www.audleytravel.com/galapagos ?01993 838 635 ?Beyond the Galapagos25Arequipa, PeruMachu Picchu, PeruLocal lady, Otavalo market, Ecuador

VenezuelaAs well as hosting the prolific wildlife of LosLlanos, Venezuela is home to Angel Falls, theworld's highest waterfall, whose water tumblesover a precipice for a sheer 978 metre drop.Angel Falls sits in the rural southeast of thecountry in the middle of Gran Sabana NationalPark, whose vast sweeping prairies, punctuated by imposing table-top mountains and dramaticlagoons, inspired Sir Arthur Conan Doyle'sfamous 1912 novel 'The Lost World'.PanamaMost famously home to the incredible and awe-inspiring feat of engineering that is the PanamaCanal. For those who scratch beneath the surfacethis country has far more to entice the visitor.Panama offers pristine rainforests, traditionalIndian villages, coffee plantations, quaint colonialtowns, cool highlands, varied birdlife, undevelopedbeaches and exquisite islands surrounded byabundant coral. Combine all this with a heady mixof Spanish, Afro-Caribbean, North American andindigenous cultures, and you have a trulyenthralling country.The north and west coasts of South America andsouthern regions of Central America are home to a wonderful variety of landscapes and offer anarray of options for those who love the vast open countryside.EcuadorThe cultural diversity of Ecuador is complementedby varied landscapes comprising stunning snow-capped peaks, active volcanoes, nationalparks and vast nature reserves, which are popular for walking, mountain biking, horseridingand birdwatching.ColombiaNow a staple in the Audley programme,Colombia is perhaps the continent's best-keptsecret. A sunny, temperate land, it can be visitedyear-round. Here you can enjoy beautiful colonialvillages dotted amongst the hills of the coffeeregion, or head for stretches of unspoiledCaribbean coastline, in particular the TayronaNational Park. Combine this with colonial townsand cities such as Cartagena and Villa de Leyvaand see for yourself why Colombia has areputation as the friendliest and most welcomingof all South American nations.26Cotopaxi, EcuadorPanama CanalCartagena, ColombiaLandscapesTango Mar beach, Costa RicaBeyond the Galapagos