Iviehoff, You rock! Thank you for all this great information. I will look into getting a map. Is this a physical map or a virtual map that you're talking about. I'm old school and have never used a downloaded map. Is this what everyone is doing these days? And, what is the CTC forum? Also, I think you're saying that R40 in Argentina from the boarder to the lake district is nice and the preferred route for many...is that right?
Gracias amigo!
There's a virtual map you can locate and download.
No, the R40 from Mendoza to the Lake District cannot be described as "nice", but many cyclists think it is preferable to what lies on the other side. It's bleak with only occasional settlement, but at least it is a reasonably natural wilderness. Chile from about 100km N of Santiago to about 600km south is the main inhabited part of Chile, and is no paradise for the cyclist. The natural environment has been almost completely razed, so you travel through extensive farmlands and logging plantations of no great distinction. There are some nice coastal roads, here and there but they are fairly brief and mostly you have to travel some way inland of the coast for lack of a coastal road. Or in some cases there is a coastal road, but it is a terrible gravel road. In sum, it isn't really a landscape you travelled half way around the world to travel in. Chile's wonderful bits, at these latitudes, are mostly localities up dead end roads, thus somewhat inconvenient to cyclists.
Iviehoff, thanks again for sharing your wealth of knowledge. The more I research the longer this trip becomes! Oh well, you only live once and I'm already poor so what the hell! So, another question...did you bike through Bolivia? Now, I'm sort of thinking of starting in Potosi and riding to Salar de Uyuni and from there south to Villazon to start the ride south along R40 in Argentina down to Bariloche and then over into Chile and eventually Ushuaia. I really want to see Salar de Uyuni. I've been to Bolivia many years ago but missed the salt flats. Maybe I don't ride in this area at all? Maybe I just bus it? Any advice on road safety in Bolivia and quality of roads and infrastructure along the way?
Thanks for your words of wisdom in advance!
I loved cycling in Bolivia. I cycled from Villazon to Potosi via Tupiza which was very nice, but I ate something bad in Potosi and was in bed 10 days. I then took the bus to Uyuni and back for a tour in a jeep to recuperate, and bus back to Potosi, before cycling on north to Sucre, Cochabamba, Uyuni and La Paz, with a few detours on the way. There's a lot more I'd love to do one day, as there is a lot more tarmac on those roads now, and it is the quite back roads that are so lovely. I took the very tough old backroad between Tupiza and Santiago Cotagaita to see the Tupiza pillar, but you encounter that also on the Uyuni-Tupiza segment. I think the main road from Potosi to Villazon via Tupiza is all paved now, it was nearly all unpaved when I did it.
Potosi to Uyuni is a lovely ride with places to stay at convenient intervals on the way, but it is very high, you need time to acclimatise before setting out. I think it is now paved. Uyuni to Tupiza I haven't done, but there's plenty of accounts of it, google some for description and where you can stay, I think it may require a camp. I believe it is still unpaved, and horribly sandy for extensive sections, and much less interesting ride overall than Potosi-Uyuni or Potosi Tupiza (though you do get the Tupiza pillar). So actually, probably better to start at Uyuni and go, somewhat counter-intuitively, via Potosi to Tupiza. Tupiza pillar is only 20km out of Tupiza so you can do it as a side dayride, and it is worth staying a few days in Tupiza anyway as there is lots of stuff to see/do there. Tupiza to Villazon is 100km and in the other direction I did it in a day but I was horribly fit then, realistically probably needs an overnight in a tent for most people going the other way, or maybe if you ask in some of the vilalges there could be a room to rent, but would be wise to take food. It's a really special area and you'll love it, but cycling at 4000m is no walk in the park, and exercise brings out ones lack of acclimatisation, probably makes sense to do the jeep tour out of Uyuni first as acclimatisation assistance.
Btw that Chilean map link is http://www.mapasdechile.cl/ I spotted it again a few minutes ago.
HI Iviehoff,
Thanks for all the awesome Bolivian info. It takes me a minute to absorb all the information. Still trying to figure this all out. So, if i flew into Potosi and acclimatized for a couple weeks (taking a Spanish course) then it might be feasible to ride from Potosi to Uyuni, right? Also, I hear you saying that Uyuni to Villazon isn't the best because the road is crappy. Do you know anything about the road from Uyuni west over the boarder into Chile and then San Pedro Atacambe? I'm having a hard time finding detailed info on the web, especially since you do such a great job! Also, what year did you go to Bolivia? I went many years ago overland by bus and got typhoid fever in Potosi. I spent a month in a hospital in Argentina. Missed some areas of Bolivia that I'd now like to go back to see.
Thanks again for you advice and time!
Do you know anything about the road from Uyuni west over the boarder into Chile and then San Pedro Atacama
That's a serious expedition, long gaps between food and water, and roads that are just jeep tracks worn into the land. There are several routes and they aren't well mapped, but people find their way by one route or another, there aren't many choices to be made, and the standard routes are fairly well worn by the jeep tours. You need to carry about 10-12 days food because there isn't much even in odd village you do encounter. Water management is also hard work, in general you'll get water every second day, but of course need to have some conservatism in case you get delayed by weather, weariness or whatever. Though there will be regular jeep tours going by for assistance if you get into trouble, and sometimes you can beg water off them.
Some general comments here I made on the basis of going on a landrover tour in the area.
http://www.transamazon.de/links/ivan/bolivia.html
There's a lot of material on remote routes in SW Bolivia and other parts of the Andes here which must surely cover it
http://pikesonbikes.com/
They have also written a book called "Andes by bike"
Here's another description among several "off the map" routes in the Andes
http://www.irisentoreopreis.nl/lagunaverde.shtml
There are plenty more accounts to be found, I'm sure. This guy (sporadically) keeps a catalogue of them http://www.transamazon.de/links/ though a lot of the older links are dead now.
The key decision is whether you cross the Salar or take the shorter route via Villa Alota to the south of the Salar. Crossing the salar is much the more scenic route, not just for the salar itself but for other lovely sights in the western borderlands before you get to Laguna Colorado where the routes join. But it includes some nasty soft ground and very indistinct tracks, and you can end up dragging your bike across soft ground for a few tens of km here and there. You pass the Chiguana military post and in the past cyclists found it important to beg water off them, but I have heard it might have been closed. Sol de Manana is an optional detour between the S end of L Colorada and the next lake south, for all they say about it, it's actually only about 4900m, but it is still a big steep climb from L Colorada, especially at that altitude.
Laguna Verde is of course the single most famous sight - you'll be lucky to see it in the snow as I did, as evidenced by the photo at the top of the page. But you can shorten the journey by omitting Laguna Verde and cross to Chile further north, there are 2 or 3 options, and going via El Tatio.
In general you need to check in Uyuni where active border posts are, and get stamped out in Uyuni if you are using a border without an active post.
Do you know anything about the road from Uyuni west over the boarder into Chile and then San Pedro Atacama
It's a tough road mostly due to bad road conditions, altitude, temperature and wind. We found there were enough places to stock up on water, since the jeep tours travel more or less the same route and there are quite a few refugios on the way.
A GPS is very handy though, since tracks lead everywhere and it might confuse you.
It was one of the highlights of our ride across the Americas, so if you do have time and energy you should ride this section in Bolivia.
Here's our story of the Laguna Route
And our short movie
Pikes on Bikes is a very useful resource, you should really check out their website for some more fantastic rides in this part of the world.
Route info and map - very handy!
Enjoy! I wish I could ride it again!
Thanks, once again, for the wealth of information in this region of Bolivia! I'm still taking it all in. I really want to cross the Salar to San Pedro but not on my own. Hopefully, if I hang out in Uyuni (mid October) for a few days I'll run into a few intrepid bikers who are planning to do the same ride. Btw, I've now extended my ride. I now plan to start in LaPaz (acclimatize for a while) then ride via Oruro to Uyuni and either the flats option or, if no company, down to Tapiza and villazon boarder. Does that sound like a good plan? Help. it's hard to make decisions on my own (both the joy and bane of traveling alone).
Gracias amigos!
Does that sound like a good plan? Help. it's hard to make decisions on my own (both the joy and bane of traveling alone).
Gracias amigos!
Make the decision when you are actually there. It will make more sense, trust me.
There's a lot to be said for taking the bus from La Paz to Oruro. It isn't very interesting scenically - well actually on first arriving in the place it probably is somewhat interesting but by wider Bolivian standards it isn't - and it is distinctly tedious traffic wise. Lots of trucks, on a road without a shoulder, and there is an unfortunate minority of drivers who don't give you the respect you require. I felt like that 15 years ago, and the level of traffic has grown considerably, I understand.