Bolivia south- detailed info
 

Hi fellow travellers,

I have put together some info about the southwest of bolivia.
That means going from Uyuni to san pedro de atacama.

Incl gps points, water and gas supply.
Info is up to date.

Hope this helps and ecourages you
In case you have doubts doing it.
DONT MISS IT.

Here is the link:
3P – Info Part: Southwest Bolivia – Laguna Colorada | peaks, pampas, and panniers

Andy

I uploaded the tracks and waypoints:
Wikiloc - Uyuni-SanPedro trail - - GPS track

Thanks Andy, great post, and great info with a lot of detail. We are going to head into Bolivia from San Pedro after the Dakar Rally and are looking for routes, yours looks really nice. I was really hoping to do the Lagoon route though, but the tales of all the deep sand are making me worried. It would be ok if it was just me (although I would probably still have a hard time), but my wife is terrified of the sand. She is actually really good on the bike, and very good offroad, so I thinks it's more of a self-confidence problem.

So your route looks like a better option, miff about missing the Arbol de Piedra etc. but oh well...

Hello Andy,

I am planning to visit the Eduardo Avaroa reserve in southern Bolivia. You were there a few months ago. I'm very much in doubt if I should go there with my 4x4 rental car or join a tour. I'm an experienced driver (trans Afrika). Is it safe to go with my own car?

Berry van Welzen

Hi there, I'm not Andy but I can answer this for you. I think with a 4x4 you will not have any problem. Some stretches have a lot of deep sand, but I never saw any other 4x4 have problems. All crossed fine.

Your main issue will be fuel reserve. Plan accordingly and maybe get some jerry cans with extra fuel.

I did it with two families driving separate non-4x4 RV's from the 1980's!!

http://i.imgur.com/sO4MHjYl.jpg

Excellent. I'm heading that way towards the end of the year.

Only problem is I'm riding two-up so will want to avoid the worst of the sand.

I'll be coming from Ollague (Chile) in Bolvia and hoping to see Árbol de Piedra and have a walk around some of the other formations, Then on to Laguna Colorada before heading into Chile and onto San Pedro (though I hear it's not very nice).

If doing that northern route to the red lake and seeing Arbol de Piedra, where do you buy your ticket for the park?

Thanks

P.S I presume that there isn't any fuel in Villa Mar?

thanks!

c-m,

the ticket "office" is somewhere on the road there. If you want to have the exact location, just ask in one of the tour operators in Uyuni, they are very helpful.


You may get gas in Villa-Mar, but only from privat. No gasstation. So you should not count on it. If you are coming from Chile, get canisters there. We did not see a reasonable shop for that in Uyuni.

San Pedro is very touristic. Coming from Bolivia you may enjoy a working WLAN, good food and nice bars though...
The sorroundings are fantastic . The Moonvalley is really nice. Plus there are great tours for Astronomy (you#d have to book in advance though). A real highlight was the coppermine chuquicamate close to Calama.
So there is some things to do... as I said: pretty touristic though...

Hi Berry,

the others already answered it really. But I just want to encourage you as well. From most people that I met this part of SA was one of the best (especially for 4x4 drivers).
Don't miss it.

BR Andy

All excellent info. Looking forward to it.

I saw a write up by an American guy on an xChallenge last year, but I've lost his blog now.

He didn't realise that you no longer have to go to that little customs office. Or maybe it just wasn't the then.

Been looking at this again and would love to know what road around the north of Laguna Colorada is like.

If you come at Laguna Colorada from the west you completely miss the ticket post so you wouldn't have a ticket for the park.

Hi,
I am not sure if I understand the question. Coming from north of Laguna Colorada there are two possibilities (the one that I describted in detail and the more sandy lagoon route). With both you would pass a entry post of the national park.

Where would you come from when you mean east?

BR Andy

In my last post I meant west not east.

In my image you can see the entry to the park on right to the east of the lake.

It is possible to get to the park going west around the lake i.e the more sandy lagoon route.

Are you saying that the ticket office is elsewhere and is not that yellow mark on the map I posted?

Hi C-M,

sorry, my mistake. Of course west... :-))

Now I understand your question. Was a bit slow on that... :-))

If you take the more sandy route, there is a entry to the park somewhere on the route (I do not know the exact position). I assume it is somwhere close to the border of the national park.

I have attached a overview from the map we used. I added the entry of the park (the Info sign close to the junction) on the route I described in detail (The position of the entry is by memory, so it may differ a bit in reality, but roughly it is correct). The green line is our track... The map proofed to be very precise.

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...aguna-colo.jpg



The map also shows the borders of the national park. Maybe this does answer your question? Let me know if not.

There is always the possibility to ask at one of the 4x4 organized tours in Uyuni. They are very helpful and know the area in detail of course...