Forget the Bermuda Triangle; get sucked into our South American triangle of adventures to excite the most intrepid traveller!

South America is one huge continent. Anyone who has thought about exploring it while on a world tour or visiting for a few short weeks will know the difficulties of narrowing your choices down on where to go.

It’s always a toss up between the Galapagos in Ecuador, trekking in Peru, snowboarding in Chile or dancing the night away in Brazil.  Well, we broke it down to three key stops to get you on your way…stopping in between is purely optional.

Stop #1
Peru: Hiking the Inca trail to Machu Picchu

Hiking the Inca trail to the lost city of Machu Picchu is one of the most profound travel experiences an adventurer can have. Machu Picchu, created by the Inca, lies 2000 feet above the rumbling Urubamba River, with stone palaces, baths, temples, storage rooms and 150 houses.

Climb through cloud forests; see rare birds, animals and plants as you hike along the Inca trail to your final destination rewarding you at the end with a magnificent view of the remnants of an ancient civilisation that lay undiscovered until 1910.

The trail itself is paved with blocks of stone including stairways, tunnels and wooden bridges. It crosses rivers, streams, temperate valleys, warm cloud forests and cold highlands.

It is part of a 30,000 kilometre highway system that begins in southern Colombia, running through central Chile, Peru and Bolivia before finishing in Salta and Tucuman in Argentina. These highways were the connections between the vast Inca empires running mainly by the coast, through the Highlands and in some cases reach the tropical mountains near the Amazon forest.

The exact details of what Machu Picchu once was are uncertain. It is said that it was used as a place to track astronomical movement, as well as a military stand point. At one point, archaeologists thought Machu Picchu was a training ground for brides and priestesses, but this theory has since been disproved.

Whatever its purpose, we think Machu Picchu is a must-see for any ExplorerGirl!

For a great virtual tour of the trail, check out Raingod.

For tour options, check out Machu Picchu.org

Stop#2
Brazil: Surfing the coast

Brazil is a Mecca for hot surf spots. From the ever-popular breaks near party town Rio de Janeiro to the island of Santa Catarina, Brazil pulses with waves to get any surfer stoked!

Santa Catarina is home to waves such as Santinho and Mocambique, while Fernando de Noronha Island has huge swells, reef breaks and is known as one of the best places on earth for scuba diving. It is also home to a regular WQS round.

Closer to the party action is Saquarema, a small village one and a half hours’ drive from Rio de Janeiro. Conditions are great year round, and there are 18 miles of beaches with similar conditions just around the corner. The only drawback is, being so close to a big city, these breaks can get crowded!

At the end of October, the Men's ASP World Tour will be touching down at Santa Catarina, so gear up for some great surf action and the chance to watch the pros tear it up! The ASP website says the perks and perils of Brazil are the capirinhas cocktails and everlasting nightlife that truley gets started in the early hours of the morning – keep up on those energy drinks!

The Women's ASP World Tour also touches down in Rio as one of their big stops. Last week Melanie Bartels (HAW) took out the competition.  

Stop#3
Argintina: Exploring the glaciers of Patagonia    

From ancient civilisations and world-renowned surf contests to freezing glaciers – South America really does have all the landscapes covered! The Los Glaciares National Park is located in the southwest of the Province of Santa Cruz.

A blanket of ice covers this protected area of 600,000 hectares where you can see the detachment of ice blocks, hear the roar they produce and watch as the ice breaks away turning into floating icebergs.

In 1981 UNESCO declared the Los Glaciares National Park a World Heritage Site. One of its most imposing glaciers is the Perito Moreno, with a four mile front and a height of more than 180 feet above water level. It is famous worldwide for its rupture process, which last occurred in 1988. Rupture occurs when the front of the glacier reaches the coastal margin, closes the passage of the waters from Brazo Rico and produces a dam effect where the water rises some 20 meters. A unique experience is walking on the glaciers or viewing the front of another magnificent glacier, the Upsala from Lake Argentino.

Tours around the area include treks through the Patagonia valley, where you can see ostriches, foxes and guancos.

For more information check out Patagonia-Argentina.com.

www.ExplorerGirls.com / Gemma Considine

Map: courtesy of University of Texas's Perry-Casteneda Collection