As we count down to the festive season, I thought I’d do a different spin on the traditional 12 Days of Christmas.
Over on my social channels, I’ll be counting down 12 South American destinations that I love and that I think you should consider if you are planning a trip to South America in 2026.
I’ll also do a roundup here, including some places I haven’t written about here before …shiny new content!
Welcome back to the #12DaysOfSouthAmerica!
Day 1: Angel Falls (Salto Angel), Venezuela
It’s a very close-run thing between the two most epic waterfalls in South America. In fact both Angel Falls and Iguazu Falls are two of the most amazing sights you can visit while travelling on the continent.
But for me, the whole experience of visiting the world’s tallest waterfall, Angel Falls, is on another level.
The journey itself is epic, travelling in small boats upstream while Venezuela’s huge tepuis loom overhead. As your boat twists and turns through the Canyon del Diablo, the tepuis take on stranger, more surreal forms, like ramparts or spines. There’s definitely an otherworldly feel to the place.
Read more about the journey here:
Canaima and Salto Angel
And check out some of my photos here
An old favourite, now in living colour (Canaima and Angel Falls)
Day 2: Salvador, Brazil
One of my all-time favourite places in Brazil and somewhere I’d love to return to. Vibrant, musical, vital heart of Bahia. By night it may be a little sketchy, but by day the jewel-box colours of the Pelourinho lure you in. Don’t miss the chance to hear some live samba, watch capoeira, visit some amazing churches and soak up the history and culture of lively Salvador.
We were there during the Festas Juninas (also known as Festas de São João) which is a good, if busy, time to visit. The Pelourinho is one of the best preserved centres of colourful colonial architecture in the Americas and a great place to people watch.
Day 3: North West Argentina
There’s something really special about this corner of North-West Argentina. Right up by the border with Bolivia, base yourself in Jujuy and you can easily visit the Quebrada de Humahuaca, with its multicoloured rocks, stained seven different colours by various minerals in Purnamarca. Or explore the traditional villages of the valley on market day.
Don’t miss a chance to visit the Salinas Grandes, an immense salt lake high on the altiplano.
Read more about one of my favourite travel days here:
Five landscapes you have to see on your South American trip
Day 4: Parque Nacional Lauca, Chile
Snow-capped volcanoes, lots of alpacas and vicunas and the bluest of skies – all things you can expect to see if you make the journey up to Parque Nacional Lauca from Arica in Chile.
Lauca is a land of dramatic valleys and perfectly conical volcanoes, dusted with snow as if waiting for their photo opportunity. The irony is that this road is mostly driven by convoys of truckers transporting their mineral cargo across the border and into Bolivia, who’ve seen the views a hundred times or more. There’s no crowds of tourists here; truckers aside, you and the vicunas will have the altiplano to yourselves.
Day 5: Chapada dos Guimaraes, Brazil
I left my heart in…Chapada dos Guimaraes, Brazil
Day 6: The Amazon Rainforest – from cities to jungle lodges
The Amazon rainforest stretches across nine countries; from Ecuador, Peru and Colombia in the west to Brazil in the east. It’s also home to over 3,000 indigenous territories, some of them uncontacted by choice.
More than 30 million people of 350 different ethnic groups live in the Amazon, but many of these are concentrated in the handful of big cities surrounded by rainforest, including Belem and Manaus in Brazil.
My first visit to Brazil was to the Mamiraua Sustainable Development Reserve, close to Tefe near the border of Brazil, Colombia and Peru. Nothing I’ve done before or since has left such an impression as Mamiraua. It’s more expensive than some other jungle lodges, but their research and community ethos stands apart.
Most trips to jungle lodges in Brazil involve flying into Manaus, a surprisingly large city surrounded by rainforest.
Manaus often gets overlooked by visitors to Brazil. It’s a long way from anywhere (a four hour flight from São Paulo), and those who do visit are often on their way to one of the jungle lodges down river.
But Manaus is interesting in its own right. An opera house in the Amazon, built at the height of the rubber boom? The place where two rivers, one light, one dark, meet and flow side-by-side, not mixing for more than six km? Surely worth a look.
I also visited the Amazon in Ecuador, but would take the Brazilian experience every time. I’ve stayed at Mamiraua, in a jungle lodge on the Rio Negro and on a river boat, so it’s worth doing your research to see what would suit you best.
Day 7: Itacare, Bahia, Brazil
Itacaré is one of those places that’s somehow more than you expect. There must be hundreds of gorgeous tropical beaches and fishing villages in the north-east of Brazil; what’s so special about this one?
If Colombia is the home of magic realism, Itacaré would give it a good run for its money.
Tiny marmoset monkeys run along the telegraph wires, bullfrogs that sound more like meowing cats sit in ponds, capoeira is a way of life and there’s something about the place that makes it hard to leave.
It’s relaxed enough to feel like an escape from the world, but don’t mistake it for the kind of place where nothing ever happens. There’s more than enough bars and beach parties in summer to keep you happy.
Read more in my destination guide for South America Backpacker!
https://southamericabackpacker.com/brazil/itacare/
Day 8: The Bolivian Pantanal
The Parque Nacional Otoquis, or the Bolivian Pantanal, sits hard up against the border of Brazil, an immense wetland swimming with towering jabiru storks, caiman slowly roasting on the shore and families of capybara. Yet it receives only a tiny fraction of the tourists that visit the Brazilian Pantanal.
Read more about my adventures in this little-visited area of Bolivia here.
Day 9: Tayrona National Park, Colombia
We’re back on the far northern coast of South America for day 9, at Tayrona national park on Colombia’s Caribbean coast.
A minibus that’s seen better days takes you from the entrance to the trailhead where a boardwalk leads you into the forest. The trail loops around scattered boulders for just under an hour (or 45 mins if you’re a quick walker) till you escape out to the rocky headland. A lovely walk talks you up and down steps carved in the rock until you reach the first of the main beaches. Like most along this coast it’s not for swimming – signs warn ominously of the 200 swimmers who have lost their lives in the area in recent years.
You can easily spend a few hours here walking the trails, along the beaches or enjoying a drink at one of the handful of campsites and restaurants scattered around the park. The beach most backpackers head to is El Cabo, the sands dazzling and flecked with fools’ gold. The water here is warm and the sheltered bay means it’s safe to swim. If you don’t fancy the trek out again when you leave the campground, boats wait to take you into a nearby town, although word is it’s a bumpy ride.
Day 10 – Travel the Estrada Real from Paraty to Ouro Preto, Brazil
If you are visiting Rio or Sao Paolo and wondering where to go next, why not travel the Estrada Real (Royal Road)?
This 1,600 km network of routes takes you from the beautiful small town of Paraty on the coast of Rio de Janeiro state to the UNESCO -listed colonial centre of Ouro Preto in Minais Gerais.
In the 17th century the routes were built to link the gold and diamond mines of Minas state to the coast, where the precious metals and jewels could be exported overseas.
Many of the towns along the route benefited from the riches unearthed, which is reflected in their baroque churches dripping with gold and silver.
Paraty is a favourite holiday spot for Cariocas. It’s undoubtedly touristy, but the cobbled streets which flood every full moon have a quiet charm and the setting is very pretty. Don’t miss the chance to visit one of the cachaca alembiques in the surrounding hills.
Ouro Preto offers a chance to see the Portuguese influence in its many churches, set on a series of steep hills.
Read more about the Estrada Real on the Aventura do Brasil website here.
Day 11: Sao Luis, Brazil
If you are heading to the rainwater sand lagoons of the Lencois Maranhenses, you may well start your journey in Sao Luis, another of my favourite Brazilian cities.
Read on below to see why!
Day 12: Iguazu Falls
Much more accessible than Angel Falls, the spectacular waterfalls of Iguazu (Iguacu in Portuguese) straddle the border of Argentina and Brazil. The Brazilian side offers the chance to walk right out into the heart of the Devil’s Throat. The Argentinian side offers beautiful trails where you can spot wildlife and enjoy the dozens of smaller waterfalls that make up the whole falls, before catching a small train that takes you out to the boardwalk which brings you to the thundering sound of the top of the Devil’s Throat.
Not sure when to visit? Read on to compare summer and winter experiences.
Revisiting an icon – when is the best time to visit Iguazu Falls?