The city was founded on June 1, 1533, and named after Cartagena in Spain, which, again, was named after the original Carthage in Tunisia. Settlement in the Cartagena Bay region took place in 4000 BC. Back then various indigenous people made their homes here. During the colonial period Cartagena took a key role regarding the administration and the expansion of the Spanish empire in South America. It served as a center of political and economic activity due to the presence of royalty and wealthy viceroys and is still one of the most beautiful colonial cities in South America. In 1984 Cartagena's colonial walled city and fortress were designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Visit the Castello de San Filpe and especially the Café del Mar! From there you have an incredible view of the city, the city wall and the Caribbean Sea.

The Nasca Lines are a series of geoglyphs located in the Nasca Desert, a high arid plateau close to Nasca. There are hundreds of individual figures, ranging in complexity from simple lines to stylized hummingbirds, spiders, monkeys, fish, sharks or orcas, llamas, and lizards. The lines are shallow designs in the ground where the reddish pebbles that cover the surrounding landscape have been removed. Many of those lines are simple lines or geometric shapes, and more than seventy of them show a natural shape or human figures. The largest are over 660 ft. across. Scholars differ in interpreting what the lines were for, but generally ascribe religious significance to them. The spiders, birds and plants could be fertility symbols. Other possible explanations include: irrigation schemes, giant astronomical calendars, or landings for spaceships.

Built around 1460 AD, it was abandoned as an official site for the Inca rulers a hundred years later, at the time of the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire. Although known locally, it had been forgotten for centuries until Hiram Bingham, an American historian, brought the site to worldwide attention in 1911. Since then Machu Picchu has become an important tourist attraction. Later on, when we walk around the ruins, you will easily recognize why this city was built at this spot: it's almost invisible from the valley, easy to defend and just beautiful!

The lake is supposed to be the highest navigable lake with its altitude of 3,800 m (12,500 ft.). It is also the largest lake in whole South America and has got a surface of almost 8.400 km² (3,250 sq mi). The western part belongs to Peru (60%) and the eastern part to Bolivia.

La Paz is the administrative capital of Bolivia, the official capital is Sucre. The city sits in a "bowl" surrounded by the high mountains of the Altiplano at an altitude between 3.200-4.100 m (10,500-13,500 ft.) La Paz is an important cultural center of Bolivia. In the so-called Casco Viejo, the old town, you can find several cathedrals belonging to the colonial times, such as the San Francisco Cathedral and the Metropolitan Cathedral, the latter being located on Murillo Square, which is also home to the political and administrative power of the country.

Salar de Uyuni is the world's largest salt flat at 10.000 km² (4,086 sq mi), and is elevated 3.650 m (11,995 ft.) above sea level. Many of the tourists visit this place in old Toyota Landcruisers or a local bus running across the salt lake. But the best way to see it is to ride a motorcycle!

San Pedro de Atacama is a very popular destination among Chilean tourists and international visitors alike. Visitors come in large numbers, to use the town as a stepping stone to the amazing landscapes around it. Most attractions are part of the Los Flamencos National Reserve, perhaps Chile's most varied and amazing national park. It's one of Chile's three most popular destinations, along with Torres del Paine and Easter Island.

Santiago, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's largest and the most densely populated conurbation. The city is entirely located in the country's central valley, at an elevation of 520 m (1,706 ft) above mean sea level.

Founded in 1541, Santiago has been the capital city of Chile since colonial times. The city has a downtown core of 19th-century neoclassical architecture and winding side-streets, dotted by art deco, neo-gothic, and other styles. Santiago's cityscape is shaped by several stand-alone hills and the fast-flowing Mapocho River, lined by parks such as Parque Forestal. The Andes Mountains can be seen from most points in the city. These mountains contribute to a considerable smog problem, particularly during winter. The city outskirts are surrounded by vineyards and Santiago is within a few hours of both the mountains and the Pacific Ocean.

Santiago is the cultural, political and financial center of Chile and is home to the regional headquarters of many multinational corporations. The Chilean executive and judiciary are located in Santiago, but Congress meets mostly in nearby Valparaíso. Santiago is named after the biblical figure St. James.

The Carretera Longitudinal Austral Presidente Pinochet, also known more simply as Route 7, starts at Puerto Montt and parallels the Argentine border for more than 1,200 km (745 mi). It terminates in Villa O’Higgins at the foot of the Southern Patagonian Ice Field. Although more and more sections are being paved the road is still a challenge. Pinochet had a military reason for its construction: all the territory within Chile had to be connected to the rest of the country in order to reduce the risk of losing parts of it to other states. The initial costs were about US$ 300 million.

The Fitz Roy Mountain Range is a rugged wilderness with shark-tooth shaped summits. It is the de-facto mountaineering Mecca of Argentina. When the clouds clear, the view of the almost 12,000 ft. high mountain blocks is stunning and attracts both world-class climbers and hikers from the whole world.

This glacier is one of the most impressive and most beautiful in South America. There are shuttle busses, which take you from the parking to the hiking trails. It is very easy to get to the platforms where you will be able to get pretty close to the gigantic glacier tongue.

Soaring more than 1,800 m (6,000 ft.) above the Patagonian steppe, the nearly verticle “Towers of Paine” are spectacular granite pillars that dominate the landscape. It’s a miniature Alaska filled with shimmering turquoise lakes, roaring creeks, rivers and waterfalls, sprawling glaciers, dense forests and abundant wildlife (guanacos, rheas, Andean deer, condors, foxes, flamingos and many other species). Originally a part(!) of a sheep estancia, this 240,000 hectar (593,000 acre) national park was created in 1959 and is today a magnet for hikers and backpackers.

It is 675 km (420 mi) long and connects the Atlantic with the Pacific. Far more important prior to the construction of the Panama Canal, it is still used today, and it’s still anything but harmless. Searching for a passage to the spice islands of Asia, early navigators feared the stiff westerlies, hazardous currents and violent seas. Portuguese captain Fernando Magellan found this passage in 1520. Two of his ships were driven by a storm into a bay, which later proved to be the connection between the Atlantic and the Pacific.

With a population of almost 65,000, this southernmost city of the world, with its steep streets and jumbled buildings, and set between the Beagle Channel and the snow-capped Marital Range, takes full advantage of its end-of-the-world status as an increasing number of Antarctica-bound vessels call in to port. In 1870, the British-based South American Missionary Society settled here to take care of the indigenous Yaghan Indians. After successfully showing them the shortcut to heaven (most of the Yaghans were wiped out by foreign diseases), Argentina followed England’s example by making the city a penal colony for its most notorious criminals. Since 1950 the town has been an important naval base. Tierra del Fuego’s tourism has become big business, and the comparatively high wages draw Argentines from all over to resettle there.

The road was built in the 1930s during the Chaco War by Paraguayan prisoners. It is one of the few routes that connects the Amazon rainforest region of northern Bolivia, or Yungas, to its capital city. Upon leaving La Paz, the road first ascends to around 15,260 ft. at La Cumbre Pass, before descending to 3,900 ft. at the town of Coroico, transitioning quickly from cool Altiplano terrain to rainforest as it winds through very steep hillsides and atop cliffs. Normally we are alone on this road, but in recent years there have been quite a lot of tourists on mountainbikes around - so be careful!

El Tatio is located within the Andes Mountains at 4,300 m (14,100 ft.) above sea level. With over 80 active geysers, El Tatio is the largest geyser field in the southern hemisphere. The best time to see them is at sunrise when each geyser is surmounted by a column of steam that condenses in the bitterly cold morning air. But the experience is as fantastic later in the morning! The steam plumes disappear as the air warms up. It is also possible to bathe in the hot geyser water in a small pool - it is a great feeling!

The sunset in the moon valley – Valle de la Luna – is the highlight of San Pedro. And the best part is that we can get there on our motorcycles! If you walk up the highest sand dunes you have a spectacular view of the Licancabur Volcano.

Separated from the mainland by the Strait of Magellan, the archipelago is comprised of "Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego" and many smaller, uninhabited ones. Countless shipwrecks and indigenous extinction contribute to the powerful mystique of this “end-of-the-world” location. From strong winds in the plains of the arid north to high rainfall in the mountains one can experience every possible climate on a single day. The name “Tierra del Fuego” (Land of Fire) goes back to the now nearly extinct Yaghan Indians with their warming fires, seen by the first European travellers.