About Latin (South & Central) America...

South America is a continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east by the Atlantic Ocean with North America and the Caribbean Sea lie to the northwest. Latin America includes those countries in South, Central and North America where Spanish or Portuguese is the official or most common language.

South America offers several breathtaking natural attractions from rainforests to heavenly beaches to icy landscapes. Ancient ruins and native flora and fauna will keep every traveller mesmorised at the wonder of South America.

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Nestled between the Caribbean, the South Pacific, and the South Atlantic Oceans, South America is the wilder of the Americas and a continent of superlatives.

Countries of Latin America

SOUTH AMERICA

Argentina - A country of wide-open pampas and ancient forests. Argentina is wild with its capital city, Buenos Aires, being sophisticated. See the icy landscapes in Patagonia, Iguazu Falls and Perito Moreno Glacier.

Bolivia - Because of its unique location, in the true heart of South America, Bolivia offers a great range of geographical and cultural diversity to travellers. Because of the lack of modern communication systems and sparsely populated areas, much of the land has been able to thrive and preserve its natural and beautiful nature. Things to see in Bolivia include: Samaipata - ancient ruins 2 hours east of Santa Cruz, Copacabana - a small resort town on Lake Titicaca, Rurrenabaque - a popular base for jungle and pampa trips.

Brazil - land of the samba, football, and beaches. It is a country of rivers, lakes and mountains, and also a land of music, folklore and food. Brazil isn't just Carnival; it is a country where people like to celebrate all year round.

Chile - In the world's longest country (north to south), nature runs in the most dramatic forms - enormous glaciers, craggy granite spires, and towering volcanic cones dominate the landscape. Torres del Paine National Park is widely held to be the finest park in the Americas.

Colombia - Small colonial towns along the Caribbean coast and large national parks, Andean valleys and mountains, and beautiful rainforest combine to make a visit to Colombia a remarkable experience!!

Ecuador - Ecuador has the most intensely varied landscape in South America. You get it all here: the colossal Andes, the Amazon, Pacific beaches, and the naturalist's paradise of the Galapagos Islands.

Paraguay - Paraguay really is the forgotten country of Latin America, as very few people live there and very few people go there.

Peru - Peru is located in the western central coast of South America. The landscape of Peru is as epic as its history. The shadows, canyons, and plateaus of the Andes hide the remains of one of the world's most extraordinary empires - the Inca - while their eastern slopes are the cradles of the Amazon River itself. Visit the ruins of ancient civilizations - Machu Picchu.

Uruguay - The terrain east of the capital, Montevideo, consists of impressive beaches, dunes and headlands.

Venezuela - A land of contrasts, Venezuela offers the traveller an array of beauty and activities. Thick luscious jungles, white sandy beaches, snow-capped mountains in the Andes and the world's highest waterfall, are all aspects of Venezuela that combine to make a visit to this destination unforgettable. Marvel at the world's tallest waterfall, the 979m Angel Falls.

CENTRAL AMERICA

Costa Rica - is quickly becoming one of the most popular destinations in Central America. It is safe and peaceful. Costa Rica's stunning scenic heritage unfolds in ever-changing steaming volcanoes, forested mountains, dramatic skies and bucolic countryside. Dark lowland jungles give way to rolling savannas; Pacific surf crashes against rocky headlands, in sharp contrast to the tranquillity of palm-fringed Caribbean beaches.

Cuba - Cuba's diversity ranges from beach resorts in Jardines del Rey and Varadero, to rolling hills and mountain scenery in Vinales, to being the centre of the cigar industry. Havana, the capital, offers the traveller a cosmopolitan feel and vibrant nightlife. One thing to remember is that no flights fly into Cuba from the USA.

Guatemala - Set amongst breathtaking mountain scenery, Guatemala has a colourful history and people. The designs and colours seen in the artwork and clothes of Guatemalans reflect their friendly, easygoing nature.

Mexico - Ruins are abundant in this diverse country, and one of the well-known ancient civilisations in Mexico is the Aztecs. The Aztecs date back to their beginnings in the 14th Century, and many aspects of their culture are drawn from earlier Mexican civilisations. With both the most populous city in the world, and some of the most beautiful beaches, Mexico is a lively destination. A variety of natural wonders from lush tropical rainforests to mountains and deserts make Mexico a gem for the adventurer, but its real treasure is in the spirit of its people.

History of South America

The first evidence for the existence of agricultural practices in South America date back to circa 6500 BCE, when potatoes, chillies and beans began to be cultivated for food in the highlands of the Amazon Basin. By 2000 BCE many agrarian village communities had been settled throughout the Andes and the surrounding regions. South American cultures began domesticating llamas, vicuñas, guanacos, and alpacas in the highlands of the Andes circa 3500 BCE.

The earliest known settlements, and culture in South America, and the Americas altogether, are the Valdivia on the south east coast of Ecuador. The earliest known South American civilization was at Norte Chico, on the central Peruvian coast. Though a pre-ceramic culture, the monumental architecture of Norte Chico is contemporaneous with the pyramids of Ancient Egypt. Many other pre-coluimbia culktures followed including Moche, Tiuahuanaco, Paracas, Chachapoyas and the Aymaran kingdoms.

Cartographers Martin Waldseemuller and Matthias Ringmann named South America in 1507 after Amerigo Vespucci, who was the first European to suggest that the Americas were not the East Indies, but a New World unknown to Europeans. Beginning in the 1530s, the people and natural resources of South America were repeatedly exploited by foreign conquistadors, first from Spain and later from Portugal. African slaves were brought in large quantities for several centuries for a number of reasons, both political and economical, however, it was mainly because they were much better fitted than the American natives for hard labour in tropical climate, such as sugar cane plantations or gold mining. Eventually the natives and the Spaniards interbred, forming a mestizo class. Essentially all of the mestizos of the Andean region were offspring of an Amerindian mothers and Spanish fathers. Mestizos and the Indian natives were often forced to pay extraordinary taxes to the Spanish crown and were punished more harshly for disobeying the law.

The South American possessions of the Spanish Crown won their independence between 1804 and 1824 in the South American Wars of Independence.

Culture in South America

• Roman Catholicism is the dominant religion of the region as a whole; however Protestantism is growing steadily. Guyana and Suriname have significant Hindu, and Muslim communities. Jewish communities are found across South America with the largest numbers in Buenos Aires.
• Spanish is the most widespread language in the continent, as Spanish is the official language of most South American countries. However, South Americans also speak Portuguese, as it's the official language of Brazil, which holds about the 51% of the South American population.
• South American nations have a rich variety of music. Some of the most famous genres include 'cumbria' from Colombia, 'samba 'and 'bossa nova' from Brazil and the 'tango' from Argentina.