The Atacama — the driest place on Earth — unfolds a surprising, otherworldly beauty: shimmering salt flats where pink flamingos gather, rust-red rock sculptures carved by time and jewel-toned blue lagoons that glow like hidden mirrors at Laguna Chaxa, Piedras Rojas and the Altiplanic Lagoons.

Colca Canyon in southern Peru thrills with towering depths, terraced pre-Inca farms, remote villages and sweeping valleys — spot majestic Andean condors at Cruz del Condor.