Archive for the “South America” Category

Where is Lençóis Maranhenses National Park?

Lençóis Maranhenses National ParkThe Lençóis Maranhenses National Park (Parque Nacional dos Lençóis Maranhenses) is located in Maranhão state, in north-eastern Brazil, just east of the Baía de São José. It is an area of low, flat, occasionally flooded land, overlaid with large, discrete sand dunes. It encompasses roughly 1,500 km2 (580 sq mi), and despite abundant rain, supports almost no vegetation.

The area became a National Park on June 2, 1981. The national park status serves only as a means of protecting the area’s ecology.

 

Lonely Planet South America on a shoestring (Travel Guide)

Map

TravelTipsPlus Google Map of Lençóis Maranhenses National Park

One Great Reason to Visit Lençóis Maranhenses National Park

One great reason to visit this travel destination is for the beautiful combination of stark sand dunes surrounded by unexpected lagoons and pools of water.

PLACES TO VISIT IN BRAZIL: Lençóis Maranhenses (Desert Beaches)

For More Information

Comments No Comments »

Buenos Aires, ArgentinaBuenos Aires is a popular port city on the Rio de la Plata, an estuary on the border between Argentina and Uruguay. It’s an autonomous city that is not part of the outer Buenos Aires province, and yet it acts as a kind of gateway to Argentina.

Visitors enjoy Buenos Aires in the spring (September to November), although its sub-tropical climate has generally pleasant conditions year round. Also in the spring-summer months, the city hosts festivals and sporting events that are popular among tourists, for which a variety of airlines allow you to organise your next cheap holidays.

People from Buenos Aires are known as “porteños”, or people of the port, with European roots that date back to the 16th Century. A variety of Spanish, German, Greek and Italian influences can be seen in the local architecture. Hence, there are no dominating monuments, but a variety of touches and details that hail from across the world, and can be seen in beautifully preserved 19th Century houses, majestic churches and opera houses.

Similarly, the city neighbourhoods are unique, with emphasis on local flavour following Argentinian independence in the early 19th Century. An exception is the Buenos Aires Cabildo, a public building that was once the seat of the colonial council and which now houses a museum. The Palacio de Las Aguas Corrientes, Palace of Running Water, was the city’s water works, built with myriad terracotta tiles and which today houses a museum with antique equipment. The neo-Gothic Palacia Barolo rises up 22 floors and was built as a tribute to Dante’s Divine Comedy, each floor supposedly representing a verse in the Italian poet-philosopher’s masterpiece.

Buenos Aires has a world renowned party atmosphere, not least because of its national dance, the tango. Perhaps best exhibited in the city’s dance halls, plazas, glittering ballrooms and outdoor parks, the tango is both elegant and passionate, combining discreet separation between participants that achieves lasting intimacy. Interestingly, in Buenos Aires, tango-dancing schools were traditionally men-only places called academias, and the dance was only popularised in Paris in the 1920s.

The city hosts the bi-annual Buenos Aires Fashion Week, which displays both national and international designers’ collections, and garners plenty of exposure. It’s held at the La Rural Fairgrounds in February, for fall and winter collections, and in August for spring and summer clothes. In addition to high fashion, Buenos Aires has a reputation as a party city, with bars and clubs of all sizes opening their doors late in the evening and remaining open all night.

Energy, enthusiasm and a willingness to recreate itself; Buenos Aires continues to earn the accolade of the ‘Paris of South America’. Buenos Aires flights are affordable particularly between October and January, when the weather is warm and the mate, or traditional infused drink, is readily served.

Comments No Comments »

Where is Patagonia?

Patagonia, ArgentinaPatagonia is most well-known for its wilderness taking up parts of Chile and Argentina and stretching from the most southern part of the Andes to the Pacific Ocean and across to the Atlantic Ocean.

One of the most popular travel destinations for its dramatic scenery and a good representation of Patagonia is Alerces National Park found in Argentina. It covers an area of 263,000ha and here you can see prairies, mountains, lakes and spry creeks. However, its biggest drawcard is the Alerce tree, a species that has survived for more than 4,000 years.

Patagonia was originally a remote backpacking destination, however it is now attracting increased numbers of cashed-up visitors, cruise passengers sailing by Cape Horn or visiting Antarctica, and activity holiday-makers. Patagonia offers terrific hiking opportunities, kayaking, horseback riding and vast photographic opportunities.

Lonely Planet Trekking in the Patagonian Andes

Map

TravelTipsPlus Google Map of Patagonia

One Great Reason to Visit Patogonia

One great reason to visit this travel destination is to appreciate the wilderness landscapes.

Patagonia – Argentina

For More Information

  • Wikipedia
  • Patagon Journal
  • Comments No Comments »

    Where is Ipiales?

    Las Lajas Cathedral

    Las Lajas Cathedral

    Colombia probably has more inspiring highlights than Ipiales but this town found close to the border with Ecuador certainly has a prize not to be missed if arriving from Ecuador.

    The magnificent, neo-gothic cathedral of Santuario de Las Lajas is located 7km from the town centre and was built early to mid last century. It was built in a deep river gorge and incorporates a bridge spanning the river, making it quite a spectacular travel destination.

    Each year Las Lajas attracts pilgrims from all over Colombia and from abroad. Thanksgiving plaques and mementos are left along the pathway to the fairy-tale like cathedral.

    Colombia – A Country Guide

    Map

    TravelTipsPlus Google Map of Ipiales

    One Great Reason to Visit Ipiales

    One great reason to visit this travel destination is to see the Las Lajas Cathedral that has been built over a bridge spanning a steep, river ravine.

    Las Lajas Cathedral, Ipiales, Colombia

    Las Lajas / Ipiales, Colombia from Jnp on Vimeo.

    For More Information

  • Wikipedia
  • You Might Also Enjoy The Following Travel Destinations

  • Los Llanos, Venezuela
  • Lake Titicaca, Bolivia
  • Machu Picchu, Peru
  • Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
  • Tikal, Guatemala
  • Related Posts with Thumbnails

    Comments 1 Comment »