Crossing the Bolivian Jungle??
 

Hi all,

I have motoed in Peru, Bolivia, Brazil and Argentina for many years. MY last two trips included much high altitude riding, and that was great. But this next "Around the Block" trip I want to spend much of my time in the Bolivian "montana" (mnt jungle) and lower Beni region, not just "getting somewhere", but REALLY exploring! I find SO LITTLE info on these areas! Can anyone help?

Also we want to go to the "Lost World" plateau (Noel Kemf National Park) in Bolivia am hoping to reach it via Vilhena in Brazil to the Flor de Oro camp and leave via the road on the western side that goes south to Santa Cruz, Bolivia. Has anyone hiked up into the park? Where did you safely store your motos??

Much Thanx.

Hey,
I just came back from the Beni and Pando departments, what sort of stuff are you wondering about? You can read my report here if you like, I didn't go far into the jungle though, that has to be done with tours and stuff because it's only accessible by tiny little boats (as far as I could see) though you can see much of the 'pampas' (swamp areas).

A couple of obstacles on this trip, the drivers and roads between Santa Rosa and La Paz were really bad and there's very little tourist infrastructure other than in Coroíco and Rurrenebaque - we didn't see another tourist for about 2 weeks at one point. Also be prepared to clean your airfilter often as there is a lot of sand and dust being thrown in the air by the many trucks around.

Thanx!
 

Pockethead,

I will check out your blog tonight and may have many questions!

I have ridden ALOT on some very bad roads in SA (that you can't even find on Google Earth!) and am ready for that part. We will be 8 dirt bikes that will easily throw into canoes for the short ride from the last Brazilian point (Pimenteiras do Oeste) to the Flor de Oro camp at the northern edge of the "Lost World" plateau. I rode all the Brazilian side of it in 2007, but want to get up in it from the Bolivian side this time.

We will do La Paz to Coroico, then turn south east and follow the road thru Independencia to Cochabamba and on to Santa Cruz, Then we will turn south from Santa Cruz all the way to Salta, Argentina...

On the way back we will enter on the north side of the "Lost World" plateau, then trace it south to San Ignacio, then west to Rurrenbaque, then north to Riberalta, then west to Cobija, exiting to Brazil and returning to Cuzco, Peru.

Does that help??

Awesome, that's quite similar to what we did, here is the map from the ride report anyway:
http://i.imgur.com/VDL3Y.jpg

We went from Coroíco up the death road, then down from the peak on the road to Chulumangi, then to Independencía, then to Cochabamba and that was awesome! If you take the same route then be prepared for the construction which blocks the road outside of 12pm-2pm, giving you a two hour window to pass. If you go direct from Coroíco to Chulumangi then this won't be a problem. There was also a very nasty river crossing, though it is probably shallower now we're further from the wet season. It can be avoided by taking the longer road to Cochabamba, 2 hours more I believe.

The best advice I can offer I think is to travel light as it's all dirt roads and be prepared to eat in local almuerzo's everywhere you go. The roads are actually in pretty good condition for the most part, except the high traffic ones which are torn to shreds and full of potholes.

Sorry I haven't updated the ride report, I lost motivation after nobody commented on my last installment. I should probably stop posting them early in the morning heh.

Yeah! Sounds like almost the same route (except for the Riberalta to Cobija part. We know how to bed and eat anywhere (we carry very light jungle hammocks with mosquito netting). All of us grew up in the Peruvian Amazon. Some even lived out with the tribes there.

This trip we are planning is really for summer 2014 and will be 9 weeks Peru-Bolivia-Argentina-Brazil-Bolivia-Peru, catching a few World Cup Games in Cuiaba, Brazil. So some of the roads may change by then (hopefully better, but not more traffic.. :-) )

What are you doing in Bolivia??

Hmm not a whole lot, I just hang out and doing nothing really, nothing productive anyway haha :thumbup1:. Actually thinking of moving on though I'm not 100% sure yet what to do, perhaps go hang out by the beach in Mexico?

Are you a native Peruvian? What do you do there?

Sort of
 

Parents went to Peru as missionaries when I was 3, so I grew up there, mostly on motorcycles. Then I went back during and after college to teach technical trades with another organization. Started a motocross work with youth, then it flowed into Enduro and MotoRally racing, now moto tours for friends...

Currently we have a place in Maine, but live in Haiti for this year. Sort of confusing, I know... My heart will always be in Peru and greater SA, and can't wait to go back to Bolivia..

:mchappy::mchappy::mchappy:

Guayaramerin to Cobija
 

Hi,
We are just preparing our tour from Trinidad up to Guayaramerin (by boat), then heading west towards Cobija and then somehow crossing over to Peru. doh
(Me on a BMW 100GS sidecar accompanied by a chinese 200cc dirt bike :scooter:)

I just wonder - do you guys have some informations on this route? (road conditions at this time of the year) ?c?
And do you have any recommendation on how to enter Peru? (I.e. leaving Bolivia via Brasil and then enter at Inapari. Or better to go down south to Extrema or even further south to Pto. Heath)
Kind regards from Trinidad,
Philipe

Entering Peru
 

I have not ridden the Beni (yet) so I can't give you personal info on that, but I do know the route to Peru. In 2007, I rode from central Peru to Iguazu and back. Check out my website of that trip (below).

From Cobija you cross over to Brasileia and take the highway to Peru crossing at Asis Brasil / Inapari. The Brazilian side is very modern, but the Peruvian side is ordered also. From there it is almost all pavement all the way to Cuzco. nevertheless, I would try to avoid it Jan to March during the heaviest rain because there are bound to be landslides. They have just busted out this road and there may still be some unstable areas for a few years to come.

What do you need to know??

Toby :mchappy::mchappy::mchappy: