Since the 1500s, the Legend of El Dorado has described a Lost of City of Gold, a myth that drove hordes of conquistadors into South American jungles in pursuit of riches. Rediscovered records and artifacts have now revealed the remarkable origin story of this legend. It began with Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada’s campaign into the highlands of Colombia, where he encountered a thriving society rich in gold and emeralds, the Muisca confederation of tribes.

In terms of its historical significance, Cartagena de Indias was the most important city to emerge in the expansion of the Spanish Empire, playing a central role in the unfolding of South America's colonial period. It was founded in 1533, a few decades after the Spanish began their conquest of the New World. Situated on Colombia’s north coast, next to the turquoise waters of the Caribbean, it was an ideal location, with natural harbors protecting their fleet of ships. It quickly became an imp...

Peru’s Cerro Sechín is the creepiest place I’ve been. The outer walls of this three-thousand-year-old temple are covered in relief carvings of dismembered bodies, likely depicting human sacrifice. What was their worldview that gave rise to this practice?

Although largely unknown to most travelers, one of the most influential ancient cultures of South America is that of Chavín. It served as an important pilgrimage site from roughly 1200-500 B.C.E. As it rose in prominence, artwork bearing its religious symbols began appearing throughout the central Andes and down to the Peruvian coast. This expansion points towards a widespread transformation of the Andean belief system within the archeological timeline, in what's been dubbed the Early Horizon.

Within the coastal desert of north-central Peru, a series of river valleys flow down from the towering Andes into the sea. In recent decades, archeological excavations in this region have begun to uncover the remains of some of the earliest ancient cities within the Americas. Dozens of step-pyramid complexes have already been unearthed across numerous sites, while many more still hold their secrets buried beneath the sands. Remarkably, the construction of some of these have now been shown to ...

600 miles from the Ecuadorian coast, the Galapagos archipelago rises from the Pacific. It's an evolutionary laboratory, shaped by primordial forces, providing us with clues to the origins of life. The birth of the islands began five million years ago, as a geological hotspot travelled across the ocean floor, bubbling up lava through cracks in the crust as it went. The oldest of the volcanos are now being swallowed up by the sea, where only the crescent shaped rim of the ancient crater remains...

Within Southeast Colombia's Orinoco River basin, a series of massive rocky sandstone mesas, called tepuis, rise up from the dense humid jungle. Since ancient times the cliffs of these mountains were important cultural sites. They served as shelters, navigational way points, communal gathering sites, and as giant canvases for their rock art, to communicate their mythologies, histories and exploits. One such stretch of these tepuis, La Serranía de La Lindosa, contains some of most extensive and...

The Patagonia region comprises the southern tip of South America, of both Argentina and Chile. Its southern most islands extend further south than Africa’s Cape Agulhas or New Zealand’s Stewart Island, often serving as base to launch expeditions into Antarctica. The weather is subpolar. Without any major landmass to inhibit its flow, the airstream rips around the south pole unimpeded. Wind here often exceeds 100km/h.

Corcovado is unlike any other park I've visited within Costa Rica, massive in size and far wilder, with just a few trails piercing into its depths. It's been referred to as the crown jewel of Costa Rica's national park system. Its rugged coast is lined with coconut and almond trees, with waterfalls pouring down volcanic cliffs into the ocean. Just beyond the sand, a dense jungle teems with life, ancient trees towering out of the canopy, a rare sanctuary preserved in its untamed state. Due to ...

Within Colombia's mountainous southwest, high in the Alto Magdalena river basin, are the ancient remains of a network of tribal chiefdoms. Many of the locals in this area still get around on horseback, which is also a great way to travel between the archeological sites. This is a steep, mountainous landscape, of dense jungle checkered with coffee and banana plantations. Through the last century much of the forest has been cleared to make way for this farmland, and in the process dozens of ear...

At the end of Monterey's undersea canyon, Elkhorn Slough drains into the ocean. This estuary is a rare sanctuary along the California coast, protected as habitat for the many species that reside there. Most natural harbors throughout the state have been turned into marinas and have been scoured of much of their marine life. The main channel of Elkhorn Slough though has been protected through a combined effort of state and federal government, and private landowners (including the Nature Conser...

Not until I started exploring central California though did I get the chance to get to know the Elephant Seal, another relative of harbor seals and sea lions, commonly known as Sea Elephants. They get their name from their protruding proboscis (snouts/noses) and their massive size. The males can get up to around 5000 pounds, and have a thick layer of blubber to keep them warm during their migrations up to the icy waters of the arctic. They are a sexually dimorphic species, where the female...