"Although merely a few hundreds of miles from the mainland, the Galapagos Islands may feel even further away in reality; modern life has largely skirted this group of volcanic, windswept pearls, still every bit as wild and wondrous as when Charles Darwin set foot here in the 1830s.

The wildlife he observed so carefully is still the main draw of any adventure here. Colorful Sally Lightfoot crabs and lumbering iguanas, curious boobies and a score of famous finches: many of them are found nowhere else, highly adapted to life on these lonely, elemental islands.

Every day brings new encounters as you sail between San Cristobal, Santa Cruz, Isabela and a handful of smaller isles: snorkel through shoals of colorful fish, spot fantastical birds on a hike through the ferns, or ponder the mysteries of evolution as you gaze into the century-old eyes of a giant tortoise. "

Youthful, vibrant Guayaquil is Ecuador’s largest city, drunk on Pacific breezes and crouching on the west bank of the mighty Guayas River. The candy-coloured houses bounding down its hills are filled with interesting galleries and community initiatives but the beating heart of the city is the picturesque Malecón 2000, which essentially operates as a waterfront town square. This breezy boulevard is where you’ll find sleek restaurants serving coconut-rich encocado (fish stew) and university students milling around on the water’s edge. 

Occupying a unique position on Peru’s Costa Verde, Lima has 80 miles of coastline and virtually no rain. Its 18th-century haciendas, baroque stonework and colonial architecture are upstaged by the country’s pre-Columbian history on display at museums like Pueblo Libre’s Larco. Surfboards are strapped to mopeds that dip between the mansions of Miraflores, whilst pisco sours are shaken to the beat of peñas in Barranco. Lima's much-starred restaurant scene is so effervescent that the city is widely acknowledged as the culinary capital of Latin America, and shows no signs of dimming; the city has more than 16,000 cevicherias (UNESCO has declared Peru's staple dish one of Intangible Cultural Heritage), while chefs such as Virgilio Martínez and Pedro Schiaffino are innovating with indigenous ingredients from Andean tomatoes to Amazonian river snails. 

Running from its source in central Peru to the Atlantic Ocean, this iconic river is a magnet for wildlife lovers. Immerse yourself in the sleepy backwaters, lush islands and deep jungle of the Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve, a wedge of rainforest bounded by the confluence of the Marañón and Ucayali tributaries. A luxury cruise aboard A&K’s new riverboat, Pure Amazon, is the most indulgent way to experience this untouched wilderness – a wonderfully biodiverse stretch of jungle alive with sloths, monkeys, caimans, pink dolphins, turtles, manatees and stunning birdlife.