gaper

This national park is hard to get to, but it is worth all the effort. It holds wonderful landscapes with a thousand shades of color, mountains that are snow-capped or not, lagoons, waterfalls, forest, pampa, the Grey Glacier... As if that were not enough, it is teeming with animals that are not afraid at all, dozens of bird species, skunks, foxes, condors, huemuls... and the list goes on! Magnificent park that you should not miss if you have the chance, but make sure to go with warm clothes!

Punta Arenas itself does not have many attractions, other than maybe its duty-free zone and the thrill of knowing you are almost at the end of the world. Starting from Punta Arenas, there are several natural parks you can visit that are more worth the trip, as well as Fuerte Bulnes, which is worth seeing for its history.

If you arrived from La Paz and the Andes, your time in Tarija will be a total change of scenery! The lifestyle is not the same at all, and actually, because of its proximity to Argentina and its history, Tarija could very easily have been part of Argentina, and you can really feel it! In Tarija, don't miss out on a good glass of wine on a terrace with a "parrilla," a grill of meat and offal. Worth the trip!

The Salar de Uyuni is very well known, pretty touristy, and for good reason! It is simply magnificent. Despite the fact that it is touristy, you can still perfectly enjoy the salt flats in total privacy. Above all, do not miss the sunrise while having breakfast in the middle of nowhere, lost on the immensity of salt!

La Paz is an incredible city in so many ways. First, its geographical location, as the highest capital in the world at over 4000m in some places. It starts in a basin and then climbs the hillsides to reach the Andean plateaus where it is now called El Alto. La Paz is a whirlwind of life, with cars, street vendors, and buses. It is busy, it is chaotic, with its markets, colors, and neighborhoods. Avoid it if you do not like the hustle and bustle, but everyone else should see it!

Aside from the pretty view of the lake (especially at sunset), Cerro Calvario seemed pointless to me, especially since it is excessively dirty (trash all along the climb), which doesn't even make the short walk enjoyable.

I do not know if it was because I had spent 3 months in the Altiplano without seeing a drop of water and eating potatoes that were more or less well preserved, but when I arrived in Copacabana, I felt a wave of well-being wash over me. Avoid the only tourist street, which does not have much that is authentic left, and prefer to go eat delicious and inexpensive trout on the edge of the lake in the little makeshift restaurants. Instead of climbing the Cerro Calvario (which is pretty dirty), I recommend la puerta del sol at sunset (which is located on the mountain on the other side of Copa).

Sacsayhuaman is one of the most important ceremonial fortresses discovered from the Inca era. According to archaeologists, it took 20,000 men and 50 years of work to complete it. It is believed that the winter solstice was celebrated here, and that thousands of people would gather to ask the sun to return soon. The construction technique of the walls is just incredible. The stones are cut to be stacked on top of each other without any cement and they fit together perfectly. Archaeologists say it is the Incas' most accomplished work in terms of precision and technical finesse. That alone is impressive, but when you add that the stones are huge, and some weighed more than 300 tons... Those Inc…

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Cusco is a charming city with its small cobblestone alleys and buildings that oscillate between colonial and Incan styles. You find remnants of ancient structures everywhere, with ruins both in and outside the city (special shout-out to Saqsayhuaman). My only regret is losing a bit of the authentic feel, seeing more tourists than locals per square meter and hearing more "foto, one dollar" than "hola, que tal"...

Machu Picchu... a religious sanctuary and residence for at least one of the Inca emperors, it was reportedly built in the 15th century. The site offers several options, whether you just want to see the city itself, see the city and climb Huayna Picchu (a mountain with a series of stairs that give you a view of the site from above), or finally, see the city and climb Machu Picchu mountain (another mountain, higher and known to be more difficult to access, which provides a 360-degree view). We opted for this last option, which is more difficult but less crowded. Personally, I cannot take away how impressive the site is, but for me, the influx of tourists and the commercial side take away a b…

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It is the last inhabited city in Argentina, but it is not the southernmost one contrary to what people think. In fact, Puerto Williams in Chile is a few dozen kilometers further south on another island. On the road down to this famous, legendary city, and based on what we had been told, we imagined a generic city that was only legendary because of its location. Finally, upon arriving, we were pleasantly surprised. The architecture is a bit messy, but despite that, the setting once you get past the cold is simply splendid. It is nestled between snowy Andes mountains and glaciers that spill into the powerful Atlantic. The meeting of these two giants leaves an indescribable impression. By the…

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