Torres del Paine is home to some of the world’s most classic trekking routes. The W Trek and the Paine Circuit are popular routes. It is a national park encompassing mountains, glaciers, lakes, and rivers in southern Chilean Patagonia. The Cordillera del Paine is the centerpiece of the park. It lies in a transition area between the Magellanic subpolar forests and the Patagonian Steppes. This mountainous region dates to at least twelve million years. Sedimentary rock and magma met and was thrust high into the air. The best time to visit the park is between November and April, which coincide with spring and summer in the southern hemisphere. The park draws in approximately 100,000 visitors each year who visit the Paine Towers, Los Cuernos, French Valley and Grey Glacier.

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Mount Roraima is one of the oldest mountain formations on Earth, a natural border between Venezuela, Brazil and Guyana in South America. It is around 2,800 metres tall. Its name is derived from Roroi-ma, which in Pemon means ‘big blue-green.’ The only way visitors can climb to the top is from the Gran Sabana side, in Venezuela. With sheer 400-metre high cliffs on all sides this is only one ‘easy’ way up. On the top of the mountain it rains almost every day, washing away most of the nutrients for plants to grow and creating a unique landscape on the bare sandstone surface. Arthur Conan Doyle populated the tepui Roraima with dinosaurs, strange vegetation and animals in his book, The Lost World, probably the best adventure novel of all times.

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The Iguassu Waterfalls are situated inside the Iguassu National Park. The park was created in 1934 and it contains one of the greatest natural beauties of Argentina. The falls themselves sit on the Iguazu River and rest on the border between Brazil and Argentina. The width of the falls (2700 m) is 800 m on the Brazilian side and 1900 m on the Argentinean side. The falls are formed by a group of 272 smaller falls varying in height and power. The biggest one in Iguazu is the Garganta del Diablo ( Devil’s throat). The Iguazu Falls are one of the most popular natural tourist destinations in South America.

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