When you’re in the North of Colombia travelling by road, and you have a time limit, you have a decision to make.

…by motorbike or by donkey cart?

Do you want to ride down the West side of the Rio Madeira and see Cartagena, Medellin, Cali and Popayan?
Or will you chose the East side, and see Bucaramanga, Bogota and Cali and/or Popayan?

You see, the thing with Colombia is that, in this large country there are two North-South highways reaching down the country. They run more or less in line with the two cordilleras that divide up the country, and the cross-overs are considerably long and few and far between. Therefore if you want so see Bucaramanga and Bogota as well as Cartagena and Medellin, you’ll be spending quite a lot of time and mileage zig-zag-and-looping across the land. – All time well spent, of course!

Cartagena everybody wants to see, and most trans-continental bikers arrive at so that already puts you on the West side. That road down takes you past Medellin, Salento (ca. Armenia), Cali, Popayan, Pasto and Ipiales – the exit point. On the East side the attractions are mainly San Gil (ca. Bucaramanga) and Bogota.

If you want to have the cake and eat it, the most recommendable cross-overs would be:
– Magangue to El Banco (with a few days stop in Mompox)
– Salento (via Armenia) to Bogota
– The Medellin to Bucaramanga road is mostly good road and has some nice scenery, but there’s not much out there.
– There is also an El Carmen to Bosconia route but my research found that there’s not much out there and it’s largely bad road.

We have it in mind to see Mompox, an old colonial settlement of (past) great importance, and during our test rides beyond Cartagena we liked the scenery, so we pass up the idea of heading down the 45 at Cienaga and instead return to Cartagena, to do the loop that way. Besides, we haven’t really had much chance to enjoy this beautiful Catragena. Most of our time here was just quick rest stops during test rides. We deserve our chance to be tourists as well no?

Decision made: Cartagena, here we come again!

We get a place at Hotel Familiar once again and spend a three days exploring the city. It’s awesome, and a feast for the eyes! I’ll let the photos do the talking….

Pssst! There’s a mini carnaval in town…

When you’re in the North of Colombia travelling by road, and you have a time limit, you have a decision to make.

…by motorbike or by donkey cart?

Do you want to ride down the West side of the Rio Madeira and see Cartagena, Medellin, Cali and Popayan?
Or will you chose the East side, and see Bucaramanga, Bogota and Cali and/or Popayan?

You see, the thing with Colombia is that, in this large country there are two North-South highways reaching down the country. They run more or less in line with the two cordilleras that divide up the country, and the cross-overs are considerably long and few and far between. Therefore if you want so see Bucaramanga and Bogota as well as Cartagena and Medellin, you’ll be spending quite a lot of time and mileage zig-zag-and-looping across the land. – All time well spent, of course!

Cartagena everybody wants to see, and most trans-continental bikers arrive at so that already puts you on the West side. That road down takes you past Medellin, Salento (ca. Armenia), Cali, Popayan, Pasto and Ipiales – the exit point. On the East side the attractions are mainly San Gil (ca. Bucaramanga) and Bogota.

If you want to have the cake and eat it, the most recommendable cross-overs would be:
– Magangue to El Banco (with a few days stop in Mompox)
– Salento (via Armenia) to Bogota
– The Medellin to Bucaramanga road is mostly good road and has some nice scenery, but there’s not much out there.
– There is also an El Carmen to Bosconia route but my research found that there’s not much out there and it’s largely bad road.

We have it in mind to see Mompox, an old colonial settlement of (past) great importance, and during our test rides beyond Cartagena we liked the scenery, so we pass up the idea of heading down the 45 at Cienaga and instead return to Cartagena, to do the loop that way. Besides, we haven’t really had much chance to enjoy this beautiful Catragena. Most of our time here was just quick rest stops during test rides. We deserve our chance to be tourists as well no?

Decision made: Cartagena, here we come again!

We get a place at Hotel Familiar once again and spend a three days exploring the city. It’s awesome, and a feast for the eyes! I’ll let the photos do the talking….

Pssst! There’s a mini carnaval in town…

TRIP INFO BOX

The Brazil-Venezuela crossing from Pacaraima to Santa Elena de Uairen was easy as pie.

Exiting out of Brazil I just needed to stamp out at the border police and to hand in the Temporary Import Permit (TIP) from Brazil at the Aduana.

For entering Venezuela, an entry stamp from a rather busy lady in the office was simple to get (90 days).

At the Venezuelan Aduana the TIP was no more difficult, however it required a bit of cheating and a lot of patience – the attentiveness and motivation of the staff was extreeeemely lacking.

I needed copies of all my documents (license, bike inscription, passport, SOAT insurance).

Now this is where the cheating part came in: normally you’ll need to ride 20 kilometres into Santa Elena and buy a SOAT from the Mapfre office there, then return to the border Aduana and get the TIP for your bike into Venezuela. I showed a copy of my “WorldWide Travel Insurance including motorbike touring cover”, all written in English, and it got me through. I did get a SOAT at the Mapfre office afterwards but this little stunt saved me a good deal of time and hassle. (Do so at your own risk of course…)

Note: being around the holiday season the border can get really busy with lots of Brazilians coming in to visit Isla Margarita and such.

Pacaraima is about 200Km North of Boa Vista on a good tarmac road, except for the last 70km which are nastily potholed, making for a bit of a frustrating journey. There’s plenty of services in Pacaraima so photocopies are not a problem. I think there was even an ATM.

Money can be changed with touts right on the border, but be smart about it and don’t change too much because there are some blog reports I’ve read where blokes got stuck up in an alley down in Santa Elena by the guy they changed with. There will be plenty of opportunity in Santa Elena for changing USD and BRL so no pressure. And as you get further North into Venezuela your USD will fetch you better rates (but forget about the BRL).

Petrol is available at a station in between the two border posts and you can be sure to queue for some time to get in. Also the rates here are excellent compared to what you’re used to but not the cheapest you’ll encounter.

If you have enough to get the extra 20km from the border into Santa Elena just ride there and fill up at one of the two gas stations there. One is nearer the town centre (and closes at a certain time). Did see long queues there on some occasions. But there is another on the way out to the Gran Sabana which is still open when the other shuts. Although cars queue there as well at times, just ride your bike in from the exit lane and wait for the signal from the attending soldiers, you’ll get topped up without having to wait for all the cars.

There is some sort of microchip arrangement which allows allocation of petrol purchase to local buyers and prevent smuggling but I don’t recall this being an obstacle to us. (If you get hung up with this at any point, others’ experience has been that a local jeep driver will almost certainly help you out and let you fill up using his chip.)

I have heard there is some sort of microchip arrangement which allows allocation of petrol purchase to local buyers and prevent smuggling but I don’t recall this being an obstacle to us. (If you get hung up with this at any point, others’ experience has been that a local jeep driver will almost certainly help you out and let you fill up using his chip.)

[To prevent smuggling] petrol stations within about 200Km of the Venezuelan border restrict you on filling up spare tanks though, but if your main tank will take you about 200Km you will be fine until you get further inland (150km to the first station at Rapidos de Kamoiran). Further inland the restriction doesn’t apply. (Found a good map for the Gran Sabana here http://www.flickr.com/photos/49882424@N00/274217925/lightbox/)

PS: Pousada Monica in Santa Elena sells a reasonable road map to get you through Venezuela at a reasonable price.

TRIP INFO BOX

From Puerto Maldonado to the border town of Inapari it’s about 223Km.

We reach Inapari about midday and we check out of Peru with friendly border police officers and en even friendlier Aduana officer. He tells me to leave my bike across the road, he doesn’t want to check anything, only he thanks us for visiting his country and welcomes us to return, then stamps our papers and we’re free to move on. How nice.

Money can be changed at the little tienda on the road side.

We hope for the same welcome at the Brazilian side, however things are slightly more tense – or maybe it’s just me because it’s getting later in the day.

The border police stamps us out. Then we are told to wait half an hour for the Aduana to re-open from lunch. An illegible, weathered photocopy of the document requirements is sticky-taped to the office window – on the outside of course, so that it won’t be legible for more than two days. The officer takes his time punching details into his computer. Then it materializes that I need to get photocopies of some documents, which I would have been able to do during his lunch break, but of course the illegible, weathered document was taped to the outside of the window… (all according to plan if you ask me. I know there is a photocopier in the office across the road but of course I need to ride a couple of kilometres into the closest town Assis to get my copies.)

Copies needed:
– Passport ID
– Bike registration
– License
– Passport Entry Stamp
– (3rd Party Insurance document copy I had but don’t recall if they wanted it)

Note:
I did also notice on the legible part of the page on the window: “Entry vehicle only in name of driver.”
We were never questioned about a Yellow Fever certificate (but did have it).

I’m a bit pissed off but what does that help. As we complete the process with the Aduana I wait patiently. They offer me a coffee, which though I decline I receive – black, syrupy sweet – and when Mr Aduana finally completes my TIP (import permit) – the second one, after the correction of Australia to Austria – I sigh relief and we get riding again.

I still don’t know whether he just wanted to chit-chat to be friendly or because he was bored, or wanted slow me down to annoy me.

The road on the Brazilian side, the BR317, is of good asphalt, grey and even, giving you the confidence to open up the throttle; however it is frequently perforated with nasty potholes, the kind you really don’t want to hit, so pay attention!!!

Next fuel available at Brasileia, about 100Km from the border.

Trying to plan our Machu Picchu visit, we found that the first difficulty is to decide how and what parts to visit. There is a lot of information on this subject out there but some of it is inaccurate, most is focussed on only one aspect of the tour, but nothing I found seems to give a simple, comprehensive overview. I will try to do this here.

Machu Picchu Terminology:

There are a number of different options to visit the Machu Picchu complex and each one entails a different cost and allows you to visit different parts.

What is being referred to with the name “Machu Picchu” is where most of the confusion begins, so let me clarify.

The whole Machu Picchu complex consists of three parts:
1. The Machu Picchu City Ruins
2. Mount Huayna Picchu Mountain (North of the city ruins, seen in most photographs)
3. Machu Picchu Mountain (South of the city ruins)

The so-called Inca Trail is actually a (long) way to GET THERE.

(A pretty good contour map can be found here http://www.waterhistory.org/histories/machupicchu/machu7.jpg)

With “Machu Picchu”, people may be referring to the City Ruins, Mount Machu Picchu, or The entire archeological complex itself (including the city and both mountains combined).

Getting In:

All visits to the complex are initiated from a nearby town called Aguas Calientes.

To get to Aguas Calientes you:

A. You will need to make your way to Santa Teresa, NorthWest of Machu Picchu. From there, you can walk or take a taxi to the Hydroelectrica plant (approx. 8Km) SouthEast of Santa Teresa. From Hydroelectrica, either take a train or WALK (along the railway tracks approx. 10Km) to Aguas Calientes. You cannot take your own vehicle further than Santa Theresa if you have one. Actually the closest point you could drive to yourself is Hydroelectrica but parking options there are questionable. We noticed there is actually some sort of hostel accommodation and restaurant there though.

B. You take a TRAIN directly to Aguas Calientes from Cuzco or Ollantatambo.

From Aguas Calientes:

A. BUSES buses transport you from the town centre train station or, (closer to Machu Picchu) the Puente Ruinas train station, to and from the Entry Gate of the Machu Picchu Ruins which opens at 6AM. (The buses are costly.)

B. Alternatively you can WALK from Aguas Calientes to the Machu Picchu Stairway Gate (approx 1.5Km), or preferrably from the closer situated Puente Ruinas camp ground (approx. 500m). The Machu Picchu Stairway Gate opens 5AM, and you’ll need to show your passport and ticket. From the Machu Picchu Stairway Gate you walk up the mountain to the Entry Gate of the Machu Picchu Ruins (approx. 1 hour, gate opens 6AM).

More detailed information about bus/train/transport options and costs can be found here: (http://www.machupicchu-inca.com/aguas-calientes-to-machu-picchu-buses.html)

The exception to these methods of entry is by WALKING the Inca Trail. This is a several-day hike approaching from the South of Machu Picchu Mountain. (I have heard talk of alternative hikes to the Inca trail but these I know nothing about, nor whether they truly exist.)

Getting Tickets:

1. You can can check availability, reserve and buy tickets directly from the offices of the Instituto Nacional de Cultura (INC) in Cuzco (Condomio Huascar, Corner of Av. La Cultura and Av. Huascar, No. 238) and in Agua Calientes (Centro Cultural near the Plaza de Aguas Calientes).

2. The easier option is to do it online at the Ministerio de Cultura Web Site (http://www.machupicchu.gob.pe/). On this site you can check availability of spaces and cost for the various visitation options, make reservations (lasting from 2 to 6 hours), pay for your tickets and print them electronically.

3. Another good option (as we did), is making a reservation online and going and paying directly at one of the INC offices. This gives you the comfort of checking availability from your hostel and not risking any electronic balls-ups with the payment and getting your tickets.

(Details of the various payment options, reservation durations, etc. can be found by clicking on the “FAQ/HELP” link on the website.)

4. Of course you could ask a tour operator to handle everything for you, but this will almost certainly cost you more.

5. The Inca Trail is by its nature a more complicated endeavour. It’s expensive, permits are required and you will probably do it through a tour company. I recommend careful research and management of this to avoid any problems. A good source of information seems to be (http://www.incatrailperu.com/inca_trail_introduction.html).

Booking Notes:

– The most popular visit is the Machu Picchu archeological complex in combination with the Huayna Picchu mountain.
– Huayna Picchu tickets sell out quickly so book at least 24hours ahead, preferably a few days! There are two entry windows or “groups” (08:00-09:00 and 10:00-11:00) and your ticket will specify which you booked. Tickets for each group are limited to 200 tickets per day.
– Machu Picchu mountain is less visited and therefore tickets tend to be available all the time.
– The Inca Trail is majorly popular (i.e. most popular trek in South America) and limited to certain times of year, so allegedly it sells out many months ahead.

Recommendations for Your Visit:

– Take a pack lunch and water! We were allowed in with our 1.5litre plastic water bottles – just don’t leave litter.
– Hostels in Aguas Calientes are a bit expensive so camping is definitely a good option. It’s cheap (15PEN/tent), there are showers and toilets although all a bit rustic, and it’s in a nice spot and seems to be less frequented so it’s nice for a quiet experience, And of course you get to walk the near kilometre from there to A.C. in the pitch dark to get dinner after your big trek.
– Forget the bus, walk everything you can. It’s worth it!
– Huayna Picchu, though very popular, is very much worth it. And in my opinion, no Machu Picchu visit is complete without the visit to the “de la Luna” temple down the rear of Huayna Picchu (fitness permitting of course). It’s long, scary and tough!! But man, does it give you some perspective on the lives of these people. Take some cookies! And note that the park rangers may close access to the Temple of the Moon-route by 12:00. (If you’re not too late and you ask, they may still let you through though.)
– Spend the following day at Santa Theresa’s thermal mountain baths; be ready for the sand flies!
– Find the resonating room in the complex and hummmmm into the walls – it’s mental!

TRIP INFO BOX

We knew there was a border crossing to Peru via Copacabana. Finding it was not as easy as we had imagined.

Leaving Copacabana to the SouthWest, first we tried to fill up our tanks with some of that awful-cheap Bolivian petrol to give us a “soft landing” in Peru. However the petrol station would not sell to us at the reduced local rate, and even a private petrol seller refused us after a bit of negotiation on price. This upset us a bit at first, but looking back, it was probably the best scenario because the border customs guy, though friendly, did ask us whether we have any petrol in our tanks and I expect that he may have confiscated it were they to have been full.

The route to the border was as follows:

Leave the town on the main road (Av 16 Julio) SouthWest, which crosses with the main tourist strip (Calle Jauregui) in town. Turn right at the T-junction on to the Ruta Nacional 2 (the road with the petrol station if you had gone left).

This coastal route turns to sand shortly after leaving town and after less than 1Km there’s a steep looking dirt track heading up the hill to your left – take this turn off up the track. (You may have to ask around a bit if this description isn’t clear enough but I recommend asking a few sources and comparing results before you move on.) The road alternates between dirt and asphalt for at least 2Km and then eventually becomes an asphalted road which leads to the border crossing at Kasani.

The Bolivian side of the border crossing is of course closed from 13:00 to 14:00 so be sure to time it right or be prepared to wait – we lost time finding this route so we waited. Border exit formalities were quick and painless. The Bolivian aduana officer looked a bit miserable but didn’t give us any hassles luckily.

The Peruvian guys were all quite friendly – they came and stood with Ebru at the bike and chatted away while I went to sort out paperwork. Peruvian customs was computerized and straight forward. The only thing I had to do was get some photocopies of documents, but there were facilities right next door, including money changers aplenty at both the Bolivian and Peruvian sides.

The road to Puno continues on good tarmack.

TRIP INFO BOX

Total trip from La Paz is about 60Km (alphalt) to Undavi, another 5 to Chuspipata Crossroads, then about 50Km (good gravel) down to Yolosa, the end of the Death Road. From there 6Km (Gravel) take you to Yolosita and about 90Km of good asphalt (with a few patches of pebble or gravel) return you back to La Paz on the new road.

We decided to do the death road by motorbike and research the route on the Internet. It seemed easy enough based on the maps and advice there but in reality we would have missed the correct turn-off if we hadn’t been in proximity of some mountain bike tour vans on the day. We tried to exit La Paz on the East side to Ruta 3 but it turned out there was a miners’ protest which was blockading the road and all vehicles were turned back – including the mountain bike tours, which is how we ended up following them. They knew of a back-road out of the city, all dirt and spectacularly scenic, which we followed. I’ll describe the two routes as best I can in case you’re looking for the info to do it yourself.

Normal Exit from La Paz:
You follow the Avenida Gral. Jose Torrez Eastwards and this asphalt road will (at the town limit police post) become the Ruta 3. To get there from the centre your route planner might suggest leaving North on Av. Montes (aka. Av. Perez Velasco aka. Av Mariscal Santa Cruz), then slight (R)ight at the funny little YPFB petrol station, R on to Av Armentia, followed by (L)eft into Pisagua, which will join you up with Torrez. Be aware that your little trip up Pisagua will probably scare you more than the Death Road itself! It is severely steep and has come strong corners in it. But since you were off to the Death Road anyway, here’s your chance to test your courage.

Alternative Exit from La Paz (Through Parque Nacional Cotapata):
Follow Avenida Gral. Jose Torrez Westwards or Montes Northwards until you join the Autopista (uphill toward El Alto). About 3Km after you join the Autopista there will be a signposted archway labelled “Urbanisation Autopista” with a blue & white sign displaying a map for “Albergue Ecotouristico Pampalarma”; turn R off the Autopista here. This will take you on a dirt road towards the village of Chacaltaya, located near the mountain lakes or Pampalarma. (Around here we saw a sign indicating we were at about 4500m altitude.)

Just before reaching the village (after a small bridge) the road forks, L and level to the village and R and uphill to continue to “La Cumbre”. (La Cumbre is the name I read off a mountain biking tour map and I don’t know whether the real name is Pampalarma and that La Cumbre just means “the Mountain” or otherwise.) The road is nasty from here on but a fun ride and scenery is breathtaking! You snake up to a small lake, then right towards a larger one where there’s some national park sign boards and a couple of buildings. This is La Cumbre at about 4700m altitude. From here you join on to the asphalted Ruta 3.

(Just a thought if you do take this route: there was some truck traffic coming towards La Paz; I don’t know if this is always the case. You will likely be riding slow in low gears so watch out for engine overheating. It may be worth considering some emergency preparations in case you do get stuck there. In the day you would probably walk to that little village or forward to La Cumbre (there was no one there when we passed through). However this is not a place you want to be stranded without some emergency equipment in the afternoon/night. I would recommend at least puncture kit, torch, energy & water, warm clothing).

From La Cumbre you follow several Kilometres downhill until you pass a Police check point at Undavi. This is where apparently you normally pay your 25 Bolivano entry fee, but we saw no police and instead paid at the Cerro Rojo Tourist Checkpoint well down the Death Road. Soon after Undavi there will be small green road signs signalling the Yunga Norte and Yunga Sur routes: you take the Norte (L). Then you will pass the small Cotapata petrol station on the left (beware of the dogs!!!) before going into a sharp left-hand bend followed by some shops on the right road side. This is Chuspipata Crossroads.

The Death Road:

Just in the bend at Chuspipata Crossroads, before the shops, you will see a large yellow sign where a dirt road goes off to the Right. This is the beginning of the Death Road.

Starting from Chuspipata Crossroad you will begin to DRIVE ON THE LEFT roadside! This is the rule but on most straights you can stick right, close to the cliff face, if you feel unsafe near the edge. The average speed from here will likely be 20-30Km/h. In places you can safely burst to about 40Km/h for short distances but you’ll probably want to relax and take in the scenery.

The last approximately 20Km from the Cerro Rojo Checkpoint to the end of the Death Road, you can easily average a good 40Km/h. From here the scenery becomes gradually less amazing due to being lower in the valley. A little hairpin bend over a river at the village of Yolosa signals the end of the death road. From here you can DRIVE ON THE RIGHT AGAIN!

Returning to La Paz:
After crossing the river the road will fork again:

Choose L (dirt, downhill) to go to Yolosita (about 6Km further) where there are a few market stalls again. The big bridge on the Right is the NEW road (Ruta 3) back to La Paz, going Left takes you to Rurrenabaque.

Choose R (stone, uphill) to Coroico (about 9Km), a quaint little town. (Actually this whole area is full of backpacker hostels and various places to eat and drink, probably worth spending a night or two if you’re carrying your stuff along.)

The return from Yolosita to La Paz can be done in about 2 hours. The road is good asphalt except a few tiny patches of gravel or stone in between. It’ll take you uphill, past Chuspipata Crossroads, Undavi and eventually land you at the Police checkpoint at the La Paz city limit again.

In our particular case we had to navigate through the miners strike there, on our return into La Paz. Night had already fallen and being greeted by blinding miners lamps, huge rocks blocking the roads and the occasional sound of dynamite explosions was a fitting end to our adventurous day. We did ask for permission to pass and did so carefully, but it was a scary experience. They’ve got no bother with tourists, but many of the miners were drunk, standing around fires or walking in the street, and a few stones were thrown or rolled in our direction.

2Km East after VT there’s a army checkpoint on the left, where we cross without issue. 5Km of road works, then a 40Km stretch of pebble road all the way to Isinuta. The first half is very bumpy. The second half can be endured by accelerating to about of 50Km/h and trying to maintain a level course. Horrible grey concrete speed bumps which seem to blend in with the road surface appear around towns, sometimes without warning.

The road leads through lush jungle and crosses a few muddy rivers. It’s hard to notice that you’re actually in a major coca farming area. Apparently this has become the chosen occupation for more and more as there’s good money in it and people can earn more than they would in any run-of-the-mill job. Some people tell us that (aside from oil exploration in the national park), the main drivers to build this disputed San Ignacio de Moxos Highway through the national park is to service narco traffic, and opportunistic cocaleros will illegaly annex more land to their coca plantations. A Bolivian government estimate says that 10% of the park has already been deforested by cocaleros. Looking at the map, I really don’t see why they need to build this road right through the middle of this protected area, which is also home to many of Indigenos.

Some of the towns, especially Samusabeti, seem to be well stocked with hardware stores and workshops. A good place to break down I recon. They don’t seem to be short of mechanics but I cannot say whether they’re equipped to work on larger bikes.

Where the road ends there is a river. When this cannot be crossed by motorbike (we’re in dry season and a moto crossing would have been madness) a canoe or unimog might take you across to what is the national park Isiboro Secure. If you’re unfortunate, by the time you get to the end of this road it will continue with a bridge across the river and take you right through the national park, towards Brazil. The construction of this road is currently a highly contentious political issue in Bolivia. Some want the road and others don’t. The Indigenos are highly pissed off. They even marched all the way to the capital in protest and there are frequent disruptions to road traffic North of Santa Cruz as far as I understand.

End of the road to Isiboro Secure…

About 1Km after the army checkpoint on the right is the route that leads past Chipiriri, Villa 14 Septiembre and Puerto San Fransisco (about 32Km from Villa Tunari). This is a pebble road as well. Villa 14 Septiembre has a charming little plaza. Around Pto. San Fransisco is a confluence of many rivers and I’m told there is good fishing here. However by the time we arrive it’s late afternoon and too late to get the lines out.

Note: We investigated using these routes to shortcut through up to the city of Trinidad, however this did not appear to be such a good idea. For more info about this read our Return to Villa Tunari post.

TRIP INFO BOX

A stone throw from Villa Tunari, we rode by motorbike up the beautiful pebble road to the entrance of Parque Nacional Carrasco. It’s a tranquil route on which you pass a few quaint houses and feel the cool moisture of the nearby river in the air.

You cannot enter the park by vehicle so we parked the moto up at the gate.

Visits to the park are generally by guided treks, 2 times in a day, starting at 10:00;and 13:00. The cost per person is 50 Bolivanos which includes the cost of the guide (Spanish speaking). Total 8 guides work in the park so there might be one who speaks English.

The journey begins with a manually propelled cable car across the river and then follows small paths through the surrounding jungle. The guides appear to be very knowledgeable about local fauna and flora. Our guide pointed out various plants with healing properties and easily missed insects. Also he was equipped with information about reptiles, amphibians, birds and flowers in the park. It included a visit to a couple of caves, one with bats, and the guide was prepared with torches for us.

The best time to see the birds is between 5 and 7 in the morning (Not aware whether guides can be arranged for this time in the morning). The best time to see orchids is September October, which is spring.

Over all, the walk was quite simple with no major challenges, yet very pleasant and interesting.

TRIP INFO BOX

This is a recommendation for a beautiful biking route north of Sucre, Bolivia. If you’re comfortable on dirt tracks this is easily doable, and you’re in for some of the most beautiful scenery Bolivia has to offer!

From Sucre we ride out towards the Maragua crater to try and find the fossilized dinosaur footprints. We never find them but the area offers some of the most exquisite scenery and is definitely worth a visit, especially on a bike. If you don’t have a bike of your own, inquire at MotoCar (Benito Moxos #99; Tel:6439169) where they offer motorbike and quad tours out to that area. Just make sure you get started early because it’s slow going and you’ll want to stop for lots of pictures.

Leave Sucre using one of the North exits towards the air port, then turn West on to the road leading to Ravelo. You’ll find a reasonable map at the tourist information outlets in Sucre but there is one here (http://www.altamiratoursbolivia.com/servicios/mapa.htm)

Outside of town the road turns into dirt and goes uphill. Follow on for about 20Km until the village of Punilla. There is a checkpoint there (piece of rope across the road) where you may have to pay 2BOB and there, turn left on to the pebble road to Chataquila. This leads all the way up the mountain to a church at Chataquila, and on the other side you’ll be greeted by a beautiful, steep plunge of dirt track, all the way down, through the village of Chataquila into the valley. The views are amazing!

On the way down to Chataquila you can branch off left on a road which I believe leads to Maragua itself, a village in a large volcanic crater. But follow on straight through Chataquila and cross the river bridge for a trip through a deep canyon which ends up on a kind of plateau with a huge river flood plane and gorgeous surroundings. If you turn off left on the dirt track about 2Km before Potolo, this will take you over a few hills and down another valley with mountain ridges so colourful you’ll think you’re Alice in wonderland. Be very cautious however! The road deteriorates immensely her because of water erosion and becomes really steep and dangerous to ride. At some point we had to turn the bike around because rainwater had created a deep rift in the track which wasn’t passable (ride into this unnoticed and you’re sure to take considerable damage). Despite this, the ride down is worth it for the views alone.

Turning the bike around on the narrow road – impassable…

We later found out that about one or two kilometres down the track (starting just before Potolo) a small walking path leads off to the left up the hill. It’s not really bike territory, but about an hour’s hike up it you will arrive at those dinosaur footprints we were looking for.

Note: the dinosaur footprints are not to be confused with those hundreds of prints at the Parque Creatico dinosaur park a few kilometres out to the NorthEast of Sucre. Those are all on a large rock face opposite the park and can only be viewed from a distance. The annoying thing is that you pay for entry into the park and then have to pay for coin-operated telescopes to get a magnified look – not great if you didn’t know to bring small change!

TRIP INFO BOX

We arrive in Uyuni late afternoon and check into the Hostal El Cactu at the plaza. It’s nothing special but the lady lets me park the bike in the lobby and it’s cheap (70Bolivanos/double with shared washrooms).

Uyuni itself is pretty run down. People look very poor and life up here must be very hard, especially given the altitude and remoteness of the place. It is surprising that the place is not in better shape since there must be quite a lot of tourism coming in headed to and from the Salar, but they must have their reasons.

The next day we wander the town and compare maps of the salar, marking out all the known routes on ours so that we don’t get lost on the salar. Some people have asked us whether we have a GPS – I have a compass. But they’ve all warned that compasses don’t work on the salar. I do some checking up on the Internet but find nothing to confirm or refute that.

The food here is so-so but there’s a good pizza to be found at the wood oven pizza restaurant next to El Cactu and we find a cool bar called Amazonas where they have a good atmosphere and good drinks. We try a Mojito de Coca, a Mojito made with liquor of the coca leaf. Nice stuff.

A visit to the market though, is a rather special experience and gives us an idea of what’s in store for us here in Bolivia.

Not much refrigeration required up here…

The following morning we get up early, saddle up for the Salar and head to the petrol station. No hay nada! It’s Sunday and that means all the fuel is sold out. Same story at the Potosi exit service station. I ask around and a guy suggests going to the Heladeria Pingui, he might have some. Indeed this seems to be where everyone goes on Sundays to buy canisters of petrol at double the price (6 Bolivanos/litre). We get 20 litres – enough for today and about 8 in the spare tanks for future use – and we head off.

The 20Km road to Colchani, the town at the Eastern “entrance” to the Salar, is horrible! No road would be better than this. But the hard work pays off when we reach the salt and we’re bubbling with excitement.

The Salar de Uyuni was a huge salt lake when the South American continent was raised from the ocean and separated this water from the rest of the Atlantic. Over time it evaporated, leaving the biggest salt flat on earth, at about 3669m above sea level. In summer it rains and it’s covered by a thin layer of water, creating the world’s largest mirror. But now it’s dry and the whole thing is a hard crust of pure white salt, spreading out in front of us as far as the eye can see. Wonderland!

Riding here is amazing. Flat, white, high volcanic peaks watch from a distance. The sun is as blinding-bright as the air is COLD. As we zoom across we become mesmerized. Such surreal beauty. You think you’re on snow but it’s not. Hard to believe we are really here. Possibly the only living souls in this vast, flat expanse of hard crystal salt? Wow! Here and there a black dot in the distance materializes into a 4×4 carrying tourists across the salar.

We spend the whole day riding out on the salar. About 90Km in (around the centre) we visit Isla Incahuasi, a beautiful rock island with ancient cacti all over it. A magical place.

We ride further in to visit some of the smaller islands dotted around in the distance. The compass doesn’t fail me once.

We try to take some of those interesting photos you can take here: because of the flatness and monotony of the surroundings your perception of distance is distorted and you can come up with some cool illusions on camera. (We don’t do too well though – takes practice I guess.)

In the afternoon on our way out we meet another biking couple (Elena and Sergio) from Brazil, two-up on a BMW. We join them for a bit more riding, over to Incahuasi. Then we leave at about sunset and get a few snaps of the magical sunset out here – not to be missed! – before the camera runs out of battery.

It’s been a great day out! We reach the end of the salar with the last rays of the sun fading behind us – beautiful. Then something funny. I stop, look down, and see my rear tyre is flat. Does it ever end?

Luckily I’ve come prepared with an emergency inflator, which manages to get the tyre serviceable again. We ride the 20Km back to Uyuni in the dark and the emergency inflation lasts just enough to get us back to the Hostel – lucky!

We have a good Pizza at the restaurant next door with a wood fire oven and at 10PM Sergio the Brazilian comes over to visit and exchange some photos. We end up talking for 2 hours. He’s been all over Brazil and imparts a lot of information that’s really useful for us in planning our trip through Brazil. We say goodbye and he invites us to come and stay with him in Florianopolis. Thanks Sergio, we really hope we make it there!

Visiting the Salar by bike is definitely doable (at this time of year) and I would recommend the experience to anyone mad enough to bike up to this area in the first place. Don’t worry too much about getting lost or the compass not working – they say the same about GPSs. One biker I met told me he’d personally see an compass going berzerk, right in the centre of the salar. But regardless, if you go there in daylight and use the sun and surrounding mountains to help place your location on the map I don’t think you should have any problems. Main tracks are well defined due to extensive use. Beware of water holes (I’ve seen them up to about 1/2m diameter in the main track) you don’t know where they are. And come prepared – clothing, puncture repair, fuel, lighter, torch… just in case. ENJOY!