South America
South America is the continent of natural world records. The Amazon, the world’s largest rainforest, Titicaca, the highest-altitude lake in the world, the Andes, the world’s longest mountain range and Atacama, the world’s driest desert, all help to make the South American continent an eldorado of nature experiences. At the same time, world history has done its part to make the South American culture sparkling and varied, with a fascinating population mixture of African, Native American and European descent.
South America’s geography and climate
The South American continent is mainly in the Southern Hemisphere. The Equator runs through the northern part of the continent and has lent its name to the beautiful country of Ecuador. One of the implications of the country’s position on the Equator is that there is only 0.5°C difference in the average temperature between the coldest and the warmest month. The rest of the continent has rather greater divergences to show when it comes to climate, however. The most northerly counties have a tropical climate, while the southernmost parts of Chile and Argentina down towards Antarctica reach into the polar climate belt. Rainfall is not equally distributed, either. The enormous Amazon jungle draws a lot of rain all year round, whereas the Atacama desert in northern Chile has to make do with about 1 mm a year.
South American fauna
South American fauna is rather different from the fauna of other continents and has adapted to the different terrains. In the Andes, llamas climb between the sparse bushes in the rocks; in the rainforests, jaguars prowl around hunting deer and tapir, when they are not advancing into Argentina’s expansive pampas in search of well-fed cattle. The unique fauna on the isolated Galapagos islands, which has evolved entirely without outside influence, is a whole chapter in its own right.
The people of South America
The inhabitants of South America are as complex as the landscape and fauna are diverse. The forefathers of the continent, the Incas, Mayas and Aztecs, who developed highly advanced civilisations, were crushed by the Spanish and Portuguese conquistadors who came with dreams of fertile agricultural areas and gilded eldorados in their blood. Today, Mestizo, who are the descendants of both Native Americans (Amerindians) and Europeans, make up the majority of the population. The rest are of pure European stock or are the descendants of Africans who were transported notably to Brazil from Africa in the 18th and 19th centuries. In the most impenetrable rainforest areas and on the high plains of the Andes, the original population has managed to avoid European influence, and the old Inca languages are still spoken in some parts of Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia.
South America’s history
The first European to set foot on the continent was Columbus, who in 1492 landed on the Bahamas under the impression that he had reached some hitherto unknown Indian islands. Amerigo Vespucci was the first to realise that this was a new continent, and he was immortalised by lending his first name to the new continent. Soon, exploration of “the New World” picked up speed, and Spain and Portugal basically divided the whole of South America between them. During the first quarter of the 19th century, almost all the countries gained independence, but European dominance has certainly made its mark on the culture in several South American countries.
Travelling to South America
A journey to South America is virtually screaming out for you to experience the wonders of nature. A cruise around the Galapagos islands means encountering turtles, sea lions and marine iguanas at close quarters. In Ecuador, you can go hiking on the volcanoes of the Andes ridge or explore the Amazon starting from an authentic jungle lodge, and you simply must see the gigantic Iguazu waterfalls on the border between Brazil and Argentina. But there is much more to appreciate on this many-faceted continent. You can plan your holiday to take in small colonial towns with pleasant, paved streets and buildings in classic Baroque style. There are also great experiences to be had in the region’s cities, such as the tango city of Buenos Aires, or the world’s most beautifully situated city, Rio de Janeiro. You can meet Indians of the past on trips to Cuzco and in the forgotten Inca town of Machu Picchu in Peru; today’s Indians can be found in places such as the floating reed islands in the high-altitude Titicaca lake. A journey to South America can also include a good dose of mysticism, e.g. at the fascinating Nazca Lines in geometrical and animal-like shapes or on the legend-enshrouded Easter Island, with its colossal stone sculptures weighing up to 40 tonnes.