There are a total of 319 National Parks in South America found in 11 different countries. Argentina - 37, Bolivia - 13, Brazil - 72, Chile - 41, Columbia - 60, Ecuador - 12, Guyana - 1, Paraguay - 15, Peru - 15, Uruguay - 7, Venezuela - 46 (Source: Wikipedia).

Examples of animals endemic to South America are the Jaguar, Giant Anteater, Llama, Sloth, Capybara and Anaconda.

Among the bird species, the Toco Toucan, Long Winged Harrier, Rheas, Giant Coot and Andean Condor are native to the continent.

The Los Arrayanes National Park covers the Quetrihué Peninsula in the province of Neuquén, Argentina measures 17.53 ㎢ (6.77 ㎡) and contains a forest of 300-year-old arrayanes trees.

About 97% of the area of the islands form part of the National Park system and so no human inhabitants are allowed there. People do inhabit the other 3% in areas of Santa Cruz Island, San Cristobal Island, Isabela Island and Floreana Island which are not part of the park.

The Chiribiquete National Park in Columbia is the largest on the continent of South America covering 43 000 ㎢ (16 602 ㎡). Venezuela wins the title as the country with the highest percentage national park area at 21.76%.

The Iguazú National Park in Argentina is one of the most popular in South America attracting almost 2 million visitors every year.

There are a variety of birds and animals to see but the biggest attraction is the Iguazu Falls which has 275 cascades, forming the largest waterfall in the world.

South America is an amazing place to see wildlife, and these four areas are the best of them to maximise your sightings opportunities. Galapagos - Ecuador, The Pantanal - Brazil, Amazon - Peru and Patagonia - Argentina.

If you want to get away from it all, including crowds of fellow visitors, these are some of the least visited South America national parks. Manú - Peru, Los Cardones - Argentina, Cerro Castillo - Chile, Queulat - Chile and Cajas - Ecuador.