If you want to boast that you have been to every country on a continent then South America is the place to do it. It contains just 12 countries, less than any other populated continent and Brazil occupies fifty percent of the mainland area, as well as over fifty percent of the total population of the continent.
South America’s European influence is obvious in the language, most countries in the region have Spanish as their official language but it’s easy to forget that as Brazil’s has over half the people of South America in its borders and the official language of Brazil is Portuguese. Suriname, one of the most sparsely populated countries in the world even has Dutch as its official tongue.
Some of the world’s most popular tourist attractions can be found within the continent. The natural beauty of the world’s highest waterfall, Angel Falls in Venezuela; the man made wonder of Macchu Picchu in Peru together with some of the biggest parties on the planet at the Rio de Janeiro carnivals in Brazil.
As well as the highest waterfall the continent contains other superlatives. The Atacama desert is the driest place in the world, the Amazon is the world’s largest river basin and it has the longest mountain range on Earth, the Andes.
Surrounded on both sides by the dominant oceans of the Atlantic and the Pacific, South America is a continent with much to offer. It is a popular destination for travellers, its small number of countries is overshadowed by the sheer number of beautiful and amazing things to see.
