Diverse Cultures & National Parks of Latin America

Puntarenas is a port town on Costa Rica’s Gulf of Nicoya. Its Casa de la Cultura is a cultural center with a theater and art gallery. On the main boulevard, Paseo de los Turistas, Parque Marino del Pacífico includes an aquarium and rescue center with seahorses, turtles and crocodiles. The town beach, Playa Puntarenas, is backed by shops and cafes. Southeast of town, Playa Doña Ana is a beach known for strong surf.

Quepos is a town on Costa Rica’s central Pacific coast. It’s known as a gateway to Manuel Antonio National Park. The park’s mangroves, lagoons and beach-lined rainforests shelter howler, white-faced and squirrel monkeys. Nearby sandy stretches include Playa Espadilla and Playa Biesanz. Northwest of town, the Damas Island mangrove estuary is home to wildlife including caimans, snakes and iguanas.

Golfito is a district and port town of the Golfito canton, in the Puntarenas province of Costa Rica, located on the southern Pacific Coast, near the border of Panama.

Manta

Salaverry is a port town located 14 kilometres southeast of Trujillo city in the La Libertad Region, Peru. It is the capital of Salaverry District and it is located at around 8°13′16″S 78°58′34″W. The port, rebuilt in the 1960s by an English company, is able to accommodate large cruise ships.

Callao is a seaside city on the Pacific Ocean in the Lima metropolitan area. Callao is Peru’s chief seaport and home to its main airport, Jorge Chávez International Airport. Callao municipality consists of the whole Callao Region, which is also coterminous with the Province of Callao.

Paracas is a town on Peru’s west coast. It’s known for beaches, like El Chaco, set on sheltered Paracas Bay. The town is a launch point for the uninhabited Ballestas Islands, home to sea lions, pelicans and Humboldt penguins. Rugged, wildlife-rich Paracas National Reserve spans desert, ocean, islands and the Paracas Peninsula. The peninsula’s Paracas Candelabra is a huge prehistoric geoglyph, etched into a hillside

Arica is a port city in northern Chile, known for its surfing beaches. Near the center, a path climbs up to Morro Arica hill, which has sweeping views and the Museo Histórico y de Armas war museum. Designed by French architect Gustave Eiffel in metal and wood, Gothic San Marcos Cathedral dates from 1876. The high plains of the Andes mountains rise to the east, home to Lauca National Park and Chungará Lake.

Iquique is a coastal city in northern Chile, to the west of the Atacama Desert. A prosperous saltpeter mining town in the 19th century, today it’s a popular holiday destination with a tax-free port area, Pacific beaches and a seafront casino. In its historic district, an iconic 19th-century clock tower stands in Arturo Prat Square, the city’s main plaza.

La Serena is the capital of the Coquimbo region on Chile’s coast. The city is known for its long beaches, like El Faro with its landmark Faro Monumental lighthouse, and its colonial and neo-colonial architecture. The late-Renaissance Iglesia de San Francisco is one of many churches dominating the skyline. The Archaeological Museum displays pre-Hispanic pottery and a giant stone head (moai) from Easter Island.

Valparaíso is a port city on Chile’s coast. It’s known for its steep funiculars and colorful, clifftop homes. La Sebastiana, the quirky former residence of Chilean poet Pablo Neruda, is now a museum with far-reaching Pacific views. During the 19th century, an influx of European immigrants left their mark on the city’s architecture and cultural institutions, many of which congregate around downtown’s Plaza Sotomayor.