edit South America Travel Guide

• The Amazon River (Rio Amazonas) of South America is one of the longest two rivers on Earth, the Nile River in Africa being the other. The Amazon has by far the greatest total flow of any river, carrying more than the Mississippi, Nile, and Yangtze rivers combined. It also has the largest drainage area of any river system. The quantity of fresh water released to the Atlantic Ocean is enormous: 184,000 m³ per second (6.5 million ft³/s) in the rainy season. Indeed, the Amazon is responsible for a fifth of the total volume of fresh water entering the oceans worldwide.
• Th remote islands of Galapagos, Easter Island and Fernando de Noronha are some of the most awe striking places on earth
• Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires are some of the most spectacular citys in the world and boy do they know how to party.
• Machu Picchu is one of the most popular archeological sites of the world, and therefore, the most visited attraction in Peru. Machu Picchu is known throughout the world for its amazing ruins and its unusual location on a high mountain overlooking the mighty currents of the Urubamba river.
• The Amazon rainforest in South America encompasses 1.2 billion acres (7 million km²), with parts located within nine nations: Brazil (with 60% of the rainforest), Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana. This forest represents over half of the planet's remaining rainforests. This region is home to ~2.5 million insect species, tens of thousands of plants, and some 2000 birds and mammals. The diversity of plant species is the highest on earth with some experts estimating that one square kilometre may contain over 75,000 types of trees and 150,000 species of higher plants. One square kilometre of Amazon rainforest can contain about 90,000 tons of living plants. This constitutes the largest collection of living plants and animal species in the world.
• Waterfalls: the world's tallest waterfall, at 979m, Angel Falls, in Venezuela and one of the world's largest Iguaçu Falls (larger than Niagra Falls) are both in South America. Plus the fact that the newly discovered Gocta Falls in Peru are the third largest in the world, says a lot about the exoticness of the continent

Language

In South America most countries are Spanish speaking, with Brazil as the most notable exception. Furthermore the three Guyana's (French Guiana, British Guyana and Suriname) speak the language of their former colonial masters as well as their own languages. In all of South America native Indian languages are still spoken, but they become less frequently so. In countries like Paraguay and Bolivia the indiginous languages are (almost) dominant.

History

From the 1530s, the indigenous inhabitants of South America were invaded by European conquistadors, first from Spain, later from Portugal, who divided it into colonies. In the course of the 19th century, these colonies won their independence.

regions

• Amazonia is a huge region in South America which encompasses the northern parts of Brazil and Bolivia, the eastern parts of Peru and Ecuador, the southeastern parts of Colombia and Venezuela and all of Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana.
• The Pantanal is a region in South America lying mostly in Western Brazil but extending into Bolivia as well. It is considered one of the world's largest and most diverse freshwater wetland ecosystems. The Pantanal is also one of Brazil's major tourist draws, for its wildlife. Some of the large cattle farms offer acommodations and organized tours.
• The Andes are a vast mountain chain in South America. It extends from Chile to Venezuela through Colombia, Argentina, Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador.
• Tierra del Fuego is an archipelago off the south of South America, separated from the mainland by the Magellan Strait. The 73,753 km² archipelago was divided between Argentina and Chile in 1881. The eastern part belongs to Argentina (the Territory of Tierra del Fuego) and its main towns are Rio Grande and Ushuaia. The western part belongs to Chile (Magallanes province) and its main towns are Porvenir and Puerto Williams. Cape Horn is at the southernmost part of the archipelago, in Chilean land.

Hospitals and Emergencies

Depending on the country you are in you should take care to find hospitals with westernized medicine. In Argentina and Chile they generally have great hospitals and medicine all over, however make sure you are in a quality hospital in other countries in South America especially Brazil and Ecquador. 

Food and Water

In some contries such as Chile and Argentina the water is potable and in others it is not. Just ask around and see as sometimes it can vary in different regions of a country.

Smoking

Smoking is generally accepted all over South America. 

Phone

Phones are generally reliable in South America, however calls may be expensive even with a calling card and being that internet connections are reliable it is advised to have a Skype account or some other VoiP service and headphones if you plan on calling home often on your travels. 

Internet

Many countries (Chile, Argentina, Brazil) have very fast and cheap internet, usually charging around $1.00/hour.