San Pedro de Atacama heading to Uyuni
 

Thanks for posting that info Dunc, I was just about to ask if anyone had done Ollague to Uyuni recently. Sounds a bit too rough on a 1150GSA solo, that bike is a nightmare to pick up.

I probably head to Uyuni via La Quica. Anyone else heading that way during the next week?

Dunc, are you heading north along the coast now?

Thanks to everyone who has posted on this thread, very useful info

Hi Rssler,
The only really scary bit was between Chiguana and Ollague and like I said, I took a wrong turn. In fact, slippery mud about 5km from Ollague was where I fell off. Twice. Within 100 metres. Just follow the piste next to the railway line for the way that I went. Once you get over the mud (and it doesn't look like mud either) you'll probably be fine on a GS.
There may be another way around, there were 4WDs full of backpackers on the three day Uyuni trip going the back way around the mountain, one of the drivers said they were coming from RN5 which is tarmac and terminates at the border post/railway station. The tracks join up near the railway line just west of Chiguana.
Just don't go off piste. It looks OK but it's soft and deep and a GS is no fun to push.
I'm up in Arica now, heading north once I've sorted out the whirring noise in my starter clutch. Hopefully nothing more than the solenoid.
See you up the road with a bit of luck.

Dunc.

Oh and btw, Google Maps is about as much use as a catflap on a submarine when it comes to roads in out of the way Bolivia.
Same as that RN21 Ollague to Calama. Looks lovely on the map but it's gravel, sand and salt. Do ride this road if you get the chance though, it goes from desert up through volcanoes to salar and more volcanoes. One of the most beautiful (and desolate) things I have ever seen.

Dunc.

And another thing ...
I'm no hardcore dirt rider. I had never ridden off road before Bolivia and although I've now got about 1000km under my belt I'm still about as green as they come when it comes to green lanes.
Furthermore, my bike (3AJ Tenere), already notorious for having a high centre of gravity is very heavily loaded and quite difficult to handle.
One thing though, do make sure you can pick your bike up when/if you fall off. There's some YouTube clips showing a trick where you squat down against a fallen bike and push backwards. If I hadn't learned that trick I'd probably still be sitting in a pool of mud outside Ollague waiting to attract the attention of a passing 4WD.

Dunc.

Hi Rsstler

I am right now in Puerto Iguazu, on Monday I will be in Asuncion to pick up a tire and on tuesday I will heading north with the wife, so two up, to get into Bolivia, just checking the information on the roads and deciding the route. If you would like to connect and adventure those roads together, please fire me an email.

joca.canada@gmail.com

Joca, meeting up would be great, just dropped you an email

Dunc, great tips, thanks again


Has anyone done Tupiza-Uyuni recently? What's that road like. Most people seem to go via Potosi?

I met a Swiss guy in Uyuni a few days ago that came up Villazon -> Tupiza -> Uyuni. He said that he really enjoyed the road.
He is on a KTM Adventure 990 and is an experienced dirt rider but was two up with his (visually handicapped and altitude sick) girlfriend on the back.

I've been told that the Villazon -> Potosi road is fully paved. I can't remember who told me or how reliable they are though. Fill up with petrol at La Quiaca and just head straight on after the border to find the road. You can get a cash advance from the bank on this road and as with anywhere in Bolivia, bring plenty of water (and cigarettes).

Just another tip. All the backpackers places in Uyuni are charging B$50 to B$60 a night for a bed in a shared dorm. There's a salt hotel a few hundred metres from the salar itself charging B$70 for a room with a bathroom.
It's at S20 18'41.0" W66 58'20.4"
Go north from Uyuni for 20km or so to Colchani and follow the "Ingres la Salar" sign and you'll find it on the left.

Fled the rain
 

Hi
I fled the rains last week and continued to Peru. I found the major routes in quite good condition as mentioned before. I'll add:
-St. Cruz to Cochabamba via Samaipata: through the sibirian mountains dirt = slightly muddy in the rain but drivable. COLD!
-Sucre to Samaipata (ruta del Che) good dirt road, little travelled, small road with many curves. Takes 2 days and no facilities after Villa serrano.
-Cochabamba (Quillacollo) to Villa Independencia Nr 25(wanted to continue to chulumani/Coroico): not open for the next months (years?). Big mudslide washed the road away on about 200m, no machinery in sight. Villagers didn't know anything, i had stopped at least a dozen times to ask for the road (nothing signed) and everybody told me that I'd reach Villa Independencia in 2h or so... hahaha! seems there is zero traffic on this road.
-Coroico to Caranavi: at least 2 roadworks and mudslides 10 days ago. They closed the road from 8 to 12h and from 13 to17h which means you had practically to drive through the night. Therefore i turned around and didn't go to Rurre into the jungle :-(

Cheers
karinmoto

We are currently in Rurre trying to plan our way to La Paz, We drove from Santa Cruz to Trinidad which was all paved and from Trinidad to Rurre proved to be the toughest road of our entire trip (we`ve travelled over 20,000km). Took us 8 hours to cover 70km one day. A lot of mud with some parts impassable which resulted in us taking little boats around the really muddy bits. Seems like the rainy season is still winding down.

We want to travel from Rurre to La Paz which we hear is a tough road but have been unable to leave due to mass blockades near Rurre, this hasn`t been so bad as we`ve done the Jungle and Pampas tour which is amazing. We have heard the blockades have been cleared today though there`s also not a lot of petrol. If it doesn`t rain today we`ll try head out tomorrow.

Tupiza - Uyuni
 

Tupiza - Uyuni. 200km of good dirt. The first 100km is a fairly steep winding ascent. The 2nd half is good flat dirt, with a few sandy bits but not too bad. Took better part of a day with a few decent breaks in between

Was a great road with some stunning scenery.

Hello All

Thank you for all the road news. I notice no one talks about Sucre. I understood it was a nice place to see. Anyone been there?

Thanks

Delb

Potosi to Sucre is good tar the whole way. Great road with good twisties.

Surce is definitely worth spending a few days in

Hi
Just a different take on the Tupiza to Uyuni road. I agree with Russ that it is alot of up and down mountains for the first 100 km. But when he says FLAT for the remainer. He probably means LEVEL and doesn´t mention the Rippio. I found it horrible and certainly the worse I have ridden. Impossible to find more than 500 meters of smooth running and hardly out of 3rd gear.
You also have two streams to cross and one of the deeper part of the sand had me off. I also think i have some damage to the bike from the relentless rippio, not the fall.

208 kms took me most of the day too, although 1 hour was trying to help a local guy with a puncture. His tube was so worn and had more patches than Captain Pugwash.

Unless you really like Rippio, i would go the long way round via Potosi as I believe this is much better condition, i ride it tomorrow so I hope so.

But as they say, you pay your money and take your choice.

Happy riding
Delb

Hi Delb, sorry to hear you did not enjoy the Tupiza Uyuni stretch, I hope your bike is Ok. Yes, there is a lot of ripio. They were grading the road when I did it, so not sure it was that bad at the time.

It helps if you can build up a decent speed, that way you skim over the tops of the bumps. Try get into 4th or 5th gear then pray you don't fall!

As they say about ripio, ride fast and it will damage your bike slowly, ride slow and it will damage your bike faster.

Enjoy the salar