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...

Bolivia routes info?
 

i am looking for information to go from La Paz to Uyuni and then To Villazon to enter Argentina, i did La Paz-Uyuni and to San Pedro de Atacama un 2010 on a ktm 640, but now im going on a 1200GSA with my girl. any advice on how the roads are, if they have been paved or still in gravel?
thank you.
Tonny

Sorry if this is reposted but if not could be useful;-

GPS Uyuni + Sw circuit

Parking for Train Cemetery S20 28.633 W66 49.850
Truck Wash S20 28.156 W66 49.172
Servicentro GC (Fuel) S20 28.185 W66 49.204
Hostal Marith S20 27.941 W66 49.602
Tonito Hotel (Minuteman Pizza) S20 27.912 W66 49.495

San Christobal Fuel S21 09.420 W67 10.100
Turn off to Laguna Chillucani S21 26.758 W67 50.701
(any track for 2-3km’s before this would be good)
River Crossing S21 33.056 W67 54.771
Junction with Main Track S21 33.687 W68 01.933
Arbol de Piedra S22 03.106 W67 52.999
National Park Entrance Station (North) S22 10.279 W67 49.048
Turn for Customs (Southbound) S22 24.958 W67 46.749
Turn for Customs (Northbound) S22 25.488 W67 46.426
Hito Cajon – Customs S22 26.438 W67 48.346
Sol de Manana Geyser S22 26.126 W67 45.431
Hot Spring S22 32.135 W67 38.967
Laguna Verde S22 47.200 W67 49.213
National Park Entrance Station (South) S22 49.876 W67 46.735
Bolivian Migracion S22 49.876 W67 46.735
Back on the Asphalt S22 55.028 W67 47.802
Chile Immigration/Aduana S22 54.662 W68 11.626
Fuel in San Pedro De Atacama S22 54.802 W68 11.930
Los Perales Campground S22 54.935 W68 12.028


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

This is gold. Thanks

Can we all confirm that as of 2015 you do NOT need to visit the the Auduna at S22.44090° W67.80595°

Thanks Andy and all for the infos gathered here, it's just gold to me in this stage of my trip ! I have no more doubt I must do this zone :)

Nevertheless, I guess I'll be doing it once back from north, entering from Chile - Ollagüe and out in San Pedro de Atacama.
I share here why to check your opinion about it : being currently in Salta with tyres about to be changed (quite more expensive in Argentina than bordering countries as far as I know) and moreover with an undiagnosed front end oscillation and a luggage excess (independent, oscillation confirmed with all luggages off the bike). Most probable is that changing tyres will solve the oscillation problem, but still not confirmed until doing it. I'm also still at the very beginning of my first large riding trip and have no experience of dirt at all (well, nearly).
It seems predictable that tyre's prices in San Pedro de Atacama wouldn't be that cheaper compared to Argentina for the tourism there, if someone has infos about it I take. And I guess going on with my trip I'll go on sending back home some stuff to get lighter (as I started a few times yet), and improve my understanding and handling of the bike, and off-road capabilities.
I would be back in this zone around jan/feb 2016, which I understand would be the hottest & wettest moment, so maybe a reason to go now despite all the rest...
Any opinion about it ? Can I find cheap tyres in San Pedro ?

Thanks in advance !

Hey zin, when are you planning to ride that route? I'm in Arequipa now but heading to Arica and Iquique. From there I'll be going east to ollague and riding the Laguna route.

Hi c-m,

I'm now in Salta, feeling unsufficiently prepared to do it from San Pedro toward Uyuni, and thus heading north to go on with Bolivia (and a quick loop in Uyuni while it's still dry). I'll be doing this laguna's track from north to south once back from Colombia in some months.

Have fun and share some pics if you can :)

Suerte