LAM 2-4 28/4/09 17:46 Page 43
Latin America
Chain reaction Where best to experience the stunning Andes mountains p43;
Way to Quito Paul Revel reports from high up in Ecuador p46; Deep down
Mexico way Touring the southern state of Chiapas p49; Hotel news p51
Mountain countries
Your guide to the Andes
They stretch the length of South America, but tourists’
experience of the mountain range depends very much
on which country they visit, says Dave Richardson
Venezuela
Colombia
VENEZUELA. Walking & Trekking programme this year. A
The Andes start in Venezuela, and with 16-day tour costs from £3,399 including the
Ecuador
peaks as high as 5,000 metres snowy peaks of Los Nevados national park
(Pico Bolivar) the scenery is and the coffee zone, before relaxing in ham-

every bit as dramatic as mocks on Colombia’s Caribbean beaches.
A in the better-known
countries farther south. PERU.
n
Brazil
The main gateway is The Inca ruins of Machu Picchu, the historic
d Peru
Merida, dating from 1558 and mountain city of Cusco and the Sacred
e
featured on overland tours. Valley are instantly recognisable images of
s
Tucan Travel’s Cartagena tour the Andes, and a mainstay of operators’
Bolivia

of Venezuela, Colombia and programmes.
Ecuador passes through during a Here you can do everything from trekking
A
four-week road trip that starts in between mountain huts to enjoying the lux-Paraguay
the Venezuelan capital, Caracas. It costs ury of Orient-Express hotels, and a growing
n
Chile £670, plus $1,000 to be paid locally. number of customers want soft adventure.
Operators including Bales are starting to
d
introduce a network called Mountain Lodges
e
COLOMBIA. of Peru. A 13-day itinerary which includes
Uruguay
Colombia was off-limits for many years six days’ trekking costs from £3,195.
s
because of its civil war and the high risk of Product manager Steve Bray says: “This is

kidnap faced by visitors, but although parts the comfortable alternative to the Inca Trail.
Argentina
of the country are still affected it is now It follows the Salkantay Trail, which is a
regarded as safe for operators to return.
The capital, Bogota, at 2,600 metres, is
very much a mountain city, with an
impressive colonial district and a gold
museum, which explains why the Spanish
came here in large numbers.
Ruins of ancient cities can also be found
here, including Ciudad Perdida (Lost City)
from the Tayrona culture.
Coffee is the main export, and this is
cultivated in the foothills around Bogota.
es
tur
Most visitors combine the mountains with
the colonial city of Cartagena, on the coast.
orld Pic
W
Colombia makes its debut in Exodus’s Iconic sight: the Inca ruins of Machu Picchu in Peru
01.05.2009 43
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