The tricky thing about traveling to South America during the western world’s summertime is you’ll find that, opposite the hemisphere, they’re right in the middle of winter. But this doesn’t have to be a problem! South America is just as beautiful in its chilly season as it is in its warmer seasons. I even made my way to the tip of Chile and hiked Torres del Paine in its winter state and – in my opinion – doing it during winter is better than summer!
So where should you and can you go during the winter season? Check it out:
The Amazon
If you’re traveling closer to the Equator, seasons don’t exist. So instead of winter gear, you’ll be wearing shorts, t-shirts and your rain jacket for surprising rain downpours. I took an amazing route along the Amazon from Colombia to Peru that gave me an insight into the life of local Amazonian communities, and was the most relaxing part of my trip in South America. If you want to see how I managed to sleep on a hammock on a ferry boat gliding down the Amazon river, read here.
Peru
If you want to slowly transition into winter (having just left summer weather at home), visit Haucachina, Peru first. You’ll feel like you’re in the middle of the Sahara at this little oasis. If you stay within Huacachina versus the town of Ica, you’ll find that this place is tiny. The oasis is surrounded by several hostels and little restaurants, and all you’ll see are tourists. Regardless, this place is worth visiting for a full day or two. I stayed at Wild Olive Guesthouse, which has the best free breakfast included (there are choices!) and was the nicest hostel I stayed at in South America. Hike your way up to the top of the dunes for some incredible views. At sunset, it is even more breathtaking, but bring your jacket. During the day, it is sunny and warm, but once nighttime hits, you’ll remember it’s winter.
There is plenty of entertainment here, such as snowboard rentals for sandboarding down the dunes, and dune buggy rides! The dune buggy ride was such a blast for my friend Brooke and I. We snagged a seat at the front and it felt like we were on a real-life roller coaster, zooming up and down the dunes. Sliding on our bellies on boards was included in the price, which meant thrilling rides down steep dunes, encouraging lots of giggles and screams from everyone.
From Huacachina, you can take a long overnight bus to Cusco, or take a 4 to 5 hour bus to Lima and stay for a few days. I chose not to see Lima and took a bus to Lima to then catch a short flight to Cusco. Cusco will definitely be chillier than Huacachina. You’ll need to take out your gloves and hat. Luckily, the city is full of beautiful sweaters, scarves, hats and gloves made out of alpaca, and the tourists will make for good models of your choices before you make a purchase. I stayed at Puriwasi hostel, which was a cute and friendly place to stay with a good area to hang out and meet travelers (although it can get cold since most of it is outside), a little bar with Happy Hour specials, and a kitchen (that has actually has an oven!!)
There are so many things you can see and do in Cusco. In fact, Brooke and I ended up staying here longer than we originally planned and were glad for it. Besides the infamous Machu Picchu, there are several ruins to see right outside the city. You have to purchase a pass to see these ruins, for which you have different choices depending on how many you would like to visit and how long you plan to stay in Cusco. The closest and easiest one to visit is Sacsayhuaman (pronounced as “sexy woman,” which will induce chuckles every time, I’m telling you). You can easily take a quick cab here or go on a long walk up to the top of the city. You’ll find ancient stone structures, wild alpaca feeding on the lawn, incredible views of Cusco and even some natural stone slides.
If you want a break from costly tours, there is definitely a free ruin to visit right at the top of the city, before Sacsayhuaman. You will find many stairways in between homes near the top of the city, past all the restuarants and coffee shops. Keep taking these up (I know, you’re gonna feel the altitude) and eventually you’ll reach trees and green grassy mounds. Intriguing ruins will dot the fields of grass and act as nice resting spots. There will be a pretty view of the city and a calming quiet. If you desire to venture further, you may find monkey temple, another free ruin. I happened to come across a girl who gave us a free tour of the ruin, pointing out the broken shapes of monkeys, snakes and a cougar in the stones.
My favorite part of Cusco by far was visiting Rainbow Mountain. This is a new tour offered where you are taken by a van or bus at 3:30am up to a mountain outside the city. You wake up on the bus to incredible views of hills covered in alpaca and a snowy mountain. You’ll need to bundle up here, but may shed a few layers once you start your hike. Breakfast and lunch is included, and it’s encouraged that you drink lots of water and chew on plenty of coca leaves. The altitude is about to get very, very high. From the base, you will walk 6km up, which will feel like running a marathon due to the lack of oxygen. But the incredible tundra landscape will push you along and the top will be oh so worth it. The mountain really is rainbow-colored and absolutely gorgeous.
From Cusco, you can take another night bus to Puno, where you can visit South America’s unique Lake Titicaca. What makes it unique is that the native people live on manmade islands of reeds anchored in the middle of lake. I learned that there are several tiny communities living on these ‘islands’ and that sometimes they decide to move to different parts of the lake. I even watched a man take out a block of the island floor to wash his hands in the lake beneath him. Such an interesting lifestyle!
Argentina
I love, love, loved Argentina. I started from the very top, visiting the little towns along Quebrada de Humahuaca, which is a mountain valley covered in strips of color, similar to Cusco’s Rainbow Mountain. I found that the days here were mild, while chilly in the morning and night. I decided to stay in Tilcara, which was a charming place full of restaurants, boutique shops and outdoor shopping. Be sure to stop into one of the chocolate shops to try Argentina’s infamous dulce de leche. Every chocolate will have some kind of dallop of this thick caramel and you will be hooked through the rest of Argentina. To visit the beautiful colorful mountains, take a thirty-minute bus to Humahuaca and look for the tourist information office to direct you to the pick up spot where trucks drive you up to the mirador, or viewpoint. There won’t be a hike for this one. Just a pretty lookout.
Buenos Aires is my favorite city in South America. I found that the winter was very mild here. There will be so many tours offered at every hostel and hotel, but I decided to just walk on my own two feet and venture the city. This city is lively day and night, with outdoor markets on Sundays and nightclubs open every night. I stayed at Milhouse Hostel for easy access to the nightlife and in order to meet other travelers. (If you’d rather opt for a quieter hostel, this is not the place for you.) Another great way to get to know the city is renting bikes with some new friends from your hostel. This way you can have the freedom to see all that Buenos Aires has to offer. We took ourselves the Recoleta Cemetary (you’ll see how a cemetery could be so enchanting), around the beautiful neighborhood of Palermo, and all the way to the La Boca, a historic district with colorful buildings and the birthplace of tango. If you have more time, you can take a day trip to El Tigre, an hour out by train. This place is an Argentinian version of Amsterdam. If you want to check another country off your list, you can take a ferry boat across to Colonia, Uruguay. The sooner you book this option, the cheaper the ticket will be. Unfortunately, I missed out on this opportunity.
If you want to fully take advantage of Argentina’s winter, take a visit to Bariloche. Bariloche lodging will be a little pricier, so you might as well choose the best spot. I stayed at Hospedaje Penthouse, which had a cozy cabin feel, free breakfast, homemade banana bread and tea served midday, and an incredible view of Nahuel Huapi Lake. This little mountain town sits on the edge of a lake and is known for its skiing and snowboarding. If you don’t have any gear, there are places to rent from at the ski resort, and there are buses that take you there from town. Everything is easily accessible. After a long day on the mountain, treat yourself to the town’s sweet tooth spot, Rapa Nui. You have several choices of gelato (Argentina has that Italian influence), Nutella and strawberry covered waffles, and chocolate expresso. If you don’t want to ski or snowboard, there are plenty of hikes you can take out of town. You have to buy a little bus pass that you reload at the marts in town, and then you can take a quick bus to the trail points (with more info here). My friends and I took an hour bus out to Villa la Angostura to visit the National Park. If you have the entire day, you can hike through the protected forest, Bosque Arrayanes. Otherwise, you can take a boat along the brilliant blue lake until the edge of the peninsula where you can visit the unique, bright-orange trees that inspired the trees in Disney’s Fantasia. Bundle up if you want to sit on the top deck, which I suggest you do in order to enjoy the gorgeous mountain views, and the yellows, greens and blues that hit the coastline of the lake. I’ve never seen so much color in a place during winter.
What you absolutely can’t miss is the Perito Moreno Glacier. Getting here is a little more challenging, but its worth it. From Bariloche, there is a 36-hour bus ride to Calafate. Ya, it’s long, I know. But the seats are big and fold back so you can sleep comfortably. Honestly, there weren’t many food options along the way so I suggest you bring some good snacks. I mostly caught up on sleep during this trek, so it really wasn’t so bad. Be careful when planning your itinerary though – turns out this bus leaves only leaves twice a week during the winter and only one bus, Marga Tasqa, will take you to Calafate at this time. You can either get more information about schedule days and times at the tourism office in town or go to the company desk directly at the bus station. I don’t trust information online because they’re usually not accurate in South America.
When you get to Calafate, you’ll see one of the benefits of visiting in the winter: the hostels are almost empty. Not that no one will be there. Just that there are several hostels to choose from, all large, making off-season cheaper and giving you plenty of space. Most of my time down South was spent in a dorm room all to myself. If they are nice, the hostel will go ahead and give you your own room, knowing that there is enough space for you to take your own dorm room. Calafate was a tiny little town but there are still good food choices here and a chance to stuff your face with the last bit of Argentinian dulce de leche. To visit the glacier, you can either book a pricey tour to walk on the glacier (which I sometimes wish I had done), or just visit the glacier yourself for just the price of the park entrance. Instead of walking on the glacier, you’ll follow a walkway with views of the glacier from several different points. If you’re traveling solo, you can take a bus to Perito Moreno. If you make some friends, you can split a taxi in town for the same price of a bus ticket. There will be plenty of taxis advertising their services to take you to the glacier. The glacier is huge and nothing I’d seen before. It’s definitely cold out but not cold enough that you’d want to cut your visit short. My friends and I had a hard time leaving because we couldn’t stop watching for pieces of ice to slice into the water. (I even caught it on video!! Check it out.)
Chile
My final – and most exciting – destination was Parque Torres del Paine. The world-famous Patagonia wonder at the edge of South America. When first looking into this experience, the idea of hiking in the dead of winter intimidated me. Would I freeze my ass off? Would it be worth it? Deciding that it would be an experience of a lifetime, I decided that I would go for it. And I’m so glad I did.
Getting to Puerto Natales – the little town bordering the national park – from Calafate, was easy. You take a 5-hour bus across the border with a quick stop at border control. Puerto Natales is small enough to easily navigate and has a beautiful ocean-side border (although it looks more like a lake than a part of the ocean!) If you find other travelers, you can easily find a guide to take you to the park. Several hostels have guides so you can book directly through your hostel. There are also plenty of rental places for any gear you might need. I decided I wanted an entire experience so I booked a five-day trek with Chile Nativo. Winter treks in Torres del Paine are still somewhat new so I wanted to be sure I was with a safe company. I definitely had to pay more, but everything was organized for me, and all food and lodging was included. I had an absolute blast! I made many new friends from the trekking group and our guides made the trip even more fun with pranks and laughs in between the stunning landscapes.
So did I freeze my ass off? The first day I had one instant where I was very, very cold. And that was only because the wind picked up. Interestingly, wind is more prevalent in the summer than in the winter in Patagonia. But, in reality, you’re constantly moving so your body heat (and your appropriate layers) keep you warm. There was in fact lots of snow – the first day was like a winter wonderland – but there are so many mini-climates in the park that we had sunny days as well, with more browns and greens in sight than white. And the best part about hiking Torres del Paine in winter? No one is there! The crowds come in the warmer seasons, not winter. So every jaw-dropping viewpoint we came across was just for our group of ten to enjoy – versus the 200+ people that typically populate that spot. So don’t be afraid to visit the tippy top of South America in winter. It’s doable!
Some places to possibly pass in winter…
Ok so seeing Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia in winter is definitely doable. It’s absolutely gorgeous, and due to the dry season, you can see and touch the salt on the ground. If you take the 3-day tour, you will see things even more beautiful than the salt flats, such as red lagoons and flamingos in high altitudes. It is also extraordinary seeing how the wind shapes the snow along the dirt roads, making it spike up in an angle. But you have to be prepared for it to be very, very cold. Most of the time we sat in the car, which made it manageable. Because whenever we stopped at a site, we didn’t stay outside for very long before huddling back in the car. Depending on the tour you booked (I recommend Salty Desert Tours), you will stay in salt-brick hotels. These hotels are literally built of bricks made of salt, which is cool to look at, but does not keep you warm whatsoever. I slept with three layers of sweaters, two pants, two socks, gloves, a hat and slept in a sleeping bag under the covers. That’s how cold it was. But don’t completely shy away from it. I did it, and even went in the natural thermal bath with several others, which meant about 5 seconds in a bathing suit exposed to the icy air before hurrying into the hot water. You can do it!
Another place you may want to pass is El Chaltén, Argentina. Unfortunately, most of this little mountain town is closed during the winter. Having just split up with some friends I met traveling, it was kind of spooky being here. I felt like I was in a ghost town. There are supposedly some incredible hikes but, due to the unfortunate weather I experienced, I wasn’t able to to see any of the mountain peaks. I still enjoyed myself, going on a short hike while it was snowing, which was magical in itself. But this is definitely a place to visit when the weather is nicer.
I hope you can enjoy these places just as much as I did. Stay warm!
