i am planning to take a 3-4 month trip to south america for the first time. i'm a seasoned traveller, but haven't been to this continent before. i have my flight reserved arriving into lima, peru on june 3, 2008 and departing from bogota, colombia on sept. 16th, 2008. the route is not set in stone, but the time frame is probably close.

i plan on having about $6000 for the trip (excluding plane ticket) and traveling mostly by bus. i would like to travel to peru (machu picchu), colombia, argentina, and chile.

i am interested in doing outdoor activities like rock climbing (in peru?) and snowboarding (in chile?). i would like to camp out, but i'm not sure about the weather during winter. i would also like to avoid taking a lot of equipment with me (including sports gear). i was thinking of using an organized tour but this could cost more and would take the spontaneity out of traveling.

i also considered combining independent travel with a bit of organized tour for the sports activities so they can provide the equipment for me. do you have any advice on good adventure tour groups? i am concerned about finding a rock climbing partner that i would feel safe and secure with.

any feedback would be much appreciated!

muchas gracias,
vina

you should think about doing ciudad perdida in colombia. didn't get a chance to when i was there, but i've heard great things about the site.

'adventure' stuff near arequipa, including rock climbing: http://www.zarateadventures.com/ i had only done a 2d/1n colca canyon tour through him, but he comes highly recommended in lonely planet. he's a nice guy too.