FREE GPS Maps for South America - LINKS
 

I've just been updating my GPS maps for South America.

Here's a list of the links ...

Colombia: Colrut | Mapa ruteable y topográfico, gratuitos para su GPS.
Venezuela: gpsyv.net Hogar del VENRUT, el Mapa GPS Ruteable de Venezuela para Equipos Garmin Nuvi, GPSMap, Nokia y HTC
Peru: PERUT=Peru Ruteable
Bolivia/Argentina/Chile: ViajerosMapas - Mapas gratis para GPS
Argentina: GPS de Argentina y del ConoSur
Argentina/Uruguay/Chile/Paraguay: Proyecto Mapear
Brazil: Tracksource - Mapas Gratuitos para GPS
Suriname: https://rs554cg.rapidshare.com/#!download|554l36|334768532|MapofSuriname.zip|2531 |R~5694049433EE47E63C93B86A52F56D88

Thanks for sharing the toils of your research. I've made this a sticky and cross referenced it to the GPS section.
cheers
Chris

I would be very interested in the Suriname map, tell me how you updated that into your gps? The link doesn't work for me.

Adventurous greetings,
Coen

Suriname map
 

Ahh...now...the Suriname map is the only one that's....shall we say "A bit naughty!"
It's a torrent and so you'll need a torrent manager such as µTorrent - a (very) tiny BitTorrent client When you click on the link it will open in your torrent manager and once its downloaded will appear in your 'Downloads' folder as a .zip file. If you're using Mapsource, click on the .exe file and it will open the usual Windows Install window. Follow the instructions.

I'm afraid I can't comment on the GMAPSUPP.img file because I don't use them.

Hope that helps.

Good work on the Sticky Chris. Perhaps others would like to add anything I've missed...Ecuador springs to mind!

Cheers

Adam

Too bad, I would need a file to install on BaseCamp for mac.

In post #16 at http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...n-maps-49645-2 there's a link to an Ecuador map. Don't know if it's free though. Haven't checked the link.

cheers
Chris

BaseCamp on Mac
 

This is going a bit off topic but its only this week that I've come across the new(?) range of Garmin GPS's (Montana etc) and noticed that unlike Mapsource, BaseCamp is also available for Mac's.

My trusty Sony Vaio has been rattling around on the back of my bike for 5 years now and will be up for replacement early next year.
I'm currently sat on the fence regarding the "To Mac...or not to Mac" question.

How are you getting on with BaseCamp? Is finding compatible free maps a problem?

Cheers

Adam

Hi Adam,

Most of the maps listed here I have installed on BaseCamp on my Mac. So I see no problem. Anyway you could alway run the Mac in native windows format if needed.

And if there are no maps of a region, you can download the awesome free OSM maps in Mac format.

Adventurous greetings,
Coen

Garmin maps for Mexico
 

Hello,
I have micro SD cards with City maps of Mexico and Brazil for sale (£10 each) should anyone want to buy maps. I can easily post it to anywhere in the UK. Don't have the packaging but used the cards with my Garmin on a recent trip and they work fine.
Message me if you are interested.
Thanks!

Adam about has it covered except for one very useful resource. Open Street Map: Free worldwide routable Garmin maps from OpenStreetMap

You can generate a garmin map for any part of the world. You basically highlight the areas you want, then put in your email address and within a couple days you will be emailed a link to download the map you requested. It gives you various formats like .img, mapsource, and roadtrip files to choose from when you get the link.

I used these extensively in Central and South America. The maps are really quite good and they were the best maps out there for French Guiana, Suriname, and Guyana.

+1 on OSM maps.

They aren't too good for address searches There's plenty of POIs shown. You can use Goggle Earth to locate a hostel's coordinates then drop a waypoint in Basecamp and depending on the detail, let the OSM maps route you there.

daryl

I thought I already mentioned OSM in post #8, why repeat it?

Adventurous greetings,
Coen

Doh! I missed that one! beer That's OK, OSM is so good its worth jeigermentioning twice.

lol.. well. let's keep up the good work then!

Maybe others want to concur.

daryl

I concur, I always stack OSM maps with other maps when avaliable and a 276c/478 is the only gps out there:funmeteryes:I love collecting maps for my garmin makes it even more fun:scooter:

Do you ever find that when stacking maps, sometimes when I zoom in or out, I briefly see a road or river that is not showing, and by switching of maps they appear. Can you and how, set the transparency? Or how does it choose which map is the top layer?

Adventurous greetings,
Coen

You can adjust the sensitivity of your gps to the highest setting and that can help but mainly causes more clutter in my experience. Most maps need to be zoomed in to </=0.3miles to have full detail, that's why I like running two Gps units with same maps loaded, usually a handheld powered 76c and a 276c/478 then you have the best of both worlds wihtout jockeying the zoom all the time, one macro, and one set micro for the detail. Some countries the osm is better and I will turn the local map off or viseversa but its great to have both because the both come in handy usually one is better than the other in rural vs urban.

waypoints to match
 

if you're installing maps for central or south america then you may have a desire for some current waypoints.
I'm travelling 4x4 so not 'exactly' motorbike based but none the less handy i reckon!

check my homepages .. . . . .

navigate to the 'coming this way' link, then just 'elp yourself.

phil.

I wasn't referring to the sensitivity, but to the transparency. I have the OSM map for Suriname installed, and the world map as well. When I scroll the map, sometimes I see a road appear for just a second then its gone. So I switch off the OSM map and there is the road in the world map. So my question is: how does that work. In other maps if there isn't a road, I believe it will show the world map road?

Adventurous greetings,
Coen

Not sure what causes one map to supercede the other. I play with the mapset that works best in the location I'm in and turn the other off and don't run into that problem. In my expereince one map works better in the countryside and the other better in urban setting, takes a little swapping of the buttons but still nice to have access to more than one. I also like to compare to google earth view my tracks or proposed routes on mapsource in GE when I'm around wifi.

I was looking at taking the jungle loop in Suriname, only big loop of a road that dumps out at the river a little ways up from the coast at the Suriname/Guyana border. You staying along the coast? Did you get to see a rocket launch in FG if headed that way I would do my best to attempt to view, they are very impressive.

I would love to be able to import google earth maps or even download the cache on the mac, but I don't seem to be able to do just that for now.

Suriname: We are in contact with the SARK, [Surinames Auto Rally Klub] and have been "competing" in two rally's so far, with the big Savanne rally coming up in november. So we are experiencing some real jungle off-road tracks with the cracks!

Adventurous greetings,
Coen

Hi,

I have downloadet a ready made map from south america here:

DE:OSM Map On Garmin/Download - OpenStreetMap Wiki

and created my own map for africa here:

Free worldwide routable Garmin maps from OpenStreetMap

Then i onely had to name the map i wanted to use "gmapsupp.img" and had to copy it into the folger Garmin on my Nüvi 250 and it they worked :)

LG, Tobi

Mapas Ecuador GPS :: Login good autorouting map for Ecuador. You have to register first (free)

Map stacking
 

If you have multiple maps loaded on your GPS, you can only see "the one on the top of the stack." The maps' priority (where they fit in the stack) is built in when the map is constructed. Very few maps are actually built to be transparent, so if you are looking at one, it is hiding the ones underneath. Sometimes you see a flash of the other maps when the GPS is redrawing the display. The only way to see maps underneath is to turn off the ones on top. You can not adjust the map's transparency (unless you are the one building the map).

On my GPS (Garmin GPSMap 276C), the order that the maps appear in the Map Information list is generally the order that they stack.

In any case, redraw is fastest when only one map is turned on at a time.

Hope this makes sense.

-Laura

Great info Laura! That is what I was looking for.

Adventurous greetings,
Coen

Bolivia Maps
 

We now have quite a few choices for Bolivia GPS maps.
1) Proyecto Mapear (ok, but limited coverage in places)
2) Open Street Maps (very basic)
3) Bolirut Bolirut (free and quite good)
2) RutaBo ruta-bo (US$26 and the best map available)

By the way, the Ecuador Maps at proyectoecuador are terrible. They have not been updated since 2011, and they weren't worth downloading then. For Ecuador, I use Open Street Maps. Same solution for the Guyanas and Surinam.

For Chile, the most recent version of Proyecto Mapear is quite good. It finally has many POIs on it for Chile, in the past it only had the roads in Chile.

Best South America Mapset
 

As i posted a few years ago in a different thread, there are some excellent maps available if you spend the time to combine a number of them. Here is the mapset i currently recommend:

Canada/USA- Garmin City Navigator North America
CentralAm - CenRut
Colombia - Colrut
Venezuela - VenRut
Brasil - Tracksource
Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, Paraguay - Mapear Proyecto Mapear
Peru - Perut
Bolivia - RutaBo
Ecuador,Suriname, Fr.Guyana, Guyana - Open Street Maps

Here is what i recommend about making the mapset:
1) combine all the maps in MapSource into a single mapset and install on your device
2) In device setting there is 'Map', and on "Map', there is 'Info'. In here you can select/deselect certain components of the overall mapset. By deselecting all the components except for the one i want to see, then I don't have any issues with map stacking or overlapping (which is a real problem). Change select/deselect depending on where you are and what map you think is best suited for where you are.

I just downloade the OSM map for Bolivia and the Bolirut, and I must say I am impressed with the details of the OSM map, especially outside the cities.
Between the two, OSM is my favorite.

Can't say anything on the RutaBo...

Adventurous greetings,
Coen

Thanks so much for the great info
 

Adam,
i appreciate all of the great map links.
keep riding and talking those awesome pictures.
inspiring stuff.
Thanks!

bier

FREE GPS maps for Argentina (best site)
 

Hi there, greetings from Buenos Aires!
The best source for GPS maps of Argentina is to be found at: Proyecto Mapear (name can be translated as "mapping project"). This is a non profit association that permanently receives input from their members. After being checked, this input goes to the GPS database. If you want it, your GPS also can show you the "Lugares Peligrosos" (areas with high criminality) along your trip. There are also off road maps of Cordoba and Mendoza AND nautical charts for the Rio de la Plata and delta of the Parana and Uruguay rivers. You need to have Mapsource from Garmin and to register at the site to get it all for free.:D
PS: Mapear also offers free maps from Uruguay, Chili, Brazil and Bolivia. I cant tell how good or reliable they are.

Can anyone please tell me which of these can be downloaded direct to a Zumo without using Mapsource etc, in the way OSM can? I've been told proyectomapear can, but don't know about the others.

Thanks!!!

Hi!
You can download *.img files and use without Mapsource:
Perut
Bolivia/Argentina/Chile: ViajerosMapas
Brasil: Tracksource

Perut
 

Hi,

I just got back from 6 weeks of riding in Peru using the PERUT on my Garmin Zumo 350LM. I never used the routing function as I already had tracks made up with my planned route.
I was really happy with the GPS detail and found the maps to be fairly reliable for where we were riding (Northern part of Peru). The maps where handy in the cities. Very happy with the free maps.

My most recent analysis (on the road) of what are the best maps to use in South America

Central America - CenRut or BiciMapas
Colombia - OSM
Venezuela - VenRut
Brasil - Tracksource
Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, Paraguay - Proyecto Mapear
Peru - Perut
Bolivia - RutaBo
Ecuador,Suriname, Fr.Guyana, Guyana - Open Street Maps
Southern Africa -Tracks4Africa

If you need a database of Campgrounds for South America, see this link
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...-america-76785

Hi there..

I didn't read all of your posts - so you got this link already!

I am travelling around SA since 8 months.. The Topo Maps here are really good...

Free maps for Garmin from OpenStreetMap - Maps Download

Greetings Martin

free map application
 

For mobil device you can download OSMAND there get free map and they are good. I really advice it!

That would be me. OSM maps rock and are getting better all the time.

Garmin's South America NA make the big sucking noise, mostly because the Garmin product is missing two or three countries. I am not kidding.

I can't speak for the other products out there and there may be some that are better for this area or that country. For most travelers you want to get from point A to point B and OMS is going to do that, pretty much. They aren't perfect, and you'll figure that out if the GPS loaded with the OMS map set starts suggesting a crazy route. The reason is there is a small gap in the map, so the GPS has calculated the next best thing, which doesn't make sense.

I have seen gaps like this in Bolivia between Potosi and Uyuni, (as in the Salar de Uyuni), between Villamontes and Tarija, and the main traffic circle in Picos, Brazil. One day I will get together with the OMS group in NYC and fix this gaps.

Until then, use your brain, and don't follow a GPS that sends you on a weird route that would add hundreds of miles to your trip. I know its a lot to ask, but deal with it, because OMS maps are free! And you can fix and enhance them... Plus, they have gotten easier to use then they were a few years ago.

I added/extended roads in Belize and southern Nicaragua to OMS. You can too.

Last word, I recommend traveling with paper maps and a GPS. Paper maps have higher data density and jut plain have more information. You can draw on them and people can assist you better by looking at a paper map. A GPS will tell you where you are when you are lost. Something that a paper make can't do.

Yes, Garmin's offering does suck because of the missing countries. Why on earth can't they give OSM a bit of funding and use their maps.

OSM for Bolivia is very functional and has dirt roads and across-salar tracks that really don't exist except to locals in the know.

Yes, tiny gaps in the maps do cause some silliness - one being a missing 20 metres in the ferry route across Lake Titicata - but when the routing tells you that it is 500 km to a destination that you know is only 50km away, it is a pretty good giveaway.

I doubt whether I'll bother buying Garmin's map products again except perhaps those like the US where you could spend your whole life getting around some of those interstate interchanges without lane guidance.

I'll be back in Oz in a month or so and will be interested to see how OSM compares with the TomTom. I do know that outback in the Simpson and similar, the OSM map is likely to be far superior to the citicentric TomTom maps.

Agreed. Paper maps, even bad paper maps, are the only way to get a broad overview of route options.

Guys,
Your posts over the past few months relate to this other thread, the one linked below, which deals with the use of smart phones for navigation including the issues of the hardware, software and fixing the hardware to vehicles, specifically bikes.
It also goes into some detail about OSM which is being widely adopted as the mapping software mounted on phones and tablets.

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...in-et-63191-21

My current specific interest is in what maps are being used by the manufacturers of the hardware, alongside user experiences.
It seems to me that you guys have much to offer!

The thread is pretty big (it's a big topic that is changing fast) so it is best read backwards i.e. most recent posts first, more or less.

Just a thought!

I always have both maps, the one from mapear and the conosur map (www.gps.com.ar). Especially in Patagonia and off the beaten track they are not always complete but most of the time one of them has the map where the other one does not.

Instructions in Spanish make this very difficult to understand with any confidence. Can someone supply an English step by step guide to these maps. Thanks.

Use Google translate to get a pretty good idea. Browser Google Chrome will often translate whole web pages.


BTW there is already a Sticky topic for this exact topic. Do we need TWO stickies for the same topic.

I have been posting and recommending regarding this GPS maps for Argentina and surrounding countries from when I was a noob member long ago on 2002/3. Fist was that Conosur and then when a member of that group stole the maps and name, MapeAR was created. There was a English page on the web time ago but don’t know if still there now. I have posted the link before but can’t find it now (maybe check my very old posts)
Anyway there in Mapear all is easy now:
First you have to register yourself, on an email they will send you a password, when you have it you login and go to “descargas” and there you will find all the downloads, direct ones to Garmin devices, Mapsource or BaseCamp ones, I think there still exist some for Macs, TomToms and others geeks things… Isn’t complicate at all as was before when you need to pay a nerd to do it, and now with google translator I can even understand Esperanto.

Saludos

Some free GPS tracks from South America:

Cuzco - Nazca, Peru

Ruta 40, Argentina/Patagonia

Salar De Uyuni, Bolivia

osm south america
 

i used:https://alternativaslibres.org/en/index.php
very good site and do pay him something for his work.
buen viaje

Thanks for sharing this Jedi. Visting South America in July so this will definitely come in handy.

A mate and I have spent the last 4 years riding the whole of South America, except Ecuador. We have always used Maps.me without incurring serious problems. The only caveat is that Maps.me will always give you the shortest route, not necessarily the easiest or fastest and the predicted travel time takes no account of terrain so disregard.

Sent from my moto g(7) using Tapatalk

Works for me...
 

To prepare for an upcoming trip I used this site to download maps for my Garmin GPS:
https://alternativaslibres.org/en/downloads.php
(donations requested by site)

I then supplemented the maps with Points of Interest (POI) by country:
https://ioverlander.com/countries/places_by_country
(donations requested by site)

POI NOTE: I used Garmin POI Loader (a free app) to upload the resources to my GPS. On my old and reliable Zumo 500, the added POIs are found here: Where to? > Extras.

The dedicated GPS device market for motorcycles is dead or is on life support. They were great tools in their day and are going the way of the doo-doo bird.

My old and reliable Zumo 550 did not live up to expectations. Over the years I have owned three of them. One died and was exchanged for a refurbished device. It was then lost walking along the train tracks to Machu Picchu. The pins that keep the device charged while riding burnt and broke off on my 2023 South American tour.

My advice, buy a soft holder for your smartphone that attaches to your handlebars and use Google Maps (download data for offline use.) Buy a GIVI and be sure your phone fits comfortably. Or buy a series of cheap holders; the zipper wears out and will fail after several weeks of daily use.

With apologies in advance if I am going against the spirit of this thread.

The dedicated GPS device market for motorcycles is dead or is on life support. They were great tools in their day. The motorcycle-specific GPS is going the way of the doo-doo bird.

An update to my last post, the old and reliable Zumo 550 did not live up to expectations. Over the years I have owned three of them. One died and was exchanged for a refurbished device. It was then lost walking along the train tracks to Machu Picchu. The third unit's cradle pins that keep the device charged while riding, burnt and broke off on my 2023 South American tour. Those were mechanical failures, but the real problem is the data and map sets mentality of GPS devices. On the road, I came to understand smartphones were better in so many ways to get me from point A to B, then oops, I need to go to C or something like C. The one-trick pony exits, stage right.

My advice, buy a soft holder for your smartphone that attaches to your handlebars and use Google Maps (download data for offline use.) Buy a GIVI and be sure your phone fits comfortably. Or buy a series of cheap holders; the zipper wears out and will fail after several weeks of daily use.