In the Brazilian rainforest there is a town built around a church where worshippers drink hallucinogenic tea. "At the church entrance I was served a cup of the brew. I swigged it down straight away. Then I drank another cup"
There really isn't much of a theme to tie these 39 photographs together, other than that they were all taken in the air, looking down. But, my, there are some beauties. Worth a few minutes of anyone's time
Juliane Koepcke was flying over Peru when lightning struck her plane. It broke apart in mid-air and she was catapulted into the outside, plummeting two miles down, still strapped into her seat. She awoke in the rainforest below
Intrepid writer goes to Peru in search of hallucinogen ayahuasca. Encounters mysterious shamans and seven-storey pyramid on the Amazon, built by an Englishman inspired by the mind-altering drug. Then he tries it himself
Writer heads to remote area of Peru, stronghold of Shining Path. "Nobody seemed to know how long the bus trip was or how the roads were or how I would go about getting there. A few were horrified to learn I was planning to go alone"
Extraordinary photo essay charting damage caused by ash from the Puyehue volcano in southern Chile that erupted in early June. Patagonia as you have never seen it before – and hopefully never will again
Brief slideshow with some very striking images of recent volcanic eruptions in Chile. Pictures show a column of ash and pumice about 5km wide. Pumice stones ejected from the crater have been found in Argentina
Photo gallery of the world's biggest salt flats, the Salar de Uyuni. Covering an area of more than 10,000 square kilometres high in the Bolivian Andes, the flats contain at least half of the world's known lithium reserves
Account of trip to ruins of once great Mayan city, abandoned for 2,000 years. Author's daredevil guide steals show. On comparisons to Indiana Jones: "My life isn’t as boring. He always jumps out of the airplane before it crashes"
For wine lovers, and those who've seen Sideways. On pinot noir, source of the best red Burgundy. Known as the "heartbreak grape" because it's so tricky to get right. Growing success in Oregon, SA, Chile, NZ and Australia
Beautiful photo essay from Chilean Patagonia, where plans for a huge hydroelectric scheme threaten to destroy one of the wildest, most pristine areas of our planet. Stunning landscape shots, and a sight of the area's last gaucho
The headline speaks for itself. There are some extraordinarily striking, and well-composed, images among these 100 photographs taken out of airplane windows all over the world