Cities & Towns in South America

The Shrine of Our Lady of Las Lajas is a Roman Catholic basilica church built inside the canyon of the Guáitara River. It has been a tourism and pilgrimage destination since the eighteenth century. The town of Ipiales sits on the banks of the Guáitara River, 9,500 ft above sea level.

Brasília is the federal capital of Brazil and seat of government of the Federal District. Laid out along an east-west axis crossed by a north-south axis, curved to follow the topography as a transportation thoroughfare, Brasília is a definitive example of 20th century modernist urbanism.

Caleta Tortel is a picturesque lumber town in Capitán Prat Province, Aysén Region of Chile. It has no conventional streets. Instead, the village's inhabitants built an intricate walkway system out of Guaytecas Cypress wood, becoming part of the town’s culture and a local tourist attraction.

La Paz is the administrative capital and seat of government of Bolivia. The city is set in a canyon created by the Choqueyapu River, a bowl-like depression surrounded by the mountains of the Altiplano. Lying about 4,000 m above sea level, La Paz is the world’s highest national capital.

Montevideo is both the principal city, most important port and capital of Uruguay. As the commercial, financial and political center of Uruguay, the city is considered to have the highest quality of life in Latin America.

Potosí is the example par excellence of a major silver mine of the modern era, reputed to be the world’s largest industrial complex in the 16th century. A small pre-Hispanic-period hamlet perched in the Bolivian Andes, Potosí became an "Imperial City" following the visit of Francisco de Toledo in 1572.

Quito, Ecuador's capital, sits high in the Andean foothills. Constructed on the foundations of an ancient Incan city, it’s known for its well-preserved colonial center, rich with 16th- and 17th-century churches and other structures blending European, Moorish and indigenous styles.

Situated on the the southern coast of Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego, the city of Ushuaia lies at the southern tip of South America. Ushuaia, the capital of Tierra del Fuego Province, claims the title of the southernmost city of both Argentina and the world.

With its earthen constructions unique to the Caribbean, Coro is the only surviving example of a rich fusion of local traditions with Spanish Mudéjar and Dutch architectural techniques. Founded in 1527, it was one of the first colonial towns and has some 600 historic buildings.