Hi,

I'm planning on riding from San Pedro de Atacama to Uyuni late next week. Anybody doing the same trip about the same time?

regards,

Tani

I did it about 10 days ago (on a 110cc, four-speed city bike!).

Do not underestimate how cold it gets at night! Even though it's not mid-winter or anything by dawn it is ridiculously cold. I only got two hours sleep because I had to make a fire to keep warm. All my water had frozen solid.

It is an amazing route though, you will have a great time, just make sure you have good sub-zero camping gear.

Enjoy.

110cc bike, sounds crazy. Thanks for the tip. I really didn't think its going to be that cold. Have to buy some more gear. Did you have GPS with you?

If you don't want to buy more gear there is a town around half way called Villamar. It's at -21.754517,-67.481503.
The park guards said I should sleep there, and they were right!
But I slept out about 50kms north because I didn't have any money after the national park fee.

The national park costs 150 boli's. Quite a lot for Bolivia, but the only pass you can buy is a four-day one and there's no weasling out of it. (I tried very hard!)

I was lent a Garmin "G.P.S. 2". 15 years old and tough as nails, but very simple and painful to input co-ords.
It didn't work when riding over 30 kmh though as the cold wind paralysed the AA batteries...

I think there are only two or three places you can go really wrong, most of the tracks all go the same places in the end. A G.P.S. would be handy to make sure you are going roughly the right way, I don't know if there are any good paper maps available as an alternative?

I took some co-ords off google, but went right at Laguna Capina to Villamar and cut some distance, so didn't go the way I planned. Was a beautiful stretch too and I thoroughly reccomend. I did buckle both wheels on a rocky stretch though, an off-road bike is reccomended!

The customs is 88 kms north of the border at -22.440907,-67.805901 and is in some huge industrial facility, a mine or quarry or something. But the Border guards will tell you about it. You just take a little turn with a small sign. It's over 5,000 metres alititude though so give your bike some extra air somehow!

Have a good one, it's a truly beautiful place.

Thanks for the tips! I think I'll be taking the same route you did. and try to sleep in laguna colorado and/or Villamar. I'll be on DR650, so I should do fine on those tracks.