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Great Roads in South America - what are they?
Too many to name, but just in Argentina, Rta. 9 between Salta and Jujuy is pretty OK with it's one-lane, yet two-way traffic on a smooth tarmac surface with its 60 km length and 2000 turns. Then there is the gravel road 52 between Upsallata and Mendoza that goes through Villavicencio. The scenery is more than spectacular. Oh yeah, the dirt road, Rta. 173, south of San Rafael that goes to El Nihuil is real nice as well. Then there's .............
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agree with knetic, theres to many to mention, but the one that stands out in my memory and will always be there is the dirt road from chuquibamba to cotahausi in southern peru. About 130km of brutal dirt, sand, loose boulders, single track with drops into the abyss and generaly everything a road could through at you.... accending to around 15500 feet... rode it in may 07 and i think they are trying to upgrade the road, so if you want a test, ride it as soon as ya can.. leave enough daylight though. we ended riding half of it at night. was the most testing experience i have ever experienced.... had to ride back out the same route, coz its the only way in and out of cotahausi... but in the daylight it was amazing, the scenery is spectacular. The cotahausi canyon is one of the most idealic places i have ever been lucky enough to see, absolutly stunning beauty..... mind you, where in peru isnt it the most stunning beauty !
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Cuzco to Nazca, unbelievable.
Oruro in Bolivia directly west to Iquique, Chile, awesome. Arica, Chile, to La Paz via the place starting with "P" (sorry, forget the name). Basically anytime you're going from the Altiplano down to sea level (or vice versa) is awesome. Also, Potosi to Oruro (Bolivia). These above are all tarmac (except Oruro to the border to Chile). For dirt kicks the Careterra Austral is hard to beat. Junin de los Andes to Pucon also very good (head south from Junin by about 5 k's and turn right). There's a lovely looking lakeside campsite on this road as well and a tiny, very friendly, border crossing. From Futulefu to El Bolson there is a natinonal park you can ride thorugh which is gravel, great fun and loads of nice camping too. |
Best combination of fun riding and beautiful landscape is Carretera Austral, especially the southern end around Lago General and then continuing down ruta 40. Dirt/ sand from Uyuni to Chile via Laguna Colorado and Laguna Verde. For paved twisties there are too many to mention. Mendoza - Santiago was good. Nazca - Cusco was good but it has a long boring ride through the altiplano.
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For me, the (mostly) smooth almost 800 km pavement between Nazca and Cusco had everything I want. Hundreds of curves in all kinds, long flat high plains, sudden drops into canyons, very little traffic... and a fantastic arrival.
My monthly ride up the Andes to Huaraz is still exciting after a hundred runs.. |
can recomend it!
Just done it this february again and allways a pleasure to do.Speedy curves and stunning views all the time.Changing climates zones too.From rainy wet cordoba into the semi desertic traslasierras!You see and smell the diferences on both sides.
Passing by Cordoba don´t skip this one. Can return by "el paso de los gigantes" or take the route from Merlo up the sierras through La cruz! This area is mostly missed,a true beauty. Look at my blog for few pictures Karl |
I'm sitting in Mina Clavero at the moment, doing the internet thing waiting for the rain to stop. :stormy: It's been raining every day in this area the five days I've been around here. So its funny this thread was updated the last 24 hours.
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One of the best roads I've done in SA was the 100km or so of pavement up from the south into Coyhaique, Chile. Excellent pavement, well engineered road, no sheep/goats/cows/llamas/etc. to contend with. At least, after doing Ruta 40 up from TDF and then the Carretera Austral down to Villa O'Higgins and back up, finally hitting a patch of pavement made a lasting impression. |
Rainy summer
Hey Quastadog,sorry to read that.The days i did that was a bit cloudy but not rain.The next day was totaly clear and i was in San Javier.
The road to the top of "merlo´s mountain" is paved and with heavy rains tends to washed away! But stunning to do.Hopefully you get a chance.If so stay for a sleep in Lutti.On the other side. CU at Dakar? Karl |
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Nominations
Agree with previous noinations (especially Carretera Austral, Ruta 40 and North from Salta) and would also like to add the Road of Death in Bolivia (both the old and the new roads from La Paz to Coroico) and have just done part of the Colca Canyon, which could be fantastic if it wasn´t so foggy!
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Best Road in South America?
:clap:The road you are on! xfiltrate
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para los amigos del ripio
hola amigos
the road from concepcion,tucuman to andalgala,catamarca,is a must if you love ripio and scenerie,lot's of hair pin bends and loose gravel. in conection with cafayate,tafi del valle, concepcion,andalgala,belen,cafayate it's a nice round trip and wortwhile a detour. all the best geri |
Ipiales to Popayan, Columbia
Just went from the border with Ecuador at Ipiales to Popayan yesterday for a lovely 300+kms of muchas curvas peligrosas y sinuosas, with some potholes, rockslides and oncoming lorry action to add some spice - a lovely road and highly recommended....
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Actually.......
...all the way to Medellin from Cali is pretty spectacular too....
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Peru, Huancayo to Ayacucho to Andahuaylas
The road from Huancayo (in the Peruvian Andes) to Ayacucho to Andahuaylas is rugged, yet awesome! :thumbup1: Here are a few pics:
http://www.freewebs.com/shanperu/n62...203%5F8481.jpg http://www.freewebs.com/shanperu/n62...187%5F4961.jpg Toby (charapa) Around the Block 2007 | |
villazon - uyuni, bolivia
on the map this just looks like the shortest way from the argentine border to uyuni, but it is a great road if you up for an adventure and can hack the 40-odd km of grotty corrugations at the uyuni end.
it's dirt all the way, goes over 4000m and stays up there, gives you every surface from good gravel to clay, bulldust, some deep sand (and plenty of other sand) river crossings, llamas, mining traffic, a welcoming town (atocha) at the 200km mark, and best of all, about 15 or 20km of sandy riverbed, with flowing water! first you go downstream, then up! not to mentiond mad scenery. we just did it two up on an r11gs. lots of fun. cheers, andy. |
Thank you guys. It will help to finalise my route ( I don't know how many times I am going back to drawing board:confused1:).
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Paso Canoas - San Jose, Costa Rica
Just done this road and it was stunning. Alpine quality blacktop through sweeping mountain roads, surrounded by cloud forest - highly recommended!
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San Ramon - Monteverde - Tilcaran - Fortuna
Just done the off road trails, turning off of the Costa Rican Panamericana at San Ramon, past the National Parque at Monteverde and then through Tilcaran to the shores of Lake Arenal at Fortuna. Challenging trails and brilliant views - highly recommended....
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Watch out for mountain bikes
This road of death reputation must be of interest. I would very much prefer to be on my own bike on this road than couped up in a bus, or any other vehicle - read on.
News from today's date is:- British cyclist killed on 'Highway of Death' http://estb.msn.com/i/29/4386B518DAA...56FD4EEFB7.jpg © ITN 2008 A British cyclist has been killed in a crash which claimed the lives of nine people in Bolivia. The man, named by the British Embassy in La Paz as 22-year-old Tom Austin, was involved in a collision with a Toyota Land Cruiser with 13 people inside. The vehicle then left the road and rolled 300 feet down a rocky embankment, killing eight people inside and injuring the five others. Louise Taylor, vice consul at the British Embassy, said two other British cyclists were injured. She named them as Daniel Roberts, 23, and James Marshall, 22. She said: "He died on the road between La Paz and Coroico. "Two other British citizens were injured at the same time. They were quite minor injuries." She said the riders were not taking part in a race as far as she was aware. Lieutenant Colonel Agusto Angulo, head of the La Paz transit police accident division, said the accident took place just minutes after the cyclists began their tour on a paved section near a 15,400-foot Andean pass. Mr Austin was the second tourist to die on the notorious stretch of road, nicknamed the Highway of Death, in the past week. The highway east from La Paz - the world's highest capital city - winds dramatically down the face of the Andes, dropping 11,800 feet in just 40 miles. The narrow, largely dirt track earned its macabre nickname for the frequency with which Bolivian buses would plunge off its 3,300-foot cliffs, killing hundreds a year until a new paved highway opened in 2007. But the old route's stunning vistas and hairpin turns now draw an estimated 25,000 thrill-seeking mountain bikers from around the world. At least 13 cyclists have died on the road in the past ten years. On Monday, Kenneth Mitchell, 56, of Fullerton, California, died when he tumbled from his bicycle and fell over a cliff along the road. A spokesman for the accident division of the La Paz police refused to speculate on the causes of the latest accident and declined to give any more details about the British casualties. |
more more please
hey off for a year in june loving reading this anyone got any more please.............
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Lago Atitlan, Guatamala
All around the lake is a great ride too. Lovely scenery and a real variety of road conditions - all twisty but ranges from sand, dirt, rocks, potholed road to Swiss Alpine quality silktop.
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R6 Oruro to Sucre is evil
Define best, the best roads are often the most boring and the worst roads most exciting, after you finish them.
I have not travelled all the roads mentioned but a few and agree they are great. The road of the waterfalls and tunnels in Ecuador at Banos is civalised and stunning along to the headwaters of the Amazon, provided the volcano is behaving itself, the shortcut from Ambato to Banos via Pelileo (R50) is a nice way to get there. dirt as far as Pelileo then small rural roads. Watch out for whole smoked pigs hanging outside of the shops. At Banos the road follows a river valley and is easy riding through tunnels and many waterfalls tumble down the valley sides. A pretty and relaxed ride from Banos to Puyo. The R6 road from Oruro to Sucre via Catayi in Bolivia is on the other hand a beast of a ride, well to me it was, but I'm getting on and not a good off road rider. It is fine up to the mining town of Huanuni, then take the high road, not the river road, to Catayi. It is dirt and gravel all the way with sheer drops into the valley below and several rivers to ford. There is a hotel, Hotel Colonial, and a petrol station in Catayi. The next part is through stunning scenery and lots of fords, most of which are due to the road being washed away in the elbows of the frequent mountain bends. At Pocoata there is a track over the mountain to where it rejoins R6 at Ocuri. Or carry on around the mountain on the R6. My Garmin said 6 hrs for the whole journey, but it took me 1 day of 13hrs and another of 17hrs to do it, but like I said, I'm not the worlds best dirt rider. Most of this delay was due to roads being washed away, so maybe it was once, or will be again, a tame road, but I will never forget, or be more proud, of besting this hard ride. I have not got to posting it on my blog yet, but hope to in the next few weeks while relaxing here in Montevideo |
The road around Volcano Tungurahura in Banos, Ecuador to Puyo.
Tungurahua, Ecuador. photo - rtwrider photos at pbase.com Nice twisty riding. Make sure you stop at the little Italian joint for lunch. The only downside is the long dark unlit tunnels with buckets of water dumping from the ceiling.....I certainly did not ride through them mumbling MOMMY MOMMY MOMMY in a high pitched voice. |
AR Ruta 68 from Calayate towards Salta to Alemania the Qubreda de los Chochos was super fun a couple of days ago. Brilliant twisties amongst stunning redrock scenery. Take a relaxing ride through seeing the sites the turn around a buzz straight through all the curves. I had so much fun in a 5km strech that I found myself going back to take pics, but ended up going through twice more.
AR ruta 33 from Cachi to Salta is also special. A spectacular (some ripio some asphalta) pass leads from redrock desert to verdant forest in about 50 km and finishes with 50km more of brilliant tight twisties. Going from Calfayate to Cachi you get a little sand, charming villages, strange sandstone formations, a serious mountain pass and verdant forest in a single day. AR Ruta de Siete Lagos from San Martin to Bariloche is spectacular. It could take 4.5 hrs ridden through, but I ended up taking the better part of two days. |
I'll list three because South America is too big for just one.
The road from San Pedro de Atacama, Chile, to Jama, Argentina. 100 miles. I liked it so much, I did it three times. I left San Pedro at 6 AM, arrived in Jama at about 10- stopping for tons of pics. I had a cup of coffee (with a fly in it- made me vomit), then I rode back to San Pedro de Atacama. I gassed up (thanking the gods of gas tanks for my 11 gallons) and rode as fast as I dared (100 mph, baby!) back to Jama. I think the road tops out around 16,500 feet. The road from Nasca to Cusco. Holy shit this was ****ing epic. I've heard it described as beautiful but it kicked my ass. At one point coming around a curve there was a bus down a cliff a few hundred feet. People were building a shrine. They said 28 people died. I hit a bad stretch of potholes and broke my speedo cable. I rode the whole thing in one sitting- 660 km. I saw my first flamingos. Amazing and the hardest ride I have ever done. The road from Rio Gallegos to Ushuaia- and back. On the way back, leaving Ushuaia, the snow on the mountains is amazing. The views were kind of like the Rocky Mountains in the fall- only more beautiful and more amazing. Snow covered jagged peaks and red forests and perfect road, except for about 100 miles of ripio in the rain with the mud coming off in a fine bloody mist. And it was windy. I finished the ripio completely covered in red mud. The mud stuck to the exhaust on the bike and it's still there, even though I'm with the bike in Wisconsin. The mud baked on like fancy ceramic. There were other great roads- if we can count Central America, I really liked the road from San Cristobal de las Casas, Mexico, to La Mesilla. And the coast in El Salvador was nice. Add all of Colombia. |
Astonishing routes
I'll name Argentine's roads I know and some of them you have just quoted.
Cordoba province is full of wonderful routes: -Nº 38 from Carlos Paz to Capilla del Monte and from there, the 22 (consolidated) to San Marcos Sierra. -Nº 5 from Alta Gracia to Embalse. -Nº 34 (High tops road) from Carlos Paz to Mina Clavero and then the road that goes from Mina Clavero to Yacanto or inclusive to Merlo in San Luis province. Cordoba has many more beautiful paved and consolidated inner roads that are a must. Ruta 40, from North to South along the Andes Rocks, is full of incredible places. As happens with route 66 in USA, route 40 is a traditional way. Nº 307 from Famaillá to Amaichá del Valle. It's unforgettable! Nº 7 from Potrerillos to Uspallata and from there to the limit with Chile. Nº 9 from Salta city to Abra Pampa in the Northwest. Bariloche, Mendoza, Neuquen, Salta have also a lot of imperdible inner paths. |
two weeks, two people, one bike
Hello!
There is so much information on here, I love it! But i'm also a bit overwhelmed, so I figured i'd ask for specific suggestions for a 2 week trip, anywhere in south america (or central america) during the month of Januray. We would need to start off in a city that we can either rent/buy (and sell back) a motorcycle from. We took a trip last year to Veitnam for three months and had good luck with buying a Minsk for $400 and selling it for $250, so if that's possible, that'd be great. smooth roads, dirt, gravel, whatever! as long as you don't need a dirtbike for it, we're set. just interested in seeing beautiful scenery, meeting beautiful people, and taking in the culture of the locale. Any suggestions on an itinerary would be highly appreciated! Hadas |
i am going in january 2009... cant wait!
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2 weeks, 2 bikes, 2 people: Salta North/West Argentina! All you can imagine (roadslike) +very nice people and cheap!
Peter |
What´s cheap???? So far hotel quotes for a hosteria in the middle of bum f*ck is still 120 pesos on our way to Bariloche. 10 for camping and once 30 (for 2) at Lago Faulkner. Still have to head north to Salta.
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One of my many favorites is the road heading SW out of Uyuni, Bolivia then turns west (south of Salar de Uyuni) to the Chilean border town of Ollague. The landscape is like Mars on acid!
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What about Serra do Rio do Rastro and Serra do Corvo Branco in Brazil? :thumbup1::thumbup1::thumbup1:
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It's in Santa Catarina, near de cities of Urubici, São Joaquim, Lauro Muller e Grão Pará. If you have a MSN, add me, we'll keep in touch. Regards, |
San Pedro de Atacama to Jama, Argentina
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I completed this route yesterday and took 2 days to do this ride. My average speed was dictated mostly by the amount of stops I made for photos. It is certainly doable in one day. The whole route is paved. I stayed in a nice hotel in Susques, located next to the highway. There are plenty of service/gas stations on this route: Tilcara (20 km north of Hwy 52), Susques, Jama, and of course, San Pedro de Atacama. Argentinian Immigration & Customs are at Jama and the Chilean officials are in San Pedro de Atacama. Enjoy! |
Northern Peru
If I have to pick only one, it will be this one: :scooter:
From North to South On the Pan American (1N) turn towards the mountains at Santa After about 60kms at Chuquicara turn left over the river. No sign, but road goes to Ancos. After another 20 or so kms turn right and follow the road that winds up the mountain to Ancos. About 5 or less kms turn right on a single lane track that goes towards Santarosa and Llapo. From here it is extremely spectacular with single lane trafic and steep cliffs all the way. Go all the way to Llapo to check out the friendly town, then backtrak about 5kms to a turn-off to your left (S08-32.938' and W078-02.670') and take that turn-off. The road winds incredeble and we stayed in 1st and 2nd gear most of the time. Like I said, single lane, shear verticle dropps and no railings. After some time you'll reach the toan of Yupon, they have a hostal in town where we slept. From Yupon follow the road towards Corongo. About 5kms before town you'll get to a T junction, turn right here towards La Pampa, another nice mountain town (petrol available at the supermarket) Another 10kms or so you get another T junction, turn right again. This road has the most incredable mountain scenery with amazing colours and good surface. After you drop down the winding mountain pass you'll come to another T junction (S08-41.978' and W077-57.622') at the 'main' road from Santa to Huallanca. Turn left towards Huallanca, another nice, cheap mountain town. After Hualanca you'll go through the amazing Canon Del Pato, a single lane (stil) dirt track that follows this very narrow canyon on an old railway line through 36 or so tunnels. It is spactacular. The route as discribed above took us 2 full days (250kms) and was the best ride of my life. We rode slowly to admire the stunning scenery and stoped a lot to take awsome photos. The little mountain towns are very friendly and 'unspoiled' by other tourists. The road surface was challenging (we were two up on a 1150GS) and we had lots of mud, but that just added to the Adventure. There were also very little trafic, so it was safe. You'll need a good map to locate these towns, as they are very much off the mail drag. To re-cap in brief: Santa - Chuquicara - Ancos - Santa Rosa - Llapo - Yupon - Corongo - La Pampa - Hullanca I've uploaded two videos of this road here YouTube - Peru 1 and YouTube - Peru 2 if you like to see it. Johan |
Here are some pictures of the road I mensioned in previous post in Peru.
http://photos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-...73_1194864.jpg Above is what most of the road looked like. http://photos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-...74_1193013.jpg Some lovely mountain passes http://photos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-...90_6770368.jpg The stunning Canon del Pato |
come on....
I rode Pasto to Meddillin 650 miles in one day.... easily best day of my life..... curving through the colombian mountains..... it had everything imaginable that day....from cold to hot .... rain to hail...... even lightning.... all while taking curves at 80+ mph what more could you want....
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wait theres more
From Rio and further south along the Coast of brazil.... absolutely amazing to florianopolis
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wait and theres more
not to be forgotten.... the road from copacobana bolivia to la paz...... icy cold but unreal how beautiful lake titicaca is and the ferry ride.....
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Nazca - Cuzco
Another vote for Nazca to Cuzco. Amazing rock colours blue, green, red - unreal and smooth asphalt for most of it too. Then again I am in Cuzco and heading southwards so sounds like lots more to come :-)
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On road and Off
On road - Puquio to Cusco
Off - San Pedro de Atacama to Tatio Gaysers. Y |
Best routes in Google Earth
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Hi folks,
I've spent a few minutes plotting these proposed "best routes" out in Google earth, as well as a couple of others. Unless you gave detailed info your route is likely to be wrong! For example there are no less than four places called Puquio in South America.... You'll need to download and extract the zip file which contains a KML file. To do this you can use 7Zip 7-Zip If you want to change format between various units GPS babel is highly recommended. </title> <meta name="Keywords" content="" /> <meta name="Description" content="" /> <style type="text/css"> </style> <title> I would appreciate it if the various posters could check out the file and verify that I've got the right waypoints! Keep the suggestions coming! Awesome stuff. I'm hoping to link all the best roads into a super route that stretches the length of the continent. Could use some more off road suggestions. :funmeteryes: Cheers, Mark. |
If you like deserts, then the ride from the Peru/Ecuador border to Lima is for you. After riding through the desert for hundreds of kilometers, I finally reached the half way point to Lima. Eat your heart out...
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Macas-Guamote in Ecuador
In Ecuador, for those who think this country is just a passing place between Peru & Colombia, this is my suggestion:
The road from Macas (southern east) to Guamote (Close to Riobamba). Amazing landscapes, climates, volcanoes and also different kind of roads: muddy, gravel, asphalt..etc. Don't forget to get to the lakes....if lucky a strange phenomenon that happens only in this country! RG |
Argentina to Chile
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Perú
In Perú. Chachapoyas to Celendin. One lane dirt road, baby's butt smooth, plenty of air over the edge of the road, hardly any vehicle traffic, spectacular scenery.
http://www.rattlesnakeobservatory.co...782-Medium.jpg http://www.rattlesnakeobservatory.co...786-Medium.jpg http://www.rattlesnakeobservatory.co...795-Medium.jpg http://www.rattlesnakeobservatory.co...799-Medium.jpg http://www.rattlesnakeobservatory.co...802-Medium.jpg http://www.rattlesnakeobservatory.co...808-Medium.jpg http://www.rattlesnakeobservatory.co...803-Medium.jpg I'm pretty happy about it. :D http://www.rattlesnakeobservatory.co...792-Medium.jpg Here is a video of the ride. A little pavement first coming into Chachapoyas, then the dirt portion. http://crashmaster.smugmug.com/No-Fu...49_T2jsn-M.jpg |
Crash - the vid was awesome. Brought back some amazing memories!
I think we met on the road once - you were southbound at the Nicaraguan border into Costa Rica, we were northbound. If I'm right, I owe you a nice cigar! Cheers! |
Yup, I sure miss those Nica cigars! It seems so long ago. I am currently in Argentina. You responded to my Peru route question in another thread and I read you blog and put two and two together.
Cheers! Vince |
Hi, I'm a bit late on this thread and don't know all that much, but I'd vote for:
. Paso de San Francisco, from Copiapo, Chile, to Tinogasta, Argentina, just awesome, dirt all the way but very doable, but very remote (no supplies). . Paso de Jama, from San Pedro de Atacama, Chile, to Tilcara, Argentina, tarmac, but out of this world. . Villazon, Bolivia, to Uyuni, Bolivia, with the gift of reaching the salar at the end of the push. . Uyuni, Bolivia, to Ollague, Chile and then Calama, Chile, dirt, but out of this world. . Uyuni, Bolivia, to San Pedro de Atacama via laguna Colorada and Laguna Verde (haven't done this) but everyone tells me it's outstanding though a bit demanding. . in Brazil, I agree with the other post, Serra do Rio do Rastro, preceeded by the canyons of Itaimezinho and Fortaleza, and Serra do Corvo Branco are unique. |
I have to chime in here to recommend the Uyuni - Salar - Laguna Colorado - Laguna Verde - San Pedro de Atacama route.
Its 400 miles of epic altiplano riding. Best segment of my trip for sure. Write up: Into Bolivia, the Salar de Uyuni and the Lagunas | South on Two Wheels Video: Helmet Cam Video: Bolivian Altiplano | South on Two Wheels |
My best roads
My 5 pennorth worth,
Not necessarily the best we have ridden but just the ones that pop into my head right now. The tarmac at Los Antiguos after a hard couple of days on the R40 in the wind between El Calafate and Los Antiguos - that part of the 40, all ripio was brilliant tho when we look back at it, and we survived it mostly! Los Antiguos over the border into Chile at Chile Chico and onto the Carraterra Austral and up to Coyhaique - even in the rain. Mostly ripio/dirt Siete Lago's route after Bariloche - amazing scenery. Ripio. Valle Grande near San Rafael. Ripio. Uspallata, Argentina into Chile - after the border is 27 (I think) hairpin bends all the way back down. Tarmac. The road up to Paso Agua Negra out of Chile. We daytripped from Vicuna cos the pass was closed. All ripio, amazing mountain scenery. Paso San Francisco, Copiapo - Fiambala. Desolate Altiplano. Salt road until the Chilean exit then ripio all the way to the limite. 470KM's of just great scenery. No fuel or coffee stops. Ruta 33/52 around the Parque Nacional los Cardonnes in Cachi - corrugated ripio but what a ride. Paso de Jama from Argentina into Chile. Tarmac Bolivia -The roads from Potosi to Padilla, Pucara, Valle Grande and Cochabamba which includes the Ruta del Che, mostly dirt, some river crossings (with easier detours), up and down so many mountains with loads of corners. A few wet places, we are in the rainy season. And of course every other road we have ridden! |
Tuxtepec to Oaxaca , 200 km of mountainroad , thousands of turns , changing vegetation from tropical to alpine to desertlike and spectacular views and no traffic
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Bolivia, Camiri to Sucre, Sucre to Oruro route 6,
Straight through the mountains, riding on top of the world, dirt with stretches of asphalt. 200km max no gasoline, this route is more than wearth while. On the second part Sucre - Oruro, for safety have a tent with you! http://members.ziggo.nl/stanbraak/im...Monteagudo.jpghttp://members.ziggo.nl/stanbraak/im...do_Sucre19.jpg http://members.ziggo.nl/stanbraak/im...cre_Oruro4.jpg |
Paso de San Fransciso between Chile and Argentina is nice, you will need about 500km fuel range.
From Fiambala (argentina) you can take road 34 north. The road follows the river up for about 25km with hundreds of river crossings and lots of sand. Then at La Pampa Station you will start to climb. This road take you up to about 4600m and requires a fair bit of offroad skills and preferable good knobbly tires. We did get side tracked till we found the right road. GPS is very usefull here as the road breaches out in the high desert. I was pushing the bike at 4600m through the sand in the high desert and its hard work. Scenery is spectacular. Fuel at Antofagasta de la Sierre (check out the volcanoes and the spectacular lava flow formations including the "glass rocks") and follow road 17 to San Antonio de Los Cobres. You will be cruising at 3500 to 4500m all day. The above is all off-road :-) In Formosa, Argentina, through the "swamp country" we accidentally found an exceptional interesting road. This road is under construction from Los Lomitas to Posta Cambio a Zalazar. While the road is under construction and is currently mostly dirt, it goes through a swamp/lake and here we saw the most varied birdlife we have experienced in Argentina. It was just amazing. Also if you have an engineering bend, you will no doubt appreciate the construction scale of this road. In dead flat country, they are raising the existing road about 5m and making it 25m wide and it will be a "motorway" one day. Will take a few years, tho. Kim |
Uyuni to Potosi
Just rode this road today absolutely awesome
Multiple hairpins on new tarmac with stupendous views of the Bolivian mountains. Windey ripio tracks through mountain passe with huge drop offs. David managed this road very well with no oil in his rear shock but does feel a bit seasick... |
London calling South America
This is half a suggestion for a good ride in South America, but I don't know where it is exactly.
That's why I'm posting it up, hoping someone might recognise it and can tell me exactly. About 10 years ago I saw an advert in a small hotel in Quito, for two Swiss ex-pats who gave guided off-road tours up into the mountains above Quito. So I had a go. Just me and one of the Swiss. A brilliant day, that I could not have done without his local knowledge. We followed a disused railway for a while, which went over this bridge. http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/tst...obridge112.jpg I took the photo and the Swiss guide is crossing the bridge. I then rode over after him. I'm quite pleased with the photo because it looks (to me) a whole lot more scary than it actually was. It was a good wooden surface between the rails, the whole bridge being quite wide, so you couldn't look down! The only disappointment was my cheap compact camera wasn't working very well, my guide wasn't sure he'd be successful in taking a photo of me as I went over, so I took the photo of him going over. http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/tst...otunnel112.jpg http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/tst...uitomud112.jpg The tunnel was shortly after the bridge. The mud is higher up the mountain somewhere. Parts of the disused railway were well used by pedestrians. In places it had collapsed into mud holes which made it interesting! I didn't take a detailed map with me, nor kept any notes. So, does anyone recognise where this is and can pinpoint it? Sufficient for me to find it on a map or on GoogleEarth? From memory I think it's NE of Quito, not very far, maybe about 6 or 8 miles out or so. (Or that might all be completely wrong - memory's not too good these days!) Thanks. Good riding. |
Omg!
Crossing this bridge seems to be an adventure itself. Hopefully someone can tell sooner or later where this amazing road / bridge is. I like to have a look at it (not crossing it)!
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Boarder Crossing Ecuador - Peru
There are several option to cross the boarder from ecuador to Peru...
I tool the Way Vilcabamba (E)-San ignacio (P)... No hassle very scenic nice little dirt road with no traffic... Fast and friendly customs. And then head to Maria (near Kuelap Ruins)... to Cajamarca. About 800 km Of dirt, even a nice little ferry in Bela Vista... One of my favorite roads so far (From Alaska to Bolivia...) see the pics Northern Peru | Facebook |
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Yes, there are some places you can sleep on a floor for a few bucks, but they are few and far between. and yes, you can get gas off the tours at Laguna Colorago. However, I would carry a warm bag and a tent because there is a lot of nothin on this route and it gets down to -20 at night with the wind howling. IMO it would be foolish to not have gear to survive a few nights outside on this route, it remote, even on the main tour route. Once off the main route if you choose to go that way, you better be self sufficient because if anything at all bad happens and you are not prepared to survive outside, its not going to turn out so well for you. |
Couple of other routes nearby Uyuni that are stellar:
1) road from Tupiza to Uyuni. extremely curvy, all ripio. about 200kms and the bus takes 12 hours, so you get the idea. in the rainy season the road is a mess with washouts and landslides. 2) Argentina route 60 which crosses the andes at Paso de San Francisco. The Dakar 2011 did this pass. it is at 5000m at one point. a very long ride with no one else on the road. like being on the moon. 3) road from Cuzco to Santa Teresa, peru. First part of the road is paved but very curvy..then it becomes ripio and under construction. the police do not let anyone drive on this road after dark as it is too dangerous. during rainy season the road is mostly washed away and fallen into the valleys below. about 100kms and will take you all day. 4) and other vote for the cuzco-nazca road: all tarmac, very curvy and a long flat stretch across the antiplano. highlites are driving it in the dark during rainy season with El Nino. landslides, insane fog, snow, ice, llamas, people, and crazy overnight bus drivers. 5) most any road in argentina that is close to the andes will be amazing. ruta 40 never disappoints. |
Cajamarca south to join this...
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However, I didn't join it at the beginning. Instead I road SE out of Cajamarca on the road to Cajabamba. The road continues SE for a little way after Cajabamba before turning SE to Huamachuco (Fuel) and continuing on towards Trujillo. After Huamachuco the road climbs and comes to a 90 degree R/H bend (approx S7 58.173 W78 12.008). Turn left onto the dirt and then right (approx S7 58.993 W78 07.185) to head down into Angasmarca (basic accomodation). The route then goes: Mollebamba - Mollepata - Pallasca - Huacaschuque - Huandoval - Cabana - Tauca - nr Ancos Just above Ancos a dirt road leads away from a hairpin bend (S8 29.211 W78 05.378) and this is where I joined Johan's route. (I didn't quite actually, I camped in the canyon east of Chuquicara then returned to find this track the following morning. Johan mentions riding up to Llapo. The road actually continues through Llapo and on to Tauca so that's another option if you're coming from the north. It's a stunning ride but sloooooow. My average MOVING speed was 32km/h and by the time I'd stopped for lunch and worn my ears sore from removing my helmet to take photos my overall average each day was around 17km/h! A stunning route indeed. Nice one Johan:thumbup1: Adam |
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