Bucket List / Adventure Travel Goals
Overland South America
Ticked off
Glaciers, salt flats, deserts and rainforest, joined together by night buses and border crossings across a whole continent.
The adventure
South America is made for overlanding. Long-distance buses with reclining seats roll through the night between cities, and every border crossing reveals a new landscape: the glaciers and granite towers of Patagonia, the dry, Mars-like valleys of the Atacama, the high Andean plateau of Bolivia and the steamy edges of the Amazon.
String them together and the highlights come thick and fast. You can drive across the Salar de Uyuni, a salt flat so vast and level it turns into a mirror after rain; stand on the walkways at Iguazú as hundreds of waterfalls thunder around you; trek to Machu Picchu; dance in the streets of Rio or Cartagena; and watch condors circle above the Colca Canyon. Between the big sights are the moments that make it, like ceviche by the sea in Lima, empanadas at a bus stop and the slow realisation that you've crossed a continent at ground level.
Why it’s epic
- Crossing the Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia, the largest salt flat in the world.
- Iguazú Falls on the Argentina–Brazil border, a chain of around 275 waterfalls.
- Patagonia's Torres del Paine and the Perito Moreno glacier.
- The Atacama Desert in Chile, one of the driest places on Earth.
What it is
Overlanding South America means crossing borders by bus or truck between the Andes, Amazon and Patagonia.
How to do it
Long-distance buses connect most cities, or join an overland truck tour.
Top tip
Use Spanish-language bus sites for routes and times.
Need to know
- Long-distance buses are comfortable and good value, and cama or semi-cama seats recline for overnight journeys.
- UK passport holders can visit most South American countries without a visa, but check entry rules and Foreign Office advice, especially for Venezuela.
- Altitude in Bolivia and Peru can hit hard, so build in time to acclimatise.
- Learning some Spanish, plus a little Portuguese for Brazil, makes everything easier.
Do it yourself
Kit I'd pack
Most of what I took across Africa works here too, with a warmer layer for the Andes and Patagonia.
- The North Face Base Camp DuffelAmazonTough enough for months in a truck locker.
- Compression packing cubesAmazonFind anything in seconds, even in a tent.
- Packable down jacketAmazonAltiplano nights and Patagonian wind get properly cold.
- Silk sleeping bag linerAmazonFor hot nights, and hostel sheets you'd rather not touch.
- Rechargeable head torchAmazonCamp toilets at 3am.
- Microfibre travel towelAmazonPacks to nothing and dries in an hour.
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My experience
Ticked off, but the full story is still to be written up.
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