaking in summer.

On the banks of the Mendoza River and surrounded by the rugged peaks of the Andes Mountains, the Cacheuta Thermal Spa (Termas Cacheuta) offers a picturesque setting for a spa retreat. Fed by natural hot springs, the spa features various thermal baths and hydrotherapy pools, along with mud baths, saunas, and spa treatments.

Presiding over Cathedral Square (Plaza de la Catedral) in the Old Town (Casco Viejo), the Metropolitan Cathedral is one of Panama City’s most significant religious buildings and a striking landmark. Constructed between 1688 and 1796, the cathedral’s conglomeration of neoclassical, baroque, and Renaissance architectural styles has been painstakingly restored in recent years and remains a working church.

Immerse yourself in an evening of Uruguayan culture, music, dance, and cuisine at El Milongón, one of Montevideo’s most romantic performance venues. At this intimate theater, singers, dancers, and musicians perform several diverse styles of music and dance, including tango, milonga, Afro-Montevideo candombe, folklore.

Perched on the tip of the Nicoya Peninsula, Cabo Blanco Absolute Natural Reserve is considered one of Costa Rica’s first natural reserves, and thus spurred a trend that resulted in more than 30 national parks and reserves. Inside the park, you can explore lush forests and white-sand beaches, and go on the lookout for exoitc wildlife on a hike.

The Roatán Butterfly Garden provides an oasis for tropical plants, parrots, and, of course, beautiful butterflies. The 2,992-square-foot (278-square-meter) walk-through enclosure features some 30 types of rare butterflies, as well as colorful birds and plants native to Honduras.

Stretching for 607 square-miles (977 square-kilometers) from the Southern Patagonian Ice Field to the western shores of Viedma Lake, Viedma Glacier is Argentina’s largest glacier. As the centrepiece of the UNESCO-listed Los Glaciares National Park, the glacier features towering icebergs and jagged ice cliffs.

Easily accessible Metropolitan National Park (Parque Natural Metropolitano) ranks as one of Latin America's only municipal wildlife reserves, encompassing 573 acres (232 hectares) in the heart of the city. Though not exactly pristine—it was a key staging area during the 1989 US invasion—it remains a remarkably well-preserved dry tropical forest, one of the world's most threatened biomes.

Home to some of the last remaining Chilean Wine Palm trees, La Campana National Park encompasses more than 17,000 acres (6,879 hectares) of settlement ruins and hiking trails. Charles Darwin himself paid the UNESCO-listed biosphere reserve a visit in 1834 and hiked to the top of the scenic hill that gave the park its name.

The Rio Negro (Black River) is not only the largest tributary of the great Amazon River, it’s also the largest blackwater river in the world. Its color—a hue akin to a strong tea—comes from high concentrations of humic acid. Despite that, the river supports more than 700 kinds of fish, making it a rich resource for the Indigenous communities who have lived along its banks for centuries.

Jagged snow-covered cliffs and dense woodlands unfold along the hike to the Huemul Glacier, named after the rare huemul deer often spotted in the area. Looking out over the Lake of the Desert (Lago del Desierto), it’s one of the most accessible glaciers in El Chaltén village and a popular Patagonian hike.

Proyecto Asis is a wildlife rescue center focused on the protection and rehabilitation of native animals. Visitors can tour the facilities, take Spanish classes, or volunteer to help care for the animals, whose natural habitats are often threatened by expanding development in the region.

El Prado is an affluent residential neighborhood in the north of Montevideo with tree-lined streets filled with historic homes including Residencia de Suarez (the presidential residence), and the peaceful Parque El Prado, the city’s main green space where a creek runs through grassy fields and a botanical garden grows over 1,000 plant species.

Discover the fascinating world of paleontology at the Museum of Paleontology Egidio Feruglio (MEF) in Trelew, Argentina. Dedicated to studying and exhibiting ancient life, MEF boasts a rich collection that spans millions of years. The museum takes visitors on an archeological adventure from towering dinosaurs to marine reptiles.

Perched at the mouth of the Panama Canal, Punta Culebra Nature Center introduces visitors of all ages to the country’s vibrant biodiversity. You'll encounter bright frogs, colorful fishes, sloths, and other wildlife at its indoor-outdoor exhibits. Highlights include aquariums and two short walking trails through a dry tropical forest.

Otto Hill (Cerro Otto) is a mountain that stands on the outskirts of Bariloche. With several activities and attractions in addition to the cable car ride up, sweeping vistas, and 360-degree revolving mountaintop restaurant—the only one of its kind in Argentina—Otto has turned what was formerly just a lookout point into a tourism center.

Nestled in the heart of Sao Paulo, Allianz Parque (Palestra Italia Arena) is a vibrant stadium for entertainment and sports enthusiasts. As one of Brazil’s largest and most modern multipurpose spaces, it’s home to thrilling football matches, concerts by global artists, and many events; this iconic venue guarantees excitement for all.

The pre-Columbian Pukará de Quitor National Monument overlooks the fertile Río San Pedro valley from atop a strategic bluff. Its serpentine rows of thick, stone walls defended the verdant oasis since around AD 1100. Today, the fortress's impressive architecture and historic significance make it one of Chile's most important archaeological sites.

Situated at the southern edge of Quito’s Old Town, Santo Domingo Plaza (Plaza de Santo Domingo) sits beneath the shadow of the 17th-century domed Iglesia de Santo Domingo. A statue of Ecuadorean hero Antonio José de Sucre stands in the middle of the plaza, pointing toward the spot where the battle for independence was won in 1822.

Take a journey to Chile’s ghost towns, the Humberstone and Santa Laura Saltpeter Works. These UNESCO World Heritage sites are remnants of the saltpeter mining era, and offer a glimpse into Chile’s industrial past. You can wander through the well-preserved buildings and uncover the stories of the hardworking people who once called these towns home.

Spanning 345 acres (140 hectares), Inhotim (Inhotim Institute) is an open-air contemporary art museum and one of the highlights of Brazil’s Minas Gerais state. Almost 2,000 modern works are scattered throughout the sprawling botanical garden, home to thousands of flora species from every continent in the world.

Constructed in 1904, long before Google Earth, this huge 3-dimensional outdoor map of Guatemala offers a grand-scale viewpoint of the mountainous country from above. A family-friendly attraction, Mapa en Relieve contains all the country’s volcanoes, rivers and lakes (some with running water), as well as its cities, roads, bridges, and railroad tracks.

At Bolivia’s National Museum of Archaeology (Museo Nacional de Arqueología), visitors can view artifacts dating back as far as 1500 BC and trace the history of the landlocked country’s indigenous tribes and cultures. Located in central La Paz, the archaeology museum offers an insightful look into the mystifying relics of Bolivia’s past.

Tree-shaded walking paths, sports fields, and family-friendly fun draw San José locals to the 178-acre (72-hectare) La Sabana Park, the city’s biggest urban green space. It’s a great place to get outdoors, with opportunities to enjoy a public pool, a skating rink, and children’s play areas—there’s even an onsite ice cream parlor.

The San Francisco Church in Salta, Argentina, dates to the early 1600s. The church showcases architectural flourishes across time, from the clock tower to the Baroque-style facade. A small museum with an art collection and an on-site library featuring rare manuscripts also draw visitors. Come at sunset to see this National Historic Monument light up.

Reigning supreme over Cali from its hilltop perch, the Sebastian de Belalcázar Statue is one of the city’s most iconic landmarks. Erected in honor of the Spanish conquistador who founded the city in 1536, the statue depicts Belalcázar leaning on his sword and pointing towards the ocean as he admires Cali spread out below.

There's no shortage of beautiful beaches in Brazil, but Fora Beach (Praia de Fora) ranks among the best. One of six gorgeous stretches of sand connected by trails in the small fishing village of Trinidade outside Paraty, Fora is the ideal spot to sunbathe, swim, and while away the day.