North Peruvian Andes roads update (through PE-3N)

[thepinproject]

We entered to Peru from Ecuador through La Balza borderpost.

Last big town in Ecuador was Vilcabamba. The drive to the borders was slow, curvy and partially destroyed (but passable) because of mudslides/ landslides. After Bellavista, the road becomes gravel and deteriorates in some parts but in a sunny dry day is fun & perfectly doable especially for a bike. (We drive a 2WD Toyota Van). In a rainy day, it can become from challenging to dangerous so, be prepared and check the weather forecast before.

First big town in Peru to rest and stock up is San Ignacio and we would highly recommend the Gran Hotel San Ignacio (Jr. José Olaya 680, San Ignacio & granhotelsanignacio.com.

Regarding the insurance, this border post is really small and apparently they dont sell there. So, you can try your luck in every big town or city starting from San Ignacio in the La Positiva or MAPFRE agencies. Ask for SOAT. There are lots of rumors/ past experiences whether they sell or not to foreigners and for how much but according to our experience, they still do sell to tourists/ foreigners but only in the central offices in very reasonable prices. Eg we paid 60 soles (or 15 euro) for a TOYOTA van for a month and it is about 100 soles for a bike for the same period.

Our route on the PE-3N up to Huaraz was through San Ignacio-Jaen-Cutervo-Bambamarca-Cajamarca-Cajabamba-Huamachuco-Santiago de Chuco-Pallasca-Tauca-Chuquicara-Caraz-Huaraz.








PE-3N is a road that goes through almost the whole country. In the beginning we thought that its a proper highway but after almost 1.000 km in the Peruvian Andes, we realized that PE-3N is a tough, scenic & a bit scary road that goes through some interesting villages, mountain passes and marvelous serpentine roads that you only see in the magazines.

The stretch we have done so far is normal tar road but some parts are either under construction or hard packed gravel. We did all this drive in dry sunny days and I have serious doubts how fun, easy & even doable could be while raining. Landslides, mudslides and floods are the main dangers of this road and we have experienced some critical parts. However, all bridges are in place for now (or properly restored). Needless to say that riding a motorbike is much easier -and of course much fun- than a van or even a big truck when it comes to river crossings, mud and gravel roads

One of the most frustrating parts of the whole drive are the speed bumps (resaltos or gibas) and you cannot avoid them especially when you drive in cities. As a rule of thumb, whenever you see brand new tar, speed bumps are there to make you stop and crack your nerves. Of course, gravel parts with minimum traffic are the best parts and guarantee nice views and more relaxing drive.

• The part from Jaen to Cutervo is all gravel, mostly uphill and under construction. You will go through lots of machinery & equipment, road works, dust and short stops. Doable in a dry day, challenging in a rainy day.

• The part from Santiago de Chuco up until Tauca (about 3-5 kms are paved just before Tauca) is all good gravel except the scenic drive between El Alto to Pallasca which is paved and one of the most scenic, impressive and a bit scary drives we have done in Peru so far. Checking the peruvian section of dangerousroads.org, I realized that this pass/ canyon was just one of the many stunning mountain passes with steep curves, uphills, downhills & very narrow parts that Peru offer to the adventurers. Check the printscreen below:

• Between Jaen to Cajamarca & Huamachuco to Santiago de Chuco you will drive up to 4.000 mts, so tune up your bike if you have a carburetor, make sure you have enough gas/ diesel and prepare to stop many times to take photos of the stunning scenery.

• For hotels, hostels, gas stations, where to buy insurance, food and the rest, we have used iOverlander which is full of updates, spots and critical info about the road conditions.

• Regarding navigation, we are using offline Google maps, OSM maps downloaded in a Garmin nüvi 2595 and MAPS.ME smartphone app. Distances were -almost always- pretty accurate but the time of arrival was always off. We mainly drive slowly but with a bike maybe you can push it a bit more. (MAPS.ME app is 95% of the times wrong in the arrival times. We have checked it in other countries as well. They are supposedly trying to address this issue but with no success yet).

Safe travels & enjoy Peru!!!