GENERAL

In recent decades, growing numbers of researchers have been drawn to the rich and highly threatened biotic diversity of the Neotropics

Of the few guidebooks covering the whole of South America only the Footprint is any good

From Antarctica to Zimbabwe, if you're going there chances are Lonely Planet has been there first.

Travel guides come and go, but the Footprint South American Handbook, now in its 82nd edition and with over 1 million copies sold, holds a special place as the gold standard in the field.

Some three thousand years ago, nomadic tribes began to settle deep in the Mesoamerican rainforests, establishing the foundations of the most sophisticated ancient civilization on the American continent.

Corrugated by mountains and studded by volcanoes, Central America reaches from Mexico towards South America like a hooked, tentative finger.

Completely updated with a trip-planning guide and important tips on border crossings, Footprint Central America and Mexico 2005 provides comprehensive travel information for all seven countries of Central America, plus coverage of Mexico including Baja California, the Yucatan, and Mexico City.

Scale Mayan pyramids, worship the sun on palm-fringed shores and chill out in the shade of a smoldering volcano.

Planning a trip to Mexico, Central and South America?

Every year thousands of travellers set off on their own Latin American adventure. Some want to see for themselves the great monuments left by the mysterious pre-Columbian civilizations, such as the spellbinding lost Inca city of Machu Picchu, or join the samba-dancing crowds at Carnaval in Rio de Janeiro, the largest and most spectacular of the region’s countless extravagant fiestas.