South America’s dramatic topography creates some of the world’s most breathtaking landscapes—where ancient paths cling to vertiginous slopes, and modern trails offer access to views once reserved for condors. These routes combine extraordinary natural beauty with genuine risk, demanding respect from even the most experienced hikers. The continent’s sheer mountain faces, unpredictable weather, and remote locations create hiking experiences that test human limits while rewarding persistence with unparalleled vistas.
Here is a list of 18 clifftop trails across South America that combine danger and beauty in equal measure, drawing adventurers seeking both challenge and awe.
Huayna Picchu Trail, Peru
Rising dramatically behind Machu Picchu, this narrow stone path constructed by Inca engineers ascends nearly 1,000 feet via ancient stairs that hug the mountain’s precipitous edge. Sections of the trail feature sheer drops of several hundred feet, with nothing more than weathered stone steps and occasionally a basic cable handhold separating hikers from the void below.
The summit rewards survivors with a bird’s-eye view of Machu Picchu that reveals the true genius of its design, patterns only visible from this heart-stopping vantage point.
El Caminito del Rey, Argentina
Inspired by its Spanish namesake, Argentina’s ‘Little King’s Path’ traverses the dramatic canyons of Mendoza Province via narrow walkways bolted directly into vertical cliff faces. Original sections of the trail feature deteriorating concrete barely a foot wide, while restored portions offer somewhat more substantial metal grating that still hovers hundreds of feet above the canyon floor.
The three-mile route crosses multiple ravines where you can see straight through the walkway to the rocky riverbed far below.
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Angel Falls Approach Trail, Venezuela
The path to the base of the world’s tallest uninterrupted waterfall demands a journey through Canaima National Park’s most treacherous terrain, where muddy slopes become lethal obstacles when wet. The final approach traverses slippery rocks beside the Churun River before climbing exposed roots and natural handholds alongside vertical cliffs constantly dampened by the falls’ spray.
The payoff comes when hikers reach the natural pool beneath the 3,212-foot cascade, though many turn back when confronting the most exposed sections of this unmarked route.
Cerro Chirripo Death Trail, Costa Rica
The alternate route to Costa Rica’s highest peak follows a knife-edge ridge with thousand-foot drops on either side and no safety installations whatsoever. Local guides call certain sections ‘decision points’—places where one misstep means certain death, especially in the common foggy conditions that can reduce visibility to mere feet.
The trail offers views across both the Caribbean and Pacific on clear days, but frequent electrical storms create additional hazards along this exposed ridge that has claimed multiple lives over the years.
Sierra Nevada del Cocuy Traverse, Colombia
This high-altitude route connects the jagged peaks of Colombia’s most dramatic mountain range, where narrow paths cut across near-vertical scree slopes above glacial lakes of surreal blue. The trail regularly narrows to less than a foot wide, with loose rock underfoot and cold winds that can easily throw off a hiker’s balance at the worst possible moment.
Indigenous guides consider certain sections spiritually dangerous as well as physically treacherous, performing brief ceremonies before leading groups across the most exposed stretches.
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Gocta Falls Trail, Peru
The path to this two-tiered waterfall remained known only to locals until 2005, following a limestone cliff face with sections where the trail all but disappears into vertical drops. During the rainy season, multiple stream crossings become serious hazards as water levels rise rapidly, while rockfalls from the unstable cliff face above present year-round danger.
The constantly damp trail surface creates treacherous footing precisely where sure-footedness matters most—on narrow sections with no margin for error and consequences measured in hundreds of feet.
Torres del Paine O Circuit, Chile
While the famous W Trek gets the crowds, the complete O Circuit traverses the dangerous John Gardner Pass, where winds routinely exceed 70 mph and can literally blow hikers off the exposed mountainside. The trail crosses active landslide zones where the path occasionally disappears entirely, requiring careful navigation across unstable boulder fields above dizzying drops.
Weather changes with legendary speed here, transforming pleasant hiking conditions into survival situations within minutes when Patagonian storms roll in unexpectedly.
Santa Cruz Trek Punta Union Pass, Peru
This high-altitude pass in the Cordillera Blanca features a narrow trail across loose scree slopes where rockslides have claimed numerous lives over the decades. At 15,600 feet, oxygen deprivation affects judgment precisely when clear thinking becomes most critical for navigating sections where the trail narrows to less than 20 inches with drops of over 1,000 feet.
Local guides point out small memorials along the route commemorating hikers who underestimated this deceptively dangerous mountain corridor.
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Chapada Diamantina Cliff Route, Brazil
The unofficial route across the towering mesas of this Brazilian national park requires scrambling across exposed rock faces where centuries of erosion have created dramatic but unstable features. Locals know which seemingly solid handholds might break away without warning and which innocent-looking plateaus harbor invisible sinkholes leading to the extensive cave systems below.
The reward for these risks comes in the form of pristine waterfalls emptying into crystal pools that few tourists ever witness.
Huascaran Circuit, Peru
Circumnavigating Peru’s highest peak requires crossing numerous high passes where the combination of altitude, exposure, and unpredictable weather creates serious hazards. The trail traverses active glacial moraines where rocks the size of cars rest in precarious balance, occasionally sent tumbling by nothing more than a change in temperature or slight earth tremor.
The complete circuit passes below seracs—massive ice formations that can collapse without warning—while offering unmatched views of the tropical glaciers that scientists predict will disappear within decades.
El Altar Approach, Ecuador
The collapsed volcanic caldera of El Altar contains a stunning turquoise lake, but the approach requires navigating a brutal combination of cloud forest, páramo, and finally, a nearly vertical scree chute ascending 1,200 feet. The final approach traverses an exposed ridge with sections requiring technical scrambling skills and tolerance for severe exposure—all at an oxygen-deprived 14,000 feet.
Local folklore holds that the mountain demands sacrifices, a belief reinforced by the regular accidents that occur along this unmarked and unmaintained route.
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Laguna de los Tres Trail, Argentina
The final approach to this iconic viewpoint of Mount Fitz Roy involves a 70-degree slope of loose rock where the designated trail becomes more theoretical than actual. Powerful winds regularly blast across this exposed face, creating conditions where hikers must sometimes crawl to avoid being thrown off balance at precisely the wrong moment. Winter brings additional dangers as ice forms on the rocky surface.
However, the sight of Fitz Roy reflected in the perfect azure waters of the lagoon convinces thousands to attempt this treacherous final climb annually.
Choquequirao Trek, Peru
Often called Machu Picchu’s sister city, Choquequirao remains accessible only via a brutal trail featuring 60 switchbacks down one side of a canyon and 50 up the other. The path traverses multiple unstable sections where landslides regularly wipe out portions of the trail, requiring hikers to navigate treacherous detours across crumbling slopes with substantial exposure.
Despite these dangers, the site receives barely 1% of Machu Picchu’s visitors, offering a glimpse of an Incan city without crowds to those willing to risk the approach.
Volcan Acatenango Overnight Trail, Guatemala
The trail up this active volcano neighbor to the continuously erupting Fuego involves a final section of loose volcanic scree on slopes approaching 45 degrees with no vegetation or stable features for emergency handholds. Overnight campers face additional dangers from hypothermia as temperatures plummet after sunset, while the volcano occasionally releases toxic gases that can pool in camp areas with deadly results.
The reward comes at sunrise when Fuego often displays spectacular eruptions that send glowing lava bombs arcing through the early morning light.
Pico Turquino Traverse, Cuba
The highest point in Cuba features an approach through dense jungle where the trail occasionally disappears entirely into vegetation or washes out during frequent tropical downpours. The western route includes sections with ladders bolted directly into vertical rock faces, many showing concerning levels of corrosion and disrepair.
The complete traverse requires navigating exposed limestone ridges where the karst landscape creates hidden sinkholes alongside the trail, occasionally claiming sections of the path itself.
Ausangate Circuit, Peru
This high-altitude trek around one of Peru’s most sacred mountains never drops below 14,000 feet, creating a constant risk of altitude sickness precisely when clear judgment becomes essential. The trail crosses several passes above 16,400 feet, where exposure to both elevation and sheer drops combines with weather that can rapidly transform from clear skies to whiteout conditions.
Local shepherds leave offerings at specific points along the most dangerous sections, acknowledging the mountain’s reputation for claiming lives when approached without proper respect.
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Putucusi Mountain Trail, Peru
Less visited than nearby Huayna Picchu but arguably more dangerous, Putucusi features near-vertical sections where wooden ladders—some reaching 100 feet high—provide the only means of ascent up otherwise impassable cliff faces. Many of these ladders show signs of rot, with missing rungs requiring dangerous stretches, while others shake alarmingly with each step.
The final approach to the summit crosses an exposed ridge barely broad enough for secure footing, though the panoramic views of Machu Picchu convince many to push through their fear.
Fitz Roy Northern Circuit, Argentina
Beyond the popular Laguna de los Tres trail lies this technical route, which requires navigation across unmarked boulder fields where trail markers disappear for miles at a stretch. The route crosses several glacial rivers where bridge construction has been deemed impossible, requiring dangerous ford crossings that become potentially fatal during periods of snowmelt.
Extreme Patagonian weather creates additional hazards, with storms capable of pinning hikers down for days in areas with no natural shelter or evacuation options.
The Edge Walkers’ Legacy
South America’s most dangerous trails connect modern adventurers with ancient peoples who first found ways through seemingly impassable terrain. What we now seek for recreation once represented critical trade routes and pilgrimage paths for civilizations that understood both the practical necessities and spiritual significance of these high places.
Today’s hikers, equipped with modern gear but facing many of the same risks, often report profound perspective shifts after walking paths where momentary inattention could prove fatal. The continent’s most beautiful views remain reserved for those willing to earn them through exposure, exertion, and embracing calculated risk.
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