South America has many historical sites, with ancient,  impressively engineered feats of construction. Many archaeological discoveries have occurred here that have impacted the entire world. The best destinations to observe these marvels are in Peru, Bolivia and Chile.

Peru possesses incomparable wealth in the sheer number of its archaeological sites. Some examples are: Caral, the oldest metropolis in America; Chan Chan, the largest pre-Hispanic adobe ruin in the Americas; and the fortress of Kuelap, built by the Chachapoyas people and considered to be one of the major archaeological monuments in Peru. It has been called the ¨Machupicchu of Northern Peru.¨
Peru also has the enigmatic Nazca Lines, etched into the Nazca Desert in Ica; the Chavin de Huantar, which was the principal religious center of the Chavin culture; and Choquequirao, which was built in the midst of dense forest and contains significant religious, administrative and residential sectors as well as 180 Andean terraces.

Cusco, cradle of the Inka culture, possesses numerous archaeological sites of great historical importance; in the city center there are churches that were erected on top of the original Inka foundations, such as: The Koricancha Temple, the Convent of Santa Catalina, and the Archbishop’s Palace. Near Cusco, we find the pre-Inka citadel of Piquillacta, and the Inka Centers of Sacsayhuaman, Puka Pukara, Tambomachay, Kenko, Tipon and Racchi. In the Sacred Valley, one finds: Pisac, Yucay,  Ollantaytambo, Maras, Moray and Chinchero

The citadel of Machupicchu (Wonder of the World), located three hours from the city of Cusco, is one of the principal tourist destinations in the world. Its impressively harmonious setting within its natural environment influenced its being named as a World Nature and Human Culture Heritage site by UNESCO in 1982.

In Chile, in the South Pacific, one finds the fascinating Easter Island. Easter Island lies more than 2,000 miles from the nearest large population center;  it is one of the most isolated places on Earth. The island is shaped like a triangle and is only 63 square miles in area. It is best known for the gigantic monoliths, called Moai, that were carved from the soft volcanic tuff found on the island. These statues were placed on stone platforms facing out to sea; there are more than 1,000 of them. The culture that erected these figures are known as the Rapa Nui; their language and culture have been lost due to their having been first conquered by Peruvian slave traders and later influenced by the missionaries.  There are very few direct descendants of the Rapa Nui living today, but the Moai remain as testimony to their lost culture.