National Parks in South America

Patagonia’s crown jewel, where three sheer granite towers rise above glacial lakes and windswept steppe. The multi-day W and O treks pass hanging glaciers, electric-blue icebergs, and guanaco herds. Weather flips in minutes, so pack for four seasons in a single afternoon on the trail.

Home to the thundering Perito Moreno Glacier, one of the few advancing ice sheets on Earth, where blocks the size of buildings crash into the lake below. The park also cradles the spire of Cerro Fitz Roy, a magnet for trekkers and climbers based in the village of El Chalten.

The Argentine side of the great falls, where a network of catwalks delivers you to the very lip of the Devil’s Throat. Coatis and butterflies crowd the rainforest trails, and the spray hangs like permanent mist. Time a visit around the full moon for special after-dark walks above the cataracts.

The end of the road at the bottom of the Americas, where sub-Antarctic forest meets the Beagle Channel. Peat bogs, beaver dams, and the ruddy-headed goose share a landscape wrapped in mist. The old prisoners’ train still trundles to the park gates from nearby Ushuaia.

Argentina’s oldest park sprawls across the Lake District around Bariloche, all araucaria forest, deep glacial lakes, and jagged peaks. Summer brings kayaking and long ridge hikes; winter turns Cerro Catedral into a major ski resort. The Circuito Chico drive strings together the best viewpoints.

A UNESCO-listed haven for ancient alerce trees, some over 2,000 years old and among the planet’s oldest living things. Crystalline rivers link a chain of green lakes ideal for canoeing beneath temperate rainforest. Its relative remoteness keeps crowds thin even in high Patagonian summer.

One of the world’s highest active volcanoes, its perfect snow-capped cone looming over the Ecuadorian paramo. The surrounding grasslands shelter wild horses and condors, and acclimatized climbers push for the summit before dawn. Even a day trip from Quito delivers jaw-dropping high-altitude scenery.

The heart of the Cordillera Blanca, Peru’s highest range, crowned by 6,768-meter Huascaran itself. Turquoise glacial lakes like Laguna 69 reward hard-earned day hikes, and the Santa Cruz trek is a Andean classic. Base yourself in Huaraz and acclimatize before tackling the thin air.

One of the most biodiverse places on the planet, tumbling from cloud forest down into pristine Amazon lowlands. Clay licks draw clouds of macaws at dawn, and oxbow lakes hide giant otters and caiman. Reaching the reserved zone takes days and a licensed guide, but the wildlife is unmatched.

A vast Bolivian wilderness spanning glaciated peaks to steaming rainforest, packing in an astonishing share of the world’s bird species. Community-run ecolodges near Rurrenabaque offer jungle and pampas tours where pink river dolphins and capybara are common sightings. Wildlife density here rivals anywhere in the Amazon basin.

Bolivia’s oldest park, dominated by the snowcapped cone of Nevado Sajama, the country’s highest peak. High-altitude wetlands shimmer with flamingos, and the world’s loftiest forests of queñua trees cling to the slopes. Rustic thermal springs steam beneath the volcano, perfect after a cold Altiplano day.

Where the jungle-clad foothills of the Sierra Nevada tumble straight into Caribbean coves fringed by palms and giant boulders. Trails link idyllic beaches like Cabo San Juan with the ruins of Indigenous Tayrona settlements. Strong currents make some bays swim-only for the brave, so heed the flags.

A wall of glaciated peaks in the Colombian Andes, offering some of the country’s most dramatic high-mountain trekking. Frailejon-studded paramo leads to icy lagoons beneath serrated summits nudging 5,300 meters. Access is tightly regulated to protect the fragile glaciers, so plan permits well ahead.

A stark, beautiful stretch of the Chilean Altiplano, centered on the twin cones of the Payachata volcanoes mirrored in Lake Chungara. Vicuna and viscachas graze the high plains, and flamingos wade the salt-rimmed lagoons above 4,500 meters. Come slowly from Arica to let your body adjust to the altitude.

Brazil’s answer to canyon country, a maze of tabletop mountains, plunging waterfalls, and glowing blue grottoes in the state of Bahia. Trekkers climb to the Fumaca falls or float in the luminous waters of Poco Azul. The trailhead town of Lencois is a laid-back base for multi-day treks.

A surreal landscape of rolling white dunes that fill each rainy season with thousands of freshwater lagoons the color of jade. From roughly June to September you can hike the sand and swim in warm pools that shouldn’t exist in a desert. Reaching it means a 4x4 crossing from Barreirinhas.

An ancient plateau of crystalline rock in Brazil’s cerrado, laced with waterfalls, natural pools, and quartz-strewn trails. The high-altitude savanna bursts with endemic flowers and draws hikers to canyons like Vale da Lua. The hub town of Alto Paraiso has a famously new-age, mystical streak.

A lost-world of flat-topped tepuis rising sheer from the Venezuelan savanna, crowned by Angel Falls, the tallest waterfall on Earth. Reaching the base means a light-plane flight and a river journey through rainforest. The Pemon communities of the Gran Sabana bring the ancient landscape to life.

The world’s largest tropical wetland and arguably South America’s finest place for spotting big wildlife in the open. In the dry season, jaguars patrol riverbanks while caiman, capybara, and giant anteaters gather at shrinking waterholes. River safaris out of Porto Jofre offer the continent’s best jaguar odds.

A biodiversity hotspot deep in the Ecuadorian Amazon, thought to hold more species per hectare than almost anywhere on the planet. Canopy towers and parrot clay licks anchor jungle lodges reached by dugout canoe. Uncontacted Indigenous groups still live in its most remote reaches.