Central & South America

• 1 Houses to take your breath away
  The German publishing house Taschen specialise in lavish, but affordable original editions with exceptional photos on a range of topics particularly design, architecture and lifestyle. This time, with...

• 2 Dive into the world's best scuba sites
  Azores The waters around this remote Portuguese archipelago way out in the Atlantic Ocean are home to an amazing underwater world. The nine small volcanic islands of the Azores are surrounded by waters...

• 3 Riviera Maya: a tropical escape into history
  Imagine a Caribbean beach paradise, just south of the Tropic of Cancer where the clear sea is perfect for swimming, snorkelling, scuba diving, jet ski... Imagine a flat land carpeted with low tropical...

• 4 (Almost) at the end of the world
  For many centuries Patagonia was the limit of the known world. A mythical land, distant and strange, inhabited by giant beings of unknown and unfamiliar customs and habits. The name Patagonia comes from...

• 5 On the scent of fine coffee in Colombia
  The coffee landscape of Colombia lies in the foothills of the Cordillera de los Andes where, for centuries, coffee has been cultivated in small plots in the high forest and harvested by hand. Last year...

• 6 Samba fantasy - carnival in Rio
  Rio de Janeiro may not be capital of Brazil, but it's certainly the international capital of carnival, known around the planet for its beauty, its vivacity and its unmistakable sense of rhythm. The well-earned...

• 7 Cartagena de Indias: a location for love
  Just go through the wall under the clock tower and cross the Plaza de los Coches to reach the Portal de los Dulces. Here, in the shade of the arches is a line of little stalls offering up a sweet treasure...

• 8 The world's best toy shops
  Hamleys, London Established in 1760, the seven-storey toy shop on Regents Street is a treat for any family shopping day in the capital. Rocking horses, dolls and other traditional toys, educational toys,...

• 9 Flying south for winter
  Usually a Monarch butterfly lives for just four or five short weeks. But by some miracle of nature, the last generation of the summer may survive for as long as seven months, allowing them to fly south...

• 10 And the word is 'wonderful'!
  On-line, by phone and by text messages, thousands of people around the world have been involved in voting in this initiative launched by the New7Wonders Foundation. Chosen from a short list of twenty-eight,...

• 11 Puerto Rico: more than just rum
  It's not just Johnny Depp who has found Puerto Rico the perfect location: from the classic 1963 Lord of the Flies, to the up-coming Treasure Island starring Eddie Izzard as Long John Silver, the cluster...

• 12 Costa Rica: a rainbow in shades of green
  That fact that 25% of Costa Rica is classified as a protected area – a proportion no other country can boast – says a lot about the country's wealth of flora and fauna and the generosity of...

• 13 The natural wonders of the world
  The idea of listing the wonders of the world is hardly a new thing. The historian Herodotus compiled his own list way back in the fifth century BC, and from then on many have been unable to resist the...

• 14 Panama, a land of abundance
  Panama owes its existence to the canal, which has marked the life and politics of the country since it seceded from Colombia in 1903, and which remains today one of its greatest assets. There's no ...

• 15 Puerto Vallarta, a Pacific paradise
  Archaeological evidence suggests that the area was settled two and a half thousand years ago, but it's only since the Sixties that Puerto Vallarta has become more widely known outside Mexico. Famed for...

• 16 Everything's coming up roses in Ecuador
  They say that Ecuador is the home of the world's most beautiful roses. Whether that's true, or not, it's a fact that cultivation of flowers for export has become a major industry in the mountainous Andes...

• 17 Panamericano, a privileged view over the capital of tango
  There are certain places around the world that simply must be seen, and the fascinating city of Buenos Aires is one of them. It doesn't matter if it's springtime, high summer, autumn, or winter: any...

• 18 The world's best sunsets
  Serengeti, Tanzania People who have had the good fortune to visit the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania say that until you've seen the sun set over the great orange plains you haven't lived. The image...

• 19 In search of Utopia in Mexico
  The name Vasco de Quiroga may not be very well known outside the Spanish-speaking world, but 500 years after his death the people of  Michoacan in Mexico still remember with affection the Spanish...

• 20 One&Only Palmilla, a paradise on the Mexican coast
  Originally accessible only by yacht or private plane, the resort dates from the Fifties when it was a tropical hideaway that welcomed such guests as John Wayne, Lucille Ball and Bing Crosby. Its popularity...