Ultimate South American Odyssey

Twenty-nine days from Rio and the Iguazu Falls to Buenos Aires, Machu Picchu, the Ecuadorian Amazon and the Galapagos, with flights and hotels arranged throughout.

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Iguazu Falls Brazil

This is a journey for someone who wants to see the great set pieces of South America in one unhurried sweep. It begins on Rio's Copacabana and ends among the sea lions of the Galapagos, with international and internal flights, 26 nights in Charm category hotels and daily breakfasts all arranged. It is an independent itinerary rather than a fixed group tour, with local representatives, drivers and bilingual guides meeting you in each destination.

You fly overnight from the UK or Ireland to Rio de Janeiro for three nights. A guided city tour takes you up Corcovado to Christ the Redeemer, then past the Maracanã, the Sambódromo and the Selarón Steps. Optional extras include Sugarloaf Mountain with a churrascaria lunch, Tijuca National Park and Vista Chinesa, a thirty-minute helicopter flight over the city, and an evening of rodízio and live music at Rio Scenarium. From there you fly to Iguazu for three nights, spending a full day on the Argentinian side, where footbridges lead to the Devil's Throat, and a morning on the Brazilian side above the river canyon. For the adventurous, there is an optional 4x4 and Zodiac trip into the spray of the falls.

Three nights in Buenos Aires follow, with a tour of Palermo, San Telmo, Puerto Madero, La Boca and Recoleta, and an optional cultural pack of a tango dinner show, the Tigre Delta and an asado evening. Then on to Peru: two nights in Lima, with its colonial Historic Centre and the Santo Domingo Convent, before flying to Cusco and continuing into the Sacred Valley via the Sulca textile museum. On day 14 the Voyager or Expedition train carries you to Aguas Calientes for a guided visit to Machu Picchu. Two nights in Cusco include a walking tour of the Plaza de Armas, the Cathedral and Koricancha, with an optional full day in the Sacred Valley at Ollantaytambo, Moray and Chinchero.

Ecuador fills the final stretch. After a night in Quito and a tour of its historic centre, you travel to Tena for two nights in the Amazon on full board, with a night walk and a guided wildlife walk through the rainforest. The road to Baños stops at the roaring Pailón del Diablo waterfall and a tasting of melcocha and fresh sugar cane juice, and an optional evening at the Luna Volcán Spa uses volcanic-origin waters. Back near Quito, you stand astride the equator at the Middle of the World Monument and the Intiñán Museum, with an optional day to Otavalo's market and Cuicocha Lake.

The last chapter is three nights on San Cristóbal in the Galapagos. A walk through Puerto Baquerizo Moreno brings the first sea lions and marine iguanas, and a highlands tour visits La Galapaguera for giant tortoises, Puerto Chino and La Lobería. Optional kayaking, the Tijeretas trail with a cooking class, and a full island tour snorkelling at Kicker Rock are available. You return to Quito for a final night before the overnight flight home. Please note that Galapagos and other national park entrance fees, local tourist taxes, drinks and tips are not included.

Highlights

• Christ the Redeemer and the view over Rio from Corcovado
• Both the Argentinian and Brazilian sides of the Iguazu Falls
• Guided visit to Machu Picchu, reached by the Voyager or Expedition train
• Colonial Lima, Cusco and the Sacred Valley
• Two nights in the Ecuadorian Amazon on full board, with a jungle night walk
• Pailón del Diablo waterfall and the equator at the Middle of the World
• Sea lions, marine iguanas and giant tortoises on San Cristóbal, Galapagos
• Flights, 26 nights' hotels and daily breakfasts included