South America will uplift your senses with the tropical sun rising over a palm-fringed beach, or a bracing wind blowing off the southern ice fields. Light can be blinding on the high-altitude salt flats, or dense and green in the rain forest. The gentle scent of the ripe guava fills the countryside, but the fire of chilli from that innocent-looking jar will electrify your taste buds. Explore the cities of prehispanic civilizations and the churches of colonial times, immerse yourself in the present with its celebrations and social dilemmas. Where past and present mix, there are festivals, crafts and gastronomy, from the humble potato in its umpteen varieties to the most sophisticated of wines. If you are looking for something more active, throw yourself off a giant sand dune into a lake, or climb the highest mountain. Walk in the tree-tops of the rainforest, at eye level with birds and monkeys, dance in an Andean village square to a solo violin, or to techno brega in a warehouse-sized c