Smaller Roads Through Peru And North
 

Hi Everyone,

I’m at Cusco, which is lovely, just in from Lake Titicaca and I’m looking for smaller roads and lesser known destinations.
Tarmac or easier gravel please as I’m two up on a big bike please but places that are beautiful. Mountains, canyons, the coast, rivers etc. I’m about played out on historical tourist destinations.
We’ll also be going up through Equador and Colombia on our way North so any suggestions there would be much appreciated.
I don’t have time for huge blogs as we’re travelling so just places, routes and simple destinations please.

Thanks,

Graham

The route I rode through Peru was awsome. Maybe something similar to that?

Cusco to Nasca on R30A, all paved but through a scenery thats unbelivable. From 2500 masl to 4500, down to 2000 and up to 4700 and so it continues. Huge Lamaheards up in the mountains. Very little traffic, just a few trucks. Approx 700 kms. One long day or two short ones.

Nasca - Ica along the Panam, very boring but then you have tried that too.

Ica to Huancayo - a bit on Panam and then up R24, great ride up to 4500 meters altitude again. Some gravel if I remember right. A long days ride.

Huancayo to Lima - 3S and R22, spectacular road up to 4825 meters altitude and then down through a narrow valley. Again spectacular landscape but quite a bit of traffic on this road (buses and trucks)

Lima to Huanuco along 20A and 3N - again a narrow valley and the road snaking up higher and higher and again up to more than 4000 meters altitude. Mindblowing again, partly gravel. A long days ride!

Huanuco to Huaraz - on 3N (I belive) along the ridges and valleys of the Andes, spectacular again. Road snaking around peaks and valleys, up to 4500 meter again. Huaraz is a really nice city btw. First 100 k are gravel.

Huaraz to Trujillo along the Canyon de Pato - more and more spectacular! A road following a very narrow canyon, many short one lane tunnels are build and you have to be careful to ride through. 50-100 kms of gravel down towards the Pan-Am and Trujillo.

Trujillo to Cajamarca - nice road starting from sea level and up to almost 4000 masl again. Winding and spectacular views. All paved. Cajamarca is a nice town btw.

Cajamarca to Chachapoyas - OMG - the most spectacular road of them all I rode in Peru. A road snaking around steep mountains and the side of the road are sometimes 1000 meters vertical drop. Narrow and winding is just the fraction of what it can be called. Not for those with any fear of heights. What a ride!

Cajamarca and especially Chachapoyas are both very interesting towns with heaps of ruins and artefacts after people who lived there 1000-1500 years ago. So it is in Trujillo and Nasca too btw..

From Cajamarca to the ecuadorian bordercrossing at La Balsa - not so spectacular but a calm border and the road in Ecador from the border are spectacular again. Gravel the first 100 kms or so - and great road to Cuenca in Ecuador.

You can of course ride even more up into the Andes and more remote than I did. It will be mostly gravel then. But it will for sure be spectacular also.

Cheers
 

Thanks Snakeboy,
Great set of roads and towns. I have a few of them marked down but you’ve really helped join the dots.
Great input.
Graham

Just a note on this:

I have ridden these Peru routes and unless you are 'hardcore' (ie: not needing to rest or eat) or riding a large motorcycle (ie: 'the larger the moto, the less it beats you up'). Take your time (double it if necessary) and ENJOY the places you are driving through!

Isn't it the rainy season now ??

I'll be where you are in 12 months time so I'd be happy to hear that it's warm and dry :)

Oh, it's rainy season now, but the temperatures don't change!

You can still ride at 5,000 meters (16,000 ft) at 20C (70F) at mid day if the sun is shining! In the Andes the 'rain' is mostly a 30 minute thing in the afternoon.

On the coast it is 35C (95F) and it never rains!

or you get hail in your face at only 4000m at noon,better be prepared.
fantastic ride so!!!
and if you want it warm and dry gotta stick to the windy coast.
ica not to be missed midweek.
and in the north the pacific get's a really nice temperature.

By all means - I spent 2-5 days in all places mentioned above here and 2-3 nights in places inbetween the places I mentioned. Im not very hardcore at all. But when Im on the move - I try to be efficient.

Start your day early and try to be done mid afternoon and you will possibly avoid the rains...
We are traveling around Peru atm and have had lots of sunshine but also have seen heavy rain. We have not seen one day of all day rain tho.

We camped about 150k's south of Abancay and rode to Nasca and the ride was great except for the high altitude part where we were hailed on, had torrential rain and fog so thick you couldn't see 10m in front of you. Then we melted when we got to Nasca.

Ica to Huancayo (PE-24) is a must do! We did it over a few days with a rest day near Huancaya. Stunning, fun and wow wow wow.

Huancayo to Lima is truck truck truck bus car car car truck bus bus truck car car truck truck...has some great scenery tho not sure it makes up for all the traffic. Don't remember what part but there is a valley with a few old and rusty rail bridges over the windy road. Looks awesome.
In Lima at the moment for maintenance then we head north. Half way through Peru and half way through our 90 days.

It is now May and any rains at the high altitudes will be rare. From now until October you can do longer days..

Still in the high Andes, the sun ALMOST ALWAYS goes behind clouds exactly at 3 pm dropping the temp (as there is not much atmosphere to hold it) and a wind always picks up. After 3 pm it's not much fun anymore (especially if you have already done 7 hours in the saddle!), so the goal is always to try to get down off the 4,000+ mt (12,000 ft) high spots by 3 pm.

Hmm :) Hope very much you're right. I'm now in Loja Ecuador, and will be crossing the border into Peru at La Balsa this week. I was told that rain season is extending into May this year.
I indeed had a lot of rain so far. Terrible road between Guayaquil and Cuenca: rain, fog, mudslides, rocks falling off, the road hits 4200 m elevation in parque nacional Cajas and it's getting damn cold.
The road between Cuenca and Loja is gorgeous but weather was changing a lot - include heavy rain here.
Since yesterday when I arrived in Lojas it's been raining nearly non stop.

Very nice dirt road indeed between Loja and the border with Peru at La Balsa. Note however that it's not an easy road for 2 up on a heavy bike, I had quite a few deep ponds of mud on the way.

Attachment 22480

Ever seen a river of mud? :)

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Because of the road condition, don't expect a queue at the customs offices - I was told that about 5 cars cross the border here daily. A sweet Peruvian nurse will offer you a free shot of yellow fever vaccination.

The downside is that you can't buy your Peruvian SOAT there. The officer will tell you that you can buy it in San Ignacio - that's not true. The closest place where you can buy your SOAT is Jaen.

While you're there, pay a visit to Maria at her shop Maeli Clinics Motos on Alfredo Basti 543. She might offer you free accommodation and/or arrange for some kids to take you around town. Also, visit las cataratas de San Andrés, it's about 30 km out of town on a nice gravel road going up all the time (1400 higher than the town of Jaen I was told).

The road between Jaen and Chachapoyas is very scenic.