12 Incredible Hikes To Do In South America

Even though you may be familiar with the Inca Trail to Peru’s Machu Picchu and Patagonia’s W Trek in Torres del Paine, South America is home to many more lesser-known treks than these well-known ones.

The continent is brimming with numerous journeys that are worth the passport stamp and sore legs, from Colombia to Argentina. Here is your resource for the best off-the-beaten-path hikes in South America, whether you have one day or fourteen.

1. Quebrada de Humahuaca to Calilegua National Park – Argentina

There are the more well-known arid valleys in Bolivia’s Salar de Uyuni and Chile’s San Pedro de Atacama, but Argentina also has a wild, uninhabited area in the Jujuy Province of the country’s high, northwestern Andes.

Discover Argentina’s most breathtaking Inca Trail on a trek with GeoEx, which leads you past rivers and jungles on the way from Tilarca to Salta, through a region where the elusive puma and jaguar freely roam.

The route passes Pre-Hispanic fortresses, stone pyramids where locals make offerings to Pachamama (Mother Earth), and the Campo de los Alisos National Park, where the scenery abruptly transforms into a lush jungle. Both the Quebrada de Humahuaca and Calilegua National Park are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

2. Lost City of Choquequirao Trek to Machu Picchu – Peru

It’s uncommon to come across a less-traveled route in a nation renowned for its excellent trekking.

The Inca Trail or Salkentay routes are excellent if you have your sights set on Machu Picchu, especially if you work with a company like Mountain Lodges of Peru, where you can unwind in the comfort of an opulent lodge each evening of the hike.

But if you’re looking for a different way to get to the famous ruins, the Choquequirao trek with Wilderness Travel might be for you. Choquequirao, also known as The Cradle of Gold, is an abandoned Inca stronghold perched high above the Apurimac River in the cloud forests.

3. Volcano Trek to Cotopaxi National Park – Ecuador

The renowned avenue of volcanoes in Ecuador begins just outside of Quito, the country’s vibrant capital.

The avenue includes a variety of peaks in the area, but the best way to experience them is on a six-day hike with Tierra del Volcán, where cozy lodge stays at Haciendas El Porvenir and El Tambo alternate with each night spent camping.

Before making the final ascent to Refugio Jose Ribas, which is located just below the summit of towering Volcán Cotopaxi, start by taking an acclimatization walk in the private reserve of Hacienda Santa Rita.

Then, you can explore the Inca fortress of Pucará del Salitre and see famous peaks like the Quilindaa, Antisana, Cayambe, and Pasochoa.

4. Aysén to Fitz Roy – Chile

Despite the fact that the majority of tourists head straight to southern Patagonia, northern Patagonia is also home to glaciers, fjords, wild rivers, lakes, and waterfalls that are all situated along the Carretera Austral, the southern highway that passes through the Aysén region.

Spend nine days trekking through places like the recently established Patagonia National Park, which was established by Kristine and Douglas Tompkins to preserve 2.2 million acres of pristine Patagonian lands.

The park, which is in the Chacabuco Valley, has the highest levels of biodiversity in the Aysén area; you might see huemul deer, pumas, and condors there.

Until you reach the Chilean-Argentine border, hike through lush forests, past lagoons, and waterfalls before crossing into southern Argentina for your final ascent of Mount Fitz Roy.

5. Overland Trek to Kaieteur Falls – Guyana

Guyana, known for its untouched rainforest and abundance of wildlife (including pumas, capybaras, red howler monkeys, and a variety of birds, including the country’s namesake toucan), also has a rich cultural heritage.

Join World Expeditions on a journey to the awe-inspiring Kaieteur Falls, one of the highest single-drop waterfalls in the world, and discover untouched ecosystems like the Iwokrama Rain Forest and the Burro-Burro River.

It’s just as impressive as Machu Picchu, but since it can only be reached on foot, you won’t likely run into other tourists there.

6. Tercera Barranca to Sierra Baguales – Chile

Chile’s Sierra Baguales is a remote, uninhabited, and utterly perfect area where wild horses, condors, and rheas roam. It is situated close to Torres del Paine National Park and set along the border with Argentina.

While staying at Awasi Patagonia, you can explore Sierra Baguales during a day hike that takes you through five cattle gates, the last of which is locked and only Awasi Patagonia has the key.

Here, the mountains are always bathed in sunlight. This is the place to peacefully explore Patagonia without the interference of other hikers. It is truly wild and delightfully unexplored.

Ascend the slopes of the range, passing fossilized leaves, shark teeth, and tree trunks dating back more than 20 million years as you pass Catedral and Ciutadella peaks.

7. Lost City Trek to Teyuna National Park – Colombia

A trip to Colombia’s northernmost wilderness is for you if you’re looking for a trail that only a few people have traveled.

Discover the lush jungle of the Sierra Nevada Mountains on this strenuous journey to Ciudad Perdida, an ancient Colombian city founded by the local Tayrona people, starting in Santa Marta with G Adventures.

It takes 1,200 steps to get to Teyuna’s final entrance, and only 10% of the city’s ruins are thought to have been discovered, adding to the mystique of this long-forgotten place.

Swimming in the Buritaca River, observing hummingbirds fly through the trees, and sleeping in hammocks outside are some of the highlights.

8. Dientes Circuit on Isla Navarino – Chile

If you’re looking for the southernmost trek in the world, look no further than the Dientes Circuit on Chile’s Isla Navarino.

This four-day trail journey with Adventure Life will take you across the Beagle Channel to Tiera del Fuego and south from Nassau Bay to the Wollaston Islands and Cape Horn, and is marked by little more than cairns.

Take a hike past the craggy peaks of the Dientes de Navarino and rest your head at one of the picturesque campsites at Salto Lagoon, Martillo Lagoon, or Los Guanacos Lagoon.

After one last push up Ventarron Pass for an unrivaled view of Mount Codrington and Virginia Pass to Montes Lindemayer, one can finally relax at Lakutaia Lodge, the world’s first sub-Antarctic lodge.

Discover virgin forests, mountain streams, and jungle bridges as you stay in a variety of lodges, guesthouses, camps, and even a hammock for a few nights.

9. Ausangate Trek to Rainbow Mountain – Peru

Despite being only three hours away from Cusco, the Ausangate Trek is largely unvisited by tourists because everyone who comes to Cusco wants to see Machu Picchu.

Ausangate, one of the most sacred mountains in the Cusco area, is located near isolated mountain settlements.

When traveling with FlashpackerConnect, you’ll go over five mountain passes between 15,000 and 17,000 feet in elevation: Snow-capped mountains give way to neon deserts, which give way to marshy pampas, and finally two natural hot springs, which are the perfect antidote to altitude sickness and tired muscles.

But the real reward for your efforts awaits you at the journey’s conclusion. Vinicunca, or Rainbow Mountain, greets visitors with its painted peaks and valleys.

10. El Chaltén to Laguna de los Tres – Argentina

One of the highlights of any trip to Argentina’s Patagonia is a hike along Laguna de Los Tres in Los Glaciares National Park, where you’ll be treated to stunning panoramas of the region’s namesake mountain, Fitz Roy.

Explore the quaint mountain town of El Chaltén with Say Hueque: This hike begins on a steep incline and continues past the Poincenot base camp, but most visitors will be drawn to the nearby Perito Moreno Glacier because of its proximity to El Calafate.

You can see Mount Fitz Roy, framed by a turquoise pool and brushed grey granite peaks, from a new vantage point after a final ascent up rock scree, provided the weather cooperates.

11. Summit Trek to Mount Roraima – Venezuela

The trip to Venezuela’s Mount Roraima is one of the greatest treks in South America, and it takes a full week to complete.

Mount Roraima is the highest tabletop mountain in the Gran Sabana and a natural border separating Venezuela, Brazil, and Guyana. Your Wild Frontiers tour will begin with a hike across the flat Venezuelan savannah toward the Kukenan River, and then up the sheer rock wall marking the ascent.

The towering peak rises to an altitude of less than 10,000 feet, giving visitors a bird’s-eye view of the lush jungle, hidden valleys, peaceful lagoons, and gushing streams of Venezuela.

12. Atins to Lençóis Maranhenses National Park – Brazil

The Lençóis region, on the north Atlantic coast of Brazil in the State of Maranho, is home to 30-foot-deep freshwater lagoons and 65-foot-high sand dunes; its name translates to “bedsheet” in Portuguese. This barefoot trek with Wildland Adventures only requires socks.

The unusual typography of Lençóis Maranhenses National Park is unlike any other region in the world, consisting of large, white dunes where fresh water sits in the valleys due to an unusual rain pattern, giving the impression that you are walking on silk-strewn air.

Starting in So Luis do Maranho, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, this off-the-grid trip offers a wealth of natural wonders, from midday swims in emerald lakes to full-moon nights when the sand glows silver.