South America

SOUTH AMERICA

A Perfect destination For A Winter Holiday & The Cruise Of A Lifetime!

Discover your inner Indiana Jones or Lara Croft on an unusual winter holiday to one of the most remote cruise destinations in the world- South America. You will encounter a unique mixture of exploration, mystery and adventure where incredible scenery, amazing flora and fauna, colourful cultures and fascinating history are marvellously intertwined.

The Atlantic coast of South America gives you the opportunity to visit Brazil and Argentina with key features such as the Amazon, Rio de Janeiro, Sugarloaf Mountain, Copacabana Beach and the Paris of the South – Buenos Aires. Perhaps choose an itinerary which includes a passage through Cape Horn incorporating the Falkland Islands, Argentina, Chile and the Chilean Fjords. While the Pacific Coast of South America offers Chile, Peru, Ecuador, the Andes and the ancient lost city of Machu Picchu.

BRAZIL has a population of approximately 200 million, is the largest country in South America and is the fifth largest country in the world. It has an Atlantic coastline of 4,655 miles featuring numerous ports of call and of course the mighty Amazon River. 60% of the Amazon rainforest sits within Brazil, whereas Peru has 13% and Colombia has 10%.  Rio De Janeiro (River of January) is the second largest city in Brazil with a population of 6.3 million. Rio is the most visited city in the southern hemisphere and is famous for its carnival celebrations,samba and the beaches of  Copacabana and Ipanema.  Must see landmarks include the giant statue of Christ the Redeemer (one of the modern seven wonders if the world) at 130 feet tall and built between 1922 to 1931 on Corcovado mountain, rising 700 metres above sea level.  Also Sugarloaf Mountain, which is  396 meters high, above the harbour with its cable car famously featured in the James Bond Movie “Moonraker”.

ARGENTINA: Is the second largest country on the South American continent with a population of over 40 million people. Buenos Aires is the Capital of the country and a top tourist destination, known for its European style architecture and rich cultural life. Top activities include a tango show, ranches in the nearby provinces  and the pampas, or enjoying a traditional  Argentine style BBQ (Asado). Visit Avenida del Libertador where you will find some top museums and Avenida de Mayo for impressive Art Nouveau and Neoclassic architecture.

CHILE is 2880 miles long making it the longest north-south country in the world. It is just 265 miles wide at its widest point and together with Ecuador are the only two countries in South America that do not share a border with Brazil. Chile gained independence from Spain in 1818 and today is one of South America’s most stable and prosperous nations. The southern coast features a labyrinth of fjords, inlets, canals, a twisting peninsula and islands best explored by ship. Santiago is the capital and is situated approximately 80 miles from the port of San Antonio. Against the stunning backdrop of the Andes this city has recently undergone a cultural metamorphosis with fine dining, a famous seafood market, sleek new cultural centres, thoughtful museums and gorgeous green parks.

CAPE HORN: One of the most sought-after itineraries is a cruise around the extreme southern tip of South America. Follow in the path of historical great explorers such as Sir Francis Drake , Ferdinand Magellan and Darwin cruising each of the three navigable passages through Cape Horn for which they are famous for.

 - Drake Passage. The Drake Passage is the body of water between the southern tip of South America at Cape Horn, Chile and the South Shetland Islands of Antarctica. The 500 mile wide passage between Cape Horn and Livingston Island  is the shortest crossing from Antarctica to the rest of the world's land masses. It was named after Sir Francis Drake was blown off course in September 1578 having passed through the Straits of Magellan. Cruises in this part of the world are the prefect opportunity to spot  species enedemic to the area such as whales, penguins, dolphins and albatrosses.  

- Straits Of Magellan. This is the Northernmost Route through the tip of South America which takes you past Punta Arenas in Chile and was explored by Ferdinand Magellan in 1520. Until 1914, when the Panama Canal opened, this was the main route for ships sailing from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean.  It is 350 miles long and just 1.2 miles wide at it narrowest point.

- Beagle Channel. This 150 mile long channel takes you through the Tierra del Fuego Archipelago of islands at the southern tip of South America, past Ushuaia in Argentina.  The eastern end of the Channel forms the border between Chile and Argentina whilst the western end is entirely in Chile. It is only three miles wide at its widest point and so can be quite tricky for ships to negotiate. The Beagle Channel was named after the  commemorate the explortaion of the area by Charles Darwin in 1833-34 on his ship - The Beagle. 

PERU gained independence from Spain in 1821 and was home to ancient cultures such as the Incas – their most famous legacy being ancient citadel of Machu Picchu. The Incas left no record of why they built the site around 1400 AD or how they used it before it was abandoned in the early 16th century when the Spanish Conquistadors conquered the region. The residents took with them their most valuable belongings and destroyed the trails connecting Machu Picchu with the rest of the empire. Machu Picchu was never found by the Spanish, and subsequently was left untouched, lost to the dense Amazon Jungle for the next five centuries.

Lima, the capital of Peru, has been declared a Cultural World Heritage Site by UNESCO and is  home to some the best museums in Peru. The world-famous Nazca Lines are situated approximately 286 miles from Lima. Here 50 square km of desert floor were covered by vast drawings, figures of mammals, insects and deities. They were discovered in 1927 and are the most extraordinary legacy left by the Nazca culture that flourished around 300 BC. The lines are a series of complex designs, some up to 300 metres long, which can only be seen in their true dimension from an altitude of at least 1,500 feet. The Nazca culture is not believed to have been capable of manned flight, yet the question remains as to how they crafted the drawings, what technology they used and what purpose the lines served.