Backpacking South America

Happy New Year! This post arrives a few days late, but hopefully you’ve all had wonderful celebrations and have a clean slate for the upcoming year.

We started our journey August 19, 2009. We’re now more than 4 months in and I think the greatest adventures still lie ahead of us. Our plan has changed slightly, but not significantly. The biggest change to our original plan is that we will make it to Ushuaia via Argentina and Chile and fly back north, instead of retracing our steps or taking a combination of a boat ride and bus trip spanning several days.

Anyway, here is the rough outline of our travels in 2010 that will take us through Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia.

Central Chile – Santiago to Chiloe

From Buenos Aires we’ll make our way to Santiago, Chile and spend a few days exploring the city and nearby wine regions. We then begin making our way south through the Central Valley (more wine…), volcanoes, and lakes of Chile. When we reach Puerto Montt, we’ll take a ferry and a few days to explore Chiloe, an island with wooden churches and mysterious other-world feel.

Southern Argentina – Bariloche, Lakes District and the Glaciers

We’ll cross into Argentina from Puerto Montt, Chile and stop in Bariloche. Once Argentine’s find out your travel for a long time, the first question usually is, “Have you been to Bariloche?” We have always said, not yet – it will be nice to finally say ‘yes.’

From Bariloche, we’ll visit the mountain town El Bolson and Welsh villageEsquel. We will make our way through Patagonia and visit Perito Moreno, El Chalten, Calafate and the majestic glaciers of Southern Argentina.

Parque Nacional Torres del Paine, Chile.

We hope to jump the border again to take on Parque Nacional Torres del Paine and the Circuit Route around the mountain. We received our camping gear while staying in Rivera, Uruguay and hope to take 7-10 days hiking through the national park. We’ll have to figure out how to get the camera to last long enough…

Tierra del Fuego and the End of the World

Our trip would not be complete without visiting Ushuaia, the southernmost city in the world. While we have been warned that prices are absolutely ridiculous in the far south, we fully intend to visit and explore the mythical Tierra del Fuego.

Taking a Shortcut

Rather than bus our way back to the north, or taking a 3 day boat ride to Puerto Montt in Chile and heading north, we are going to attempt to get to Santiago via plane. This may involve a detour through Buenos Aires (usually cheaper flights…) followed by the 20 hour bus ride to Santiago.

Northern Chile

At this point, it should be sometime in March and the soaring temperatures of summer should be a thing of the past. We will work our way north of Santiago, visiting beach towns, bodegas, and mountains as we make our way towards Bolivia. We will cross into Bolivia via the 3-day jeep journey across the salt flats and mountains.

Bolivia

We have heard mixed reports about Bolivia. Everything from spend 3 months in Bolivia to skip it altogether. So, I think we will take the middle road. After entering Bolivia (and paying the $130 US each for a visa), we hope to visit the wine region in southeast Bolivia, which sits at 6,000 feet above sea level. We will then make our way across Bolivia to Lake Titicaca, Isla del Sol and Copacabana for a little relaxation.

Peru

Depending on the time we arrive, we’ll likely head directly to hike Macchu Picchu. To hike the popular Inca Trail, we’ll need to make reservations very soon (about 3 months in advance) to ensure a pass and spot in a group. There are alternate routes that we may still opt for instead of the famous Inca Trail.

Based on our experiences in sub-tropical and tropical climates (Iguazu and Rivera), we will likely opt out of visiting the jungles along the border with Brazil. Instead, we will make our way to the Arequipa and the Colca Canyon, head up the road to see the Nazca Lines, and find our way around the Cordillera Blanca and Huarez.

Ecuador

We’ll enter Ecuador from Peru, and plan to make our first stop along the coast. We’ll wander our way into Quito and hopefully spend some time with some friends. In Quito, we are playing with the idea of taking some refresher Spanish courses to touch up on our grammar and conversation. From Quito, we will embark on the Quilotoa Loop, visiting a number of small mountain villages.

It seems that the Galapagos may not be for this trip, unfortunately, it seems that our desire to visit will be thwarted by financial concerns.

Colombia

Despite concerns from our stateside friends and family, we do plan to visit Colombia. It seems that every traveler we’ve bumped into is unable to limit their praise of Colombia and its people. They have all felt safe. So we’ll take heed of local warnings and stay far away from volatile area (guerilla and paramilitary areas and possibly the Venezuelan border).

Entering from the south, we’ll hope to visit the coffee producing regions and get our fix for a day or two. From there, we’ll head into Medellin, the city made infamous by Pablo Escobar. From there, we’ll head on to Bogota or Cali. Our final main destination will be along the northern coastline in the town of Cartegena and Parque Nacional Tayrona.

Our final adventure will be heading home and from there, determining where home will be.

Send us your comments and feedback

If you have any recommendations or suggestions, please comment on this post or send an email to jaredandcarra (at) gmail (dot) com or comment on the Trekking South America page on Facebook.

Or visit LonelyPlanet.com and Download Lonely Planet South America Chapters.