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In today's world a truly undiscovered destination is becoming an increasingly rare commodity.

Where once Latin America was scarcely trodden by tourists – and we can tell you, having been amongst the first in the UK travel industry to set foot there, it doesn't feel like so long ago! – it is now an accessible, stable and comfortable, indeed often luxurious, place to travel. So if you still really want to blaze a trail you'll have to look further afield. Head with us down the road less travelled as we venture to the region's most unexplored corners, where the attractions are on a huge scale but the crowds are anything but.

DARIÉN NATIONAL PARK, PANAMA

Since it gives its name to the Darién Gap – the skinny dividing line between Panama and Colombia, missing link in the Pan-American Highway, and, most infamously, haunt of FARC guerrillas – you could be forgiven for thinking that the whole Darién region was a virtual no man's land. Not so: it's a huge territory, and without ever getting anywhere near the Gap you can safely enjoy stunning natural attractions and the crowd-free benefits of the region's undeserved notoriety! It's also populated, home to a mix of cultures whose geographical isolation has sheltered them from the modern world. In the jungles and mountains, native Kuna and Embera communities thrive alongside the abundant wildlife, and you will see both on our unique Eastern Panama trip, which includes exploration by boat (we were followed by dolphins) and dug-out canoe.

REMOTE PERU

With one of the great wonders of the world famously perched on a Peruvian mountaintop, Peru's gems might seem anything but hidden. However, the reality is that with a bit of time and effort, you can still explore whole swathes of this extraordinary land in which tourists can be measured on fingers rather than in thousands: deepest, darkest Peru as it were! Just ask Rosemary Morlin - who has been to Peru with us no less than seven times and has a definite penchant for the country's remoter reaches: read her fascinating accounts of trekking between isolated highland villages and joining local celebrations in the Cotahuasi Canyon for a taste of what's possible. If you want to follow Rosemary's lead and stray from the beaten path, just heading north of Lima is a good start: Peru's northern treasures draw few crowds but are amongst the world's most intriguing archaeological finds. Our Living Archaeology of the North holiday can be adapted to incorporate the incredible ruined fortress of Kuelap.

THE THREE GUIANAS

Ask anyone to name the countries of South America and you can be sure GuyanaSuriname and French Guiana will be the last three they're likely to remember. Yet this polyglot block of countries perched incongruously on the continent's northeast corner are the stuff of unforgettable travels – truly remote, isolated and relentlessly alien. There's pristine rainforest in Guyana, punctuated by the spectacular falls of Kaieteur, and fascinating clapboard capitals in the form of Guyana's Georgetown and Suriname's Paramaribo. In French Guiana, a jungly country still idiosyncratically classed as a département of France, visit the international space station at Kourou and the notorious former penal colony of Devil's Island where prison buildings have been reclaimed by the giant roots of trees. For the remotest of the remote, you can even visit Surinamese Maroon communities, where the descendants of escaped slaves live a life little removed from that of west African villages.

All three of the Guiana's can be visited on a tailor-made basis or on our trail-blazing group tour, modelled on the original style of Journey Latin America trips back when we started in 1980.

CHILE'S SOUTHERN HIGHWAY

Look no further than the Aisén for the quintessential dream of Patagonia: wild scenery, scarcely interrupted by the smallest human settlement; a weaving road slicing through endless glacial landscapes. That road is the Carretera Austral or 'Southern Highway', which provides a lifeline to a wild region where even the fresh mountain air seems infused with adventure. As you head south, thick, undisturbed temperate rainforest gives way to clear glacial lakes and rivers. This, according to our foremost Southern Cone experts David and Sarah, is the most beautiful part of all Patagonia, something neither would say lightly! Go now before recently approved major hydro-electric projects change the area's pristine valleys forever.

 

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Flexible, custom-made holidays to Latin America created to match your exact requirements: our tailor-made itineraries are as unique as the clients for whom they are designed.

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Meet our team

Real Latin american experts

  • Chris
    Chris Rendell-Dunn - Travel Expert

    Anglo-Peruvian Chris grew up in Lima and spent much of his adult life in between London and Cusco as a tour leader, before settling permanently in our London-based Tailor-made and Group Tours sales team.

  • Charlotte
    Charlotte Daubeney - Travel Expert

    Charlotte's fascination with Latin America began with a family holiday to Belize. She went on to study Spanish in school and at university before spending a year living in Santiago, Chile.

  • Juliet
    Juliet Ellwood - Travel Expert

    After graduating with a degree in Anthropology and History and having been fascinated by Latin America since childhood by the book featuring photos of Nazca, Juliet first visited the region in 2003. Since then, Juliet has visited the majority of countries in Latin America but has particularly extensive experience with Peru, a country she loves for many reasons but not least, its incredible archaeological richness and delicious food!

  • Paul Winrow Giffin
    Paul Winrow-Giffin - Travel Expert

    After graduating in Computer Science, Paul spent seven months travelling from Colombia to Argentina and came home hooked on Latin America.

  • Sallly
    Sally Dodge - Travel Expert

    A former Journey Latin America tour leader, Sally spent 7 years working, travelling and living throughout Latin America before returning to the UK to help people arrange their own adventures to this wonderful destination.

  • Finn Clennett
    Finn Clennett - Travel Expert

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