A Peruvian yarn spinner

Anyone who has seen The Motorcycle Diaries would appreciate something of South America's sheer scale and capacity for adventure.

The most passionate and diverse of the Americas, the continent encompasses the countries Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Falkland Islands, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela.

Within this giant landmass lies the world's biggest rainforest and longest river (the Amazon), the highest waterfall (Angel Falls in Venezuela), the driest desert (Atacama in Chile), the longest mountain range (the Andes), the largest snake (the anaconda), the highest altitude capital (La Paz in Bolivia), the southernmost town (Puerto Toro in Chile) and the most decadent street party (Carnival in Rio de Janeiro).

Whether lazing on a white-sand beach on Venezuela's Caribbean coast or dancing the tango on a glacier in Patagonia, this is a continent that begs to be explored. Sprawled between its tropical north and frozen south, you could mountainbike the most dangerous road in the world in Bolivia, wink at an iguana in the Galapagos Islands, swim with pink dolphins in the Amazon River, marvel Inca ruins in Peru, stroll beneath stylish Spanish colonial buildings in Santiago or stare into the face of a giant stone moai statue on Easter Island.

Survival guide

A sense of adventure, a good deal of flexibility and some basic Spanish will go a long way towards enhancing your South American odyssey.

The continent's wilder inhabitants - tarantulas, anacondas, jaguars and piranhas - may not be as inviting as its people, but parrots, anteaters, armadillos, sloths and llamas are usually only too happy to pose for pictures.

Most countries in South America are Spanish-speaking. Portuguese is spoken in Brazil and hundreds of different indigenous languages are spoken throughout the continent. Quechua - the language of the Inca empire - is still widely spoken in Peru and Ecuador, while the pre-Inca Tiahuanaco language is spoken throughout much of Bolivia.

International airports are located in the capital of every South American nation. Major international gateways include Santiago in Chile, Buenos Aires in Argentina, Lima in Peru, Rio de Janeiro in Brazil and La Paz in Bolivia.

You can cover much of the continent by bus, train, car or indeed the proverbial motorcycle. However, due to the distances, travellers covering more than one country often choose to fly between destinations.