Travel Advice
When and Where to Go Stargazing in Chile
The skies over Chile’s Atacama Desert are blessed with over 300 clear nights per year, ideal for stargazing. These clear skies mean that this part of the country has become one of the world’s principal sites for astronomic observatories. Chile is now a major astrotourism destination. Best places for stargazing The towns in the …
Avoid Tourists: A Guide to Non-Touristy Things To Do in Peru
Peru has long been one of the hot spots of tourism in South America, and quite rightly so! However, most of us love an element of off the beaten track travelling, and here’s how you can get away from the crowds with our guide to non-touristy things to do on holiday in Peru. Here’s a …
Providencia Island, Colombia’s Caribbean hideaway
Colombia meets the Caribbean on the beautifully laid back and remote island of Providencia. Providencia, a 17sq km volcanic cone, rich in history and replete with turquoise waters, is perfect. Relax, snorkel and swim, as well as take in some rum and history. Read our quick guide to this marvelous destination. Local …
Northern Peru Travel Guide
THE NORTH OF PERU The north of Peru is brimming with treasures and it is much less travelled than the southern hot spots of Cusco and Machu Picchu. Northern Peru travel never fails to surprise and impress, it is a fascinating part of this wonderful country well worth exploring. There is masses to see …
An Eco-Tourism Guide to Travelling in Peru
Eco-tourism in Peru is key to ensuring that this popular Andean holiday destination will benefit from the large number of travellers it attracts each year, especially at its iconic sites of Machu Picchu, the Inca Trail, Lake Titicaca and beyond. Here’s our advice on how to support sustainable tourism in Peru. An Eco-Tourism …
The best things to do in Mindo, Ecuador
Mindo, just 80 km from Quito is a small, friendly and fun town, popular with tourists and packed with fabulous things to do. It is easy to get to Mindo as it is just 80km from Quito and it’s beautifully located in the wildlife rich cloud forest on the western slopes of Ecuador’s Andes. Mindo …
Guide to the Best Glacier Hikes in Patagonia
Visiting Patagonia and hiking on the glaciers go hand in hand. Read on for our suggestions of some of the best glacier hikes in Patagonia. Patagonia offers a wonderful array of glaciers: some you hike to, some you trek on top of and other, more remote, glaciers you can only reached by boat. …
Why Should I Visit The Chilean Fjords?
The magnificent Chilean fjords stretch down the south west coast of South America. They start in the Reloncavi Sound near Puerto Montt and finish at the end of the continent in Cape Horn. As the crow flies, this is a distance of well over 1,500 km. This length would be equivalent to a …
Best cloud forest lodges in Ecuador
Ecuador’s Cloudforest is a magnet for those in search of wildlife, bird watching and the elusive Spectacled Bear. Sustainable eco-lodges in the cloud forest are a fantastic base to explore the flora and fauna and are so easily reached from Quito, being only a 2 hour car journey away. Here’s Andean Trails’ low down …
Things to do in Puerto Lopez, Ecuador
Puerto Lopez is a vibrant fishing community on Ecuador’s Pacific coast. It lies at the heart of Machalilla National park. The scenery, vegetation and wildlife of the area are exceptional and there are plenty of opportunities to get out of town and explore the area fully. Puerto Lopez itself, although not pretty, can offer excellent …
Guide to the Best Amazon Rainforest Lodges in Ecuador
Ecuador’s best rainforest lodges are known for their great location in the country’s Amazon basin, their standard of comfort and the wildlife that surrounds them. When we say “best” at Andean Trails, we try to look beyond comfort and like to focus also on the community projects each eco-lodge supports, the wildlife we find …
San Pedro de Atacama: Best tours and things to do in the desert
What are the best tours to do in San Pedro de Atacama? Here we give you our suggestions of the best things to do in San Pedro de Atacama. San Pedro de Atacama San Pedro de Atacama is a small Andean town in the Altiplano of Chile’s Atacama Desert. It is an …
South America: The Best Countries To Visit on Holiday
When planning your holiday to South America you may ask yourself; which are the best countries to visit in South America? South America is a continent of amazing contrasts. These range from tropical jungle to glaciers, remote high mountain villages to bustling coastal cities, mountain ranges to endless pampa. The continent is blessed with a …
Best South America Tours 2020
As 2019 draws to a close, we in the Andean Trails office are looking forward to a New Year filled with exciting and wonderful South America tours and adventures for our clients and of course ourselves! Kat is also returning in mid January after taking maternity leave. We have much to look forward to! …
Graffiti & Street Art Buenos Aires
Street art is not what Buenos Aires is usually known for. The vibrant capital of Argentina is best known for its elegant parks, bustling boulevards, impressive historical buildings and buzzing day and night life. Lesser known, but no less impressive, is the abundance of graffiti raised to street art in several iconic districts of …
Top 5 activities to do in the Pucon area
Pucon in Chile is a charming town lying on Lake Villarrica in the north of Chile’s Lake District. It nestles into the eastern shore of Lake Villarrica and is looked over by the Villarrica Volcano, a majestic snow-capped conical mountain. Pucon is a place full of activities for all ages and tastes. The area is …
Bahia Bustamante: An off the beaten path wildlife experience in Argentine Patagonia
Alan was recently in Patagonia and visited Bahia Bustamante in Argentina. Here he describes the experience of a few days in Bahia Bustamante, comfort, rooms, gastronomy, excursions and wildlife. He writes: “It was evening and the sun has just set when we arrived at Bahia Bustamante, a solitary outpost on the Patagonian coast of …
Santiago self-guided panoramic city tour
The centre of Santiago is dominated by San Cristobal hill in the Metropolitan Park. The park covers an area of over 700 hectares and is a popular destination for locals and visitors alike. San Critsobal hill is the highest point and is crowned by a statue of the Virgin Mary which is lit at night …
Patagonia Park
The Patagonia National Park in the Chilean region of Aysen was formed in 2018 and is the combination of the Lago Jeinimeni National Reserve, Lago Cochrane/Tamango Reserve and the Parque Patagonia also known as Patagonia Park in the Chacabuco Valley. The latter was created by Conservacion Patagonica, a nonprofit incorporated in California whose mission …
Buenos Aires Tasting Menu
Alan was recently in Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina, where an important question was what to eat in Buenos Aires. This is the story of his personal experience of an evening of a tasting menu experience. He writes: Tasting menu – a lot of small “funny” dishes designed to confuse and challenge …
