Uruguay gifts you some extraordinary natural sights amidst the tumbling rivers and dense rainforests where more than 700 indigenous species of birds adorn the treetops. An awesome sparkle of colours is witnessed through the forest's intense green as different birds fly like arrows across a deep blue sky. Uruguay is the third smallest country in South America but this doesn’t stop the country from being one of the most stable and prosperous economies of the world. Uruguay capitalises on its verdant agricultural sector that is enriched by the fertile dispositions from the Río de la Plata and Río Negro rivers. Otherwise, low hilly regions dot the landscape of Uruguay with sole exception to the highest point of Cerro Catedral at 514 m. The country also nestles the Argentine island enclave of Martín García within its territories.
Prior to European settlement, Uruguay was inhabited by indigenous people known as the Charrúas. Uruguay or the "river of the painted birds" on local dialect was first settled by Spanish and Portuguese seafarers. After years of tug of war between Spain and Portugal, Spain wrested the country from Portugal in 1778 only to lose it again in 1817. Uruguay gained independence in 1825 with Argentine help but civilian government came in only in 1984. With its paramount ecological splendours and financial stability, Uruguay is also addressed as "the Switzerland of South America".