Alright, folks of Misadventures-land. Behold: The most stunning natural landmarks of Central and South America! Below, you’ll find goregous glaciers, salt flats, glow-in-the-dark bays, red rivers, caves literally filled with crystals, hidden beaches, sinkholes, tabletop mountains, and waterfalls galore. I don’t think this post needs much more of an introduction than that. Add these beauties to your bucket lists.

 

Perito Moreno Glacier, Patagonia, Argentina

This’ll knock your socks off.
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Iguazu Falls, Argentina

This giganto-waterfall is on the border of the Brazilian state of Paraná and the Argentine province of Misiones. So, this waterfall is in the same country as that glacier we just saw. Same country. Can y’all just not talk to me for a minute? I just. Can’t. What.
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Photo Credit: http://www.onthegotours.com/ landmarks in south america, south america landmarks, famous landmarks in south america, south american landmarks, landmarks of south america, Iguazu Falls, Argentina, This giganto-waterfall is on the border of the Brazilian state of Paraná and the Argentine province of Misiones, natural landmarks in central and south america

Photo Credit: http://www.onthegotours.com/

The Great Blue Hole, Belize

It’s a large submarine sinkhole off the coast of Belize. It’s 984 ft across and 407 ft deep. Jacques-Yves Cousteau himself said it’s a great place to scuba, so I tend to believe that it’s true.

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Lençóis Maranhenses National Park, Maranhão, Brazil

Or, “World’s Most Difficult Golf Course.” The area encompasses roughly 1500 square kilometers, and despite abundant rain, supports almost no vegetation.

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Vale Da Lua, Brazil

This not-well-known area is a scrambler’s paradise. Known as the “Valley of the Moon,” it has pools, natural water slides and cascades.

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The Salt Flats, Bolivia

If any of your friends have gone to Bolivia, you know what this is. You know because they posted a million goofy photos on Facebook of the optical illusion that you can create on this landscape. You know because you were instantly jealous. At any rate, here are some of the best photos I could find:
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Photo Credit: Brendan van Son, landmarks in south america, south america landmarks, famous landmarks in south america, south american landmarks, landmarks of south america, The Salt Flats, Bolivia

Photo Credit: Brendan van Son

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Caño Cristales River, Colombia

It’s not featured in a commercial for Hi-C, but it should be. The River is known as “The Liquid Rainbow” because of its striking colors-it appears to include yellow, green, blue, black, and most especially red. The red color is caused by a natural organism, Macarenia clavigera (Podostemaceae), at the bottom of the river.

Photo Credit: Mario Carvajal, landmarks in south america, south america landmarks, famous landmarks in south america, south american landmarks, landmarks of south america, Caño Cristales River, Colombia

Photo Credit: Mario Carvajal

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Cave of Crystals, Chihuaua, Mexico

You thought they were exaggerating with the title for a second, didn’t ya? The main chamber of the cave has giant selenite (gypsum) crystals, some of the largest natural crystals ever found.

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Hidden Beach in the Marieta Islands near Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

“What do you mean by ‘hidden beach?'” you ask. This is what I mean. These guys were formed thousands of years ago by volcanic activity, and they are completely uninhabited.
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Bioluminescent Bay, Puerto Rico

The water luminescence is triggered by dinoflagellates, oceanic plankton that generates an emerald green and ultramarine illumination when water is physically disturbed. It’s a super delicate ecosystem, so if I were you, I’d get over these ASAP to soak in this natural wonder before us humans find a way to accidentally mess everything up.
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Mount Roraima

The mountain is the triple border point of Venezuela, Brazil and Guyana. It’s the highest of the Pakaraima chain of tepui plateau in South America.

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This is what it looks like on top of the mountain.
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Angel Falls, Venezuela

The world’s second highest uninterrupted waterfall.

Photo Credit: Jay Dickman, landmarks in south america, south america landmarks, famous landmarks in south america, south american landmarks, landmarks of south america, Angel Falls, Venezuela

Photo Credit: Jay Dickman

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Sarisariñama Sinkholes, Venezuela

I like to believe that these are mega-dinosaur footprints. The scientists say that they’re sinkholes with isolated forest ecosystems covering their bottoms.

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Ausangate Trek, Peru

Head out to the Andes and check out this beaut. Trekking the Ausangate typically takes about five days, but let’s be real, if I got out there, I’d try to stay forever.
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Have I missed any beautiful locales  in South or Central America that should be featured on this list? Let me know in the comments section below!