LocationsinSouth America...

[Jorge Oliveira]

Ok, Andean guys,

But if jungle and water is what Mark is looking for, Brazil is the place.

Jorge O

[Aggie]

..

[sergio caetano]

Just another suggestion: Ushuaia, Argentina (not in the winter). Few people, beautiful scenes, glaciers. Previously rent a car.

[DrPhil]

I've only been to Peru, Bolivia, and N. Chile; thus, I'll give you my thoughts about those three countries. In Peru, the Cordillera blanca is outstanding. You can hire an arriero (cowboy kinda) to haul your gear up any of a number of canyons into the mountains. Laguanas llaguanaco is an outstanding area beneath huascaran. Going into the alpamayo base camp is also a beautiful place. On your days off, stay at Eduardo's in huarez. Edward or his brother have all the info about trail conditions and will make sure to find you a great arriero for a trip into the hills.

Make sure to plan for enough time for the cusco area. I spent five days there and wished for more. The train to cusco is cool. It was the first time I ever rode a train up switchbacks. Yes, it does reverse back and forth to get up the hillside!! We left the train at km80 and hiked the Inca trail. This is another must do. Machu Pichu is also outstanding. You can stay down in aqua calientes if you need more time.

Lago Titicaca is also not to be missed. My time there was somewhat skewed as I was fighting stomach problems. La Paz is a depressing city; however, the altiplano is wonderful. I took a bus from La Paz to Arica Chile. I really wish I had been able to stop halfway near sajama and take some pictures. What a neat place it is cold, barren, flamingos, and has a volcano.

Arequipa was a neat place. Colca canyon left a bit to be desired. However, I think alot of this had to do with the guide that my taxi driver in arequipa suggested.

I'm planning another trip to S. America soon. I plan to explore much of patagonia from bariloche to ushuia.

[titrisol]

Quite late but
Ecuador is a great country to visit, has many things in a nutshell!
http://www4.ncsu.edu/~pcorone/photo_...dor/index.html