South America

Ruins of ancient civilisations share South America with world-class metropolises, outstanding architecture, many of the world's biggest festivities, and genuine indigenous culture.
Tap on a place
to explore it
Wikivoyage
Wikipedia
Photo: S23678, CC BY-SA 3.0.

Essential Destinations

Top destinations include Brazil and Argentina.

Photo: Jjtkk, Public domain.
is the largest country in South America and the fifth largest in the world. is an incredibly diverse country, in people, culture, and landscapes—from the famous summer carnaval in , , , and to the wild power of nature in the Amazon and .

Photo: Marina Balasini & Juan Montiel, CC BY 2.0.
is a large country in the southern part of South America. It offers a great diversity of climates and landscapes from jungles in the north, great grass plains in the center and frozen mountains in the south.

Photo: jhoudayer, CC BY-SA 2.0.
occupies the northwest corner of South America. It has an area twice that of France, with long coasts on the and the Pacific Oceans, mountainous regions, and Amazon jungle areas inland.

Destinations to Discover

Explore places such as Chile and Peru.

Photo: Nattfodd, CC BY-SA 3.0.
is a country in South America. occupies a long, narrow strip of land between the and the Pacific Ocean. is endowed with 5 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, snowy mountains, and exquisite national parks.

Photo: Wikimedia, CC BY 3.0.
is without a doubt one of the most captivating countries in South America. Home of the epic lost Inca citadel of and the mind-blowing Nazca Lines, this country's unique past awakens the adventurer in travellers of all sorts.

Photo: Wikimedia, CC0.
is replete with stunning natural wonders and sights such as countless national parks, magnificent waterfalls, and three UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Photo: S23678, CC BY-SA 3.0.
is a beautiful, geographically rich, and multiethnic country in the heart of South America, visited for its stunning mountain landscapes and vibrant indigenous culture.

Photo: Wikimedia, CC0.
is a country on the Equator in northwestern South America. Several places in the country have been declared UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including the and the cities of and , which lie in the that run from north to south through the country.

Photo: Elemaki, CC BY 3.0.
is the second-smallest country in South America, wedged between two of the world's largest countries ― and . Known for its colonial-era historic districts in and , amazing beaches on the , its socially…

Photo: Greg Schechter, CC BY 2.0.
is a country of big rivers, green landscapes, folklore and a rich indigenous culture in central South America. It's relatively small compared to its neighbors, with an area of 406,752 km2: about the same size as Germany.

Photo: Wikimedia, CC BY-SA 3.0.
is an English-speaking country where you can find untouched South American nature, amazing wildlife and birding experiences, rich culture and heritage, and a multiethnic Caribbean vibe.

South America

Latitude of center
-24° or 24° south
Longitude of center
-60.3° or 60° 18′ west
Population
386,000,000
Open­Street­Map ID
node 36966069
Open­Street­Map feature
place=­continent
Wiki­data ID
Q18
This page is based on OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons, and Wikivoyage.
We’d love your help improving our open data sources. Thank you for contributing.

Satellite Map

Discover South America from above in high-definition satellite imagery.
© Stadia Maps, Airbus DS, CNES, PlanetObserver, and Copernicus

In Other Languages

From Abkhazian to Zulu—“South America” goes by many names.
  • Abkhazian: “Аладатәи Америка”
  • Achinese: “Amirika Seulatan”
  • Achinese: “Amirika Tunong”
  • Adyghe: “Къыблэ Америкэ”
  • Afrikaans: “Suid-Amerika”
  • Albanian: “Amerika Jugore”
  • Amharic: “ደቡብ አሜሪካ”
  • Ancient Greek (to 1453): “Ἀμερική Νότια”
  • Ancient Greek (to 1453): “Νότια Ἀμερική”
  • Angika: “दक्षिण अमेरिका”
  • Arabic: “أمريكا الجنوبية”
  • Arabic: “أميركا الجنوبية”
  • Arabic: “الأمريكا الجنوبية”
  • Aragonese: “America d’o Sud”
  • Armenian: “Հարավային Ամերիկա”
  • Arpitan: “Amèrica du Mié-jorn”
  • Arpitan: “Amèrica du Sud”
  • Assamese: “দক্ষিণ আমেৰিকা”
  • Asturian: “América del Sur”
  • Asturian: “Sudamérica”
  • Asturian: “Suramérica”
  • Atayal: “Nan-Meco”
  • Awadhi: “दक्खिन अमेरिका”
  • Azerbaijani: “Cənubi Amerika”
  • Balinese: “Amérika Kelod”
  • Bambara: “Ameriki saheliyanfan fɛ”
  • Banjar: “Amirika Selatan”
  • Bashkir: “Көньяҡ Америка”
  • Basque: “Hego Amerika”
  • Batak Mandailing: “Amerika Selatan”
  • Bavarian: “Siadamerika”
  • Bavarian: “Siid-Amerika”
  • Bavarian: “Siidamerika”
  • Belarusian: “Паўднёвая Амерыка”
  • Belarusian: “Паўднёвая Амэрыка”
  • Bengali: “দক্ষিণ আমেরিকা”
  • Bhojpuri: “दक्क्षिण अमेरिका”
  • Bhojpuri: “दक्खिन अमेरिका”
  • Bhojpuri: “दक्षिण अमेरिका”
  • Bhojpuri: “साऊथ अमेरिका”
  • Bislama: “Saot Amerika”
  • Bosnian: “Južna Amerika”
  • Brahui: “Soelí Amríká”
  • Breton: “Amerika ar su”
  • Breton: “su-Amerika”
  • Breton: “Suamerika”
  • Bulgarian: “Южна Америка”
  • Burmese: “တောင်အမေရိက”
  • Catalan: “Amèrica del sud”
  • Catalan: “Amèrica del Sud”
  • Catalan: “Sud Amèrica”
  • Catalan: “Sud-amèrica”
  • Catalan: “Sud-Amèrica”
  • Catalan: “Sudamèrica”
  • Cebuano: “Habagatang Amerika”
  • Central Bikol: “Amerika nin Sur”
  • Central Bikol: “Habagatan na Amerika”
  • Central Kurdish: “ئەمریکای باشوور”
  • Chechen: “Къилба Америка”
  • Cherokee: “ᏧᎦᎾᏮ ᎠᎹᏰᏟ”
  • Chinese: “Lâm Bí-chiu”
  • Chinese: “南美”
  • Chinese: “南美洲”
  • Church Slavic: “Южьна Амєрїка”
  • Chuvash: “Кăнтăр Америка”
  • Cornish: “Amerika Dheghow”
  • Cornish: “Amerika Dyghow”
  • Corsican: “America di u Sudu”
  • Corsican: “America meridiunale”
  • Corsican: “America miridiunali”
  • Crimean Tatar: “Cenübiy Amerika”
  • Croatian: “Južna Amerika”
  • Croatian: “južnoamerički kontinent”
  • Czech: “Jižní Amerika”
  • Dagbani: “South America”
  • Danish: “Sydamerika”
  • Dimli (individual language): “Amerika Veroci”
  • Dimli (individual language): “Amerikay Veroci”
  • Dotyali: “दक्षिण अमेरिका”
  • Dutch: “Zuid-Amerika”
  • Eastern Mari: “Кечывалвел Америка”
  • Egyptian Arabic: “امريكا الجنوبيه”
  • Erzya: “Лембеёнксонь Америка”
  • Esperanto: “Sud-Ameriko”
  • Esperanto: “Sudameriko”
  • Estonian: “Lõuna-Ameerika manner”
  • Extremaduran: “América del Sul”
  • Faroese: “Suðuramerika”
  • Fiji Hindi: “South America”
  • Fijian: “Ceva Amerika”
  • Fijian: “Sudamerica”
  • Finnish: “Etelä-Amerikka”
  • French: “Amérique du Sud”
  • French: “Amérique méridionale”
  • Friulian: “Americhe dal Sud”
  • Gagauz: “Üülen Amerika”
  • Galician: “América do Sur”
  • Galician: “Sudamérica”
  • Gan Chinese: “南美洲”
  • Ganda: “South America”
  • Georgian: “სამხრეთი ამერიკა”
  • German: “Süd-Amerika”
  • German: “Südamerika”
  • Ghanaian Pidgin English: “South America”
  • Gilaki: “نسايي آمريکا”
  • Gothic: “𐍃𐌿𐌽𐌸𐍂𐌰 𐌰𐌼𐌴𐍂𐌹𐌺𐌰”
  • Gothic: “𐍃𐌿𐌽𐌸𐍂𐌰 𐍅𐌴𐌹𐌽𐌰𐌻𐌰𐌽𐌳”
  • Greek: “Νότια Αμερική”
  • Guarani: “Ñemby Amérika”
  • Guarani: “Ñembyamérika”
  • Guianese Creole French: “Lanmérik di Sid”
  • Gujarati: “દક્ષિણ અમેરિકા”
  • Haitian: “Amerik disid”
  • Hakka Chinese: “Nàm Mî-chû”
  • Hakka Chinese: “Nàm-mî-chû”
  • Hausa: “Amurka ta Kudu”
  • Hawaiian: “‘Amelika Hema”
  • Hawaiian: “ʻAmelika Hema”
  • Hebrew: “אמריקה הדרומית”
  • Hebrew: “דרום אמריקה”
  • Hebrew: “דרום-אמריקה”
  • Hindi: “दक्षिण अमेरिका”
  • Hungarian: “Dél-Amerika”
  • Iban: “Amerika Selatan”
  • Icelandic: “Suður-Ameríka”
  • Ido: “Sud-Amerika”
  • Igbo: “South Amerika”
  • Iloko: “Abagatan nga Amerika”
  • Inari Sami: “Maadâ-Amerik”
  • Indonesian: “Amerika Selatan”
  • Ingush: “ЗIилбухера Америка”
  • Ingush: “ЗӀилбухера Америка”
  • Interlingua: “America del Sud”
  • Interlingue: “America del Sud”
  • Inuktitut: “ᐊᒥᐊᓕᑲ ᓂᒋᖅ”
  • Irish: “Meiriceá Theas”
  • Italian: “America del Sud”
  • Italian: “America meridionale”
  • Italian: “Sud America”
  • Italian: “Sudamerica”
  • Jamaican Creole English: “Sout Amerika”
  • Jamaican Creole English: “Sout Amoerka”
  • Japanese: “南アメリカ”
  • Japanese: “南アメリカ州”
  • Japanese: “南米”
  • Javanese: “Amérika Kidul”
  • Kabardian: “Ипшъэ Америкэ”
  • Kabardian: “Ипшэ Америкэ”
  • Kabiyè: “Amerika nɛ hadɛ tɛtʋ wandamm”
  • Kabyle: “Tamrikt n Wenẓul”
  • Kadazan Dusun: “Amerika Selatan”
  • Kadazan Dusun: “Koibutan Amerika”
  • Kalaallisut: “Amerika Kujalleq”
  • Kannada: “ದಕ್ಷಿಣ ಅಮೇರಿಕ”
  • Kannada: “ಸೌಥ್ ಅಮೇರಿಕ”
  • Kara-Kalpak: “Qubla Amerika”
  • Karachay-Balkar: “Къыбыла Америка”
  • Kashubian: “Pôłniowô Amerika”
  • Kazakh: “Оңтүстік Америка”
  • Khmer: “អា​មេ​រិ​ច​ខាងត្បូង”
  • Kikuyu: “Amerika ya Kuthini”
  • Kinaray-A: “Kaamerikhan Nabagatnan”
  • Kinaray-A: “Nabagatnan nga Kaamerikhan”
  • Kinyarwanda: “Amerika y’Epfo”
  • Kirghiz: “Түштүк Америка”
  • Komering: “Amerika Hulu”
  • Komi-Permyak: “Лунвыв Америка”
  • Komi: “Лунвыв Америка”
  • Kongo: “Amelika ya Sudi”
  • Korean: “남미”
  • Korean: “남아메리카”
  • Kotava: “Geefa Amerika”
  • Kurdish: “Amerîkaya Başûr”
  • Ladin: “America dl Sud”
  • Ladino: “Amerika del Sud”
  • Lao: “ທະວີບອາເມຣິກາໃຕ້”
  • Lao: “ອາເມຣິກາໃຕ້”
  • Latin: “America Australis”
  • Latvian: “Dienvidamerika”
  • Lezghian: “Кьиблепатан Америка”
  • Ligurian: “America do Sud”
  • Limburgan: “Zuud-Amerika”
  • Lingua Franca Nova: “America Sude”
  • Literary Chinese: “南米”
  • Literary Chinese: “南美”
  • Literary Chinese: “南美洲”
  • Lithuanian: “Pietų Amerika”
  • Livvi: “Suvi-Amerikku”
  • Lojban: “ketytu’a”
  • Lombard: “America del Süd”
  • Low German: “Süüdamerika”
  • Low German: “Zuud-Amerika”
  • Lower Sorbian: “Pódpołdnjowa Amerika”
  • Luxembourgish: “Südamerika”
  • Macedo-Romanian: “America di Not”
  • Macedonian: “Јужна Америка”
  • Madurese: “Amèrika Lao‘”
  • Madurese: “Amèrika Lao’”
  • Maithili: “दक्षिण अमेरिका”
  • Malagasy: “Amerika Atsimo”
  • Malay: “Amerika Selatan”
  • Malayalam: “തെക്കേ അമേരിക്ക”
  • Maltese: “Amerika t’Isfel”
  • Maltese: “Amerka t’Isfel”
  • Maltese: “L-Amerika t’Isfel”
  • Maltese: “L-Amerka t’Isfel”
  • Manx: “America Yiass”
  • Maori: “Amerika ki te Tonga”
  • Marathi: “दक्षिण अमेरिका”
  • Mazanderani: “آمریکای جنوب”
  • Mazanderani: “جنوب آمریکا”
  • Mazanderani: “جنوبی آمریکا”
  • Mazanderani: “جنوبی امریکا”
  • Mazanderani: “لاتین آمریکا قاره”
  • Min Dong Chinese: “Nàng Mī-ciŭ”
  • Min Dong Chinese: “Nàng Mī”
  • Min Dong Chinese: “南米”
  • Min Dong Chinese: “南美”
  • Min Dong Chinese: “南美洲”
  • Min Nan Chinese: “Lâm America”
  • Min Nan Chinese: “Lâm Bí-chiu”
  • Min Nan Chinese: “Lâm-bí-chiu”
  • Min Nan Chinese: “Lâm-bí”
  • Minangkabau: “Amerika Selatan”
  • Mingrelian: “ობჟათე ამერიკა”
  • Mirandese: “América de l Sul”
  • Mon: “အမေရိကသမၠုင်ကျာ”
  • Mongolian: “Өмнөд Америк”
  • Moroccan Arabic: “أمريكا لجانوبية”
  • Moroccan Arabic: “أمريكا لجنوبية”
  • Narom: “Améthique du Sud”
  • Neapolitan: “Suddamèreca”
  • Nepali: “दक्षिण अमेरिका”
  • Newari: “दक्षिण अमेरिका”
  • Northern Frisian: “Süüd-Ameerikoo”
  • Northern Luri: “اْمریکا هارگٱ”
  • Northern Sami: “Lulli-Amerihkká”
  • Northern Sami: “Mátta-Amerihkká”
  • Norwegian Bokmål: “Sør-Amerika”
  • Norwegian Bokmål: “Syd-Amerika”
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: “Sør-Amerika”
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: “Syd-Amerika”
  • Norwegian: “Sør-Amerika”
  • Novial: “Sudi Amerika”
  • Nyanja: “South America”
  • Obolo: “Amerika Osiki”
  • Occitan (post 1500): “America del Sud”
  • Official Aramaic (700-300 BCE): “ܐܡܪܝܩܐ ܬܝܡܢܝܬܐ”
  • Old English (ca. 450-1100): “Sūðamerica”
  • Oriya: “ଦକ୍ଷିଣ ଆମେରିକା”
  • Oromo: “Ameerikaa Kibbaa”
  • Oromo: “South America”
  • Ossetian: “Хуссар Америк”
  • Ossetian: “Хуссар Америкæ”
  • Ossetian: “Хуссар Амырык”
  • Pa'o Karen: “အမေႏရိကနဝ်”
  • Pampanga: “Mauling America”
  • Pampanga: “Mauling Amerika”
  • Panjabi: “ਦੱਖਣੀ ਅਮਰੀਕਾ”
  • Papiamento: “Sur Amérika”
  • Pedi: “Amerika Borwa”
  • Pennsylvania German: “Saut Amerikaa”
  • Pennsylvania German: “Sudd-Amerikaa”
  • Persian: “آمریکای جنوبی”
  • Picard: “Anmérike du Sud”
  • Piemontese: “América Meridional”
  • Pitcairn-Norfolk: “Sowth Merika”
  • Polish: “Ameryka Południowa”
  • Portuguese: “América do Sul”
  • Portuguese: “continente sul-americano”
  • Pushto: “جنوبي امریکا”
  • Pushto: “سوېلي امريکا”
  • Quechua: “Hurin Apya Yala”
  • Quechua: “Urin Awya Yala”
  • Romanian: “America de Sud”
  • Romansh: “America dal Sid”
  • Russia Buriat: “Урда Америка”
  • Russia Buriat: “Урда Америкэ”
  • Russian: “Южная Америка”
  • Rusyn: “Южна Америка”
  • Samoan: “Amerika i Saute”
  • Samogitian: “Pėitu Amerėka”
  • Samogitian: “Pėitū Amerėka”
  • Samogitian: “Pėitū Amerika”
  • Sanskrit: “दक्षिण अमेरिका”
  • Sanskrit: “दक्षिणामेरिका”
  • Santali: “ᱠᱚᱧᱮ ᱟᱢᱮᱨᱤᱠᱟ”
  • Santali: “ᱮᱛᱚᱢ ᱟᱢᱮᱨᱤᱠᱟ”
  • Saraiki: “جنوبی امریکہ”
  • Sardinian: “Amèrica de su Sud”
  • Saterfriesisch: “Suud-Amerikoa”
  • Scots: “Sooth Americae”
  • Scottish Gaelic: “Aimearaga a Deas”
  • Serbian: “Јужна Америка”
  • Serbian: “Јужноамерички континент”
  • Serbo-Croatian: “Južna Amerika”
  • Shan: “ဢမႄႇရိၵၸၢၼ်း”
  • Shona: “Amerika Chamhembe”
  • Shona: “South America”
  • Sicilian: “Amèrica dû Sud”
  • Sicilian: “Mèrica dû sud”
  • Silesian: “Połedniowŏ Ameryka”
  • Sindhi: “ڏکڻ آمريڪا”
  • Sinhala: “දකුණු ඇමෙරිකාව”
  • Skolt Sami: “Saujj-Amerikk”
  • Slovak: “Južná Amerika”
  • Slovenian: “Južna Amerika”
  • Slovenian: “zelena celina”
  • Somali: “Ameerikada koonfureed”
  • South Azerbaijani: “جنوبی آمریکا”
  • South Azerbaijani: “گونئی آمریکا”
  • Southern Sami: “Åarjel-Amerika”
  • Southern Sotho: “Amerika Borwa”
  • Spanish: “América del Sud”
  • Spanish: “América del Sur”
  • Spanish: “América meridional”
  • Spanish: “sudamaricas”
  • Spanish: “Sudamerica”
  • Spanish: “Sudamérica”
  • Spanish: “Suramérica”
  • Sranan Tongo: “Ondro Amrika”
  • Standard Moroccan Tamazight: “ⵉⴼⴼⵓⵙ ⵏ ⴰⵎⵔⵉⴽⴰ”
  • Standard Moroccan Tamazight: “ⵜⴰⵎⵔⵉⴽⵜ ⵏ ⵉⴼⴼⵓⵙ”
  • Sundanese: “Amérika Kidul”
  • Swahili: “Amerika Kusini”
  • Swahili: “Amerika ya Kusini”
  • Swedish: “Sydamerika”
  • Swiss German: “Südamerika”
  • Sylheti: “ꠖꠇ꠆ꠘꠞ ꠀꠝꠦꠞꠤꠇꠣ”
  • Tagalog: “Timog Amerika”
  • Tajik: “Америкаи Ҷанубӣ”
  • Tajik: “Амрикои Ҷанубӣ”
  • Talysh: “Nıso Amerikə”
  • Talysh: “Nyso Amerikə”
  • Tamil: “தென் அமெரிக்கா”
  • Tamil: “தென்னமெரிக்கா”
  • Tatar: “Könyak Amerika”
  • Tatar: “Көньяк Америка”
  • Telugu: “దక్షిణ అమెరికా”
  • Telugu: “దక్షిణమెరికా”
  • Thai: “ทวีปอเมริกาใต้”
  • Thai: “อเมริกาใต้”
  • Tibetan: “ལྷོ་ཨ་མེ་རི་ཀ་གླིང་ཆེན་”
  • Tigrinya: “ደቡብ ኣመሪካ”
  • Tok Pisin: “Saut Amerika”
  • Tosk Albanian: “Südamerika”
  • Tsonga: “Amerikha ya le Dzongeni”
  • Tulu: “ದಕ್ಷಿಣ ಅಮೇರಿಕ”
  • Tumbuka: “Amelika wa Kummwela”
  • Tumbuka: “South America”
  • Turkish: “Güney Amerika kıtası”
  • Turkish: “Güney Amerika”
  • Turkmen: “Günorta Amerika”
  • Twi: “South America”
  • Tyap: “Amerika A̱tak”
  • Udmurt: “Лымшор Америка”
  • Uighur: “جەنۇبىي ئامېرىكا”
  • Ukrainian: “Південна Америка”
  • Upper Sorbian: “Južna Amerika”
  • Urdu: “جنوبی امریکا”
  • Uzbek: “Janubiy Amerika”
  • Venetian: “Amèrica del Sud”
  • Venetian: “sudamèrica”
  • Veps: “Suviamerik”
  • Vietnamese: “Nam Mĩ”
  • Vietnamese: “Nam Mỹ”
  • Vlaams: “Zuud-Amerika”
  • Vlax Romani: “Sudutni Amerika”
  • Volapük: “Sulüda-Merop”
  • Võro: “Lõuna-Ameeriga”
  • Võro: “Lõunõ-Ameeriga”
  • Walloon: “Amerike nonnrece”
  • Waray (Philippines): “Salatan nga Amerika”
  • Wayuu: “Ameerika Uuchimüin”
  • Welsh: “De America”
  • Western Armenian: “Հարաւային Ամերիկա”
  • Western Frisian: “Súd-Amearika”
  • Western Panjabi: “جنوبی امریکا”
  • Western Panjabi: “لما امریکا”
  • Wolof: “Bëj-saalumu Aamerig”
  • Wu Chinese: “南美洲”
  • Xhosa: “UmZantsi Melika”
  • Yakut: “Соҕуруу Америка”
  • Yiddish: “דרום אמעריקע”
  • Yoruba: “Gúúsù Amẹ́ríkà”
  • Yue Chinese: “南美”
  • Yue Chinese: “南美洲”
  • Yue Chinese: “南阿美利加洲”
  • Zeeuws: “Zuud-Amerika”
  • Zhuang: “Nanzmeijcouh”
  • Zulu: “IMelika Eningizimu”
  • “America meridionale”
  • “Americhe d’u Sud”
  • “Americhe meridionale”
  • “Amerika Kidul”
  • “Amerika Selatan”
  • “Lõunõ-Ameeriga”
  • “ma Amelika seli”
  • “ma Sulamelika”
  • “Pėitū Amerėka”
  • “Sud Americhe”
  • “Tsintlan Amerikah”
  • “दक्खिन अमेरिका”

Explore These Curated Destinations

Discover places selected for their distinct character and enduring appeal.
About Mapcarta. Data © OpenStreetMap contributors and available under the Open Database License". Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license, except for photos, directions, and the map. Description text is based on the Wikivoyage page “South America”. Photo: S23678, CC BY-SA 3.0.