IMAGES: CHRISTIAN KNEPPER; PROEXPORT COLOMBIA; GETTY
south america | regions
Cartagena, Colombia It’s not hard to see why TripAdvisor awarded Cartagena second place on its global list of ‘Destinations on the Rise’ in 2015. Te colonial jewel in Colombia’s crown, the city’s UNESCO-protected Old Town is widely regarded as one of the prettiest conurbations on the Caribbean coast.
Cartagena, Colombia. Below: Kuelap, Peru
Kuelap, Peru Situated 9,842 feet above sea level, this vast lost city of the Chachapoyas — the ‘people of the clouds’ — has, until today, remained relatively inaccessible to tourists due to its remote location in the Amazonas region. But the recent opening of a new $18.7 million cable car to the site is set to transform the pre-Incan citadel’s fortunes. Te move, which came just weeks after LATAM Airline’s 2016 launch of a direct flight between the capital, Lima, and the nearby city of Jaen, is expected to more than double the number of visitors to Kuelap, which predates Machu Picchu by at least 500 years.
Montevideo, Uruguay Te Uruguayan capital might not be as well- known as others in South America, but that’s set to change following the decision of three major hotel brands to create a base there. First off the block was Hyatt International in 2016, which judged Montevideo as the perfect platform for launching its trendy Hyatt Centric brand outside the US. Its new, 178-room waterfront hotel, located in the fashionable Pocitos barrio, opened in June 2016. It was joined by a Starwood Aloft property, while a 120-room Hampton by Hilton concluded the line-up in December. u
