Places where the middle of winter is cool, dry walking weather rather than cold or wet. 244 towns and cities that draw visitors in South America were scored in January, and 51 rate Good or better. The 14 below lead, spread across the region.
The shortlist
- 186 · IdealArequipaPeru
Midday in January feels like 15°C under partly cloudy skies, which rates 86, Ideal, for active outdoors. This is not a short window: it rates Good or better all year. Rain is rare at this time of year. See mid January on the map.
- 286 · IdealAntofagastaChile
A typical midday in January feels like 19°C, and the Active outdoors rating averages 86 over the stretch. It rates Good or better all year, not just now. Rain is rare at this time of year. Open it on the map at mid January.
- 385 · IdealCuscoPeru
Rated 85 (Ideal) for active outdoors in January: midday feels like 15°C, with often cloudy skies. This is not a short window: it rates Good or better all year. See mid January on the map.
- 485 · IdealCoquimboChile
Midday in January feels like 17°C under mostly clear skies, which rates 85, Ideal, for active outdoors. It rates Good or better all year, not just now. Rain is rare at this time of year. Open it on the map at mid January.
- 583 · IdealIpialesColombia
A typical midday in January feels like 15°C, and the Active outdoors rating averages 83 over the stretch. This is not a short window: it rates Good or better all year. See mid January on the map.
- 683 · IdealPuerto MonttChile
Rated 83 (Ideal) for active outdoors in January: midday feels like 16°C, with partly cloudy skies. The good spell lasts about eight months, from late September to mid May. Open it on the map at mid January.
- 781 · IdealCuencaEcuador
Midday in January feels like 17°C under often cloudy skies, which rates 81, Ideal, for active outdoors. This is not a short window: it rates Good or better all year. See mid January on the map.
- 879 · GoodQuitoEcuador
A typical midday in January feels like 18°C, and the Active outdoors rating averages 79 over the stretch. It rates Good or better all year, not just now. Open it on the map at mid January.
- 979 · GoodZipaquiráColombia
Rated 79 (Good) for active outdoors in January: midday feels like 19°C, with often cloudy skies. This is not a short window: it rates Good or better all year. Rain is rare at this time of year. See mid January on the map.
- 1079 · GoodCalderaChile
Midday in January feels like 20°C under partly cloudy skies, which rates 79, Good, for active outdoors. It rates Good or better all year, not just now. Rain is rare at this time of year. Open it on the map at mid January.
- 1174 · GoodAyacuchoPeru
Rated 74 (Good) for active outdoors in January: midday feels like 19°C, with often cloudy skies. It rates Good or better all year, not just now. Open it on the map at mid January.
- 1268 · GoodEsquelArgentina
A typical midday in January feels like 15°C, and the Active outdoors rating averages 68 over the stretch. Good weather here runs from mid October to mid April, so there is room either side. See mid January on the map.
- 1363 · GoodSan Martín de los AndesArgentina
Midday in January feels like 18°C under partly cloudy skies, which rates 63, Good, for active outdoors. The good spell lasts about five months, from late November to mid April. Open it on the map at mid January.
- 1455 · GoodUrubiciBrazil
Rated 55 (Good) for active outdoors in January: midday feels like 17°C, with often cloudy skies. Good weather here runs from late September to mid January, so there is room either side. See mid January on the map.
How this list is worked out
The data
Every figure comes from a decade of weather-station observations, blended into one typical year and read at midday, local solar time. Scores here are averaged in January; a city missing a reading for any part of that stretch is left out rather than scored on part of it.
The rating
Active outdoors: A mild feels-like gates the score — best 10–20 °C, cool enough for hiking, cycling and running. Dryness matters most, with a penalty for strong wind. A place is also left out when its typical readings contradict its own rating, for example a high score alongside frequent rain.
The spread
To keep one warm corner from filling the list, entries are at least 150 km apart, no more than three sit within 1,000 km of each other, and no more than three come from one country unless the list would otherwise run short.
Only places that draw visitors
Towns and cities with plenty of hotels, guest houses and holiday lets nearby for their size, or a great many of them in all, counted from Overture Maps Places, an open dataset. That keeps out places the weather favours but nobody travels to. Where two places share one resort or city, the one a visitor would name is kept.
The dotted links open the map at that place and time of year, on the same layer. The map remembers the time of day you last chose there; set it to midday to see these exact numbers.