Time Out has just named Indonesia’s Komodo National Park as the world’s most beautiful place, but there were brilliant contenders for that number one spot from all corners of the planet, including South America.
The first of these, which came in eighth place, was Choquequirao, an ancient Incan city perched high above Peru’s Apurímac River. It’s known as Machu Picchu’s sister site, but has far fewer visitors. Its name translates from Quechua to mean ‘cradle of gold’, and while all traces of the stuff are long gone, the sprawling site is still home to ceremonial halls, farming terraces, chambers which once held mummies and some llama artwork.
Altiplano, a plateau in the Bolivian Andes, also made the list, claiming fourteenth place. About the area, Time Out Travel contributor SJ Armstrong wrote: ‘I spent four days following flocks of low-flying flamingos to the Altiplano’s highlights. Laguna Verde, a periwinkle lagoon backed by a perfectly conical mountain peak. The pink waters of Laguna Colorada, fading purple in the shifting sun. And the Altiplano’s biggest draw: Salar de Uyuni. The cracked white salt flats are lightly flooded in the winter months, forming a perfect mirror of the sky.’ Sounds pretty magical, right?
The third entry for the continent was the Perito Moreno Glacier in Argentina, which claimed thirty-eighth place. It sits in Los Glaciares National Park and is hemmed by foreboding mountain peaks.
‘It’s not just the sight of the glacier that’s astounding, but also the sound,’ says Eleanor Hughes, a contributor for Time Out Travel, ‘Crackling and rumbling noises echo in the valley, particularly intense when ice calves off, sending waves across the lake’s surface.’
Check out the full list of the world’s most beautiful places.
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