What range in KM´s do I need to have gas wise to cross the Solar? I am riding solo. Is it easy to stay on route just by following jeeps? Will the hotels let independents stay or are they reserved just for jeepers. Is it safe to camp? How far should I camp from the nearest village for safety?

Can I get a Visa (USA) at the border by San Pedro? Are the visas multiple entry? How long do they last? How is the border crossing there?

Any other suggestions/advice?

Thanks

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India Himal, 3mo,2x; Kazak/Krygyz/Tajik, 3 mo; Kashi-Lhasa, China 219! 6 wk; Nepal, 4 days/trekked 55; Santiago-Ushuia-Cusco, 7 mo; Peru, 3 mo; Chile-Medellin 3 mo; Medillin-Arica, 3 mo

what's the route? The salar is way less than 100km across. If you are talking of riding from S.P. de Atacama, Chile, up to Salar de Uyuni and ending in Uyuni, then roughly 350 km - but this distance has been mentioned many times before so you are just asking questions, not expending effort searching for information contained herein.

You can't hang with them in spots, but then in others, they are way slower than you. You never travel at the same speed.

But generally, you can figure out where to go by following tracks, but its a bit confusing in spots.

hotels?

You must be asking about Lago Colorado? They basically exist for the jeepers, but you can find a spot there.

There are other "hostels" along the route at various places - spots for a few bodies. I'm sure that they'll take your money, provide a place indoors to sleep.

hotels!

sure - no wild animals, no muggers and robbers running around. Will your bike start in the morning, after sitting out in the cold and wind all night? Will you start in the morning, after sitting out in the cold and wind all night?

if you want to camp, it'll likely be the loneliest, most remote camping you've ever done.

Say what? Villages?

can't say. probably, but I'm just guessing.

This information is contained on the official government websites as well as other places, which indicates you haven't done simple research.

90 days at a time, but the multiple entry visa is good over a 10 year period I believe. Its been a while since I read the official government website on this.

small, one man operation. I don't think you can check your bike in there. i covered this in a similar HUBB thread - including gps coordinates - you can search for it and read up on this for yourself.

carry gas, be prepared (your bike), enjoy

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quastdog
Chiang Mai, Thailand

Uh, thanks for your reply, I guess.

I am going from Sn P de A to Uyuni, I am sorry that in this case I did not have much time for research. I spent what little time I had to research mechs in Salta. I should have apologized in advance for not having time to search. I am traveling hard at this point and my internet time is limited. I have 15L in tank and a capacity of 10 in bottles giving me about 450 km so I should be OK.


Thanks. If I lose one and get confused, I can likely just wait for another since they are frequent this time of year. I was considering joining a jeep tour for support since I am solo, but it seems like that could develop into a problem if there are places where I could not keep up. Are there places with deep sand or other obsticles , that really slow a bike down that I may have not noticed riding in a jeep?



Sorry for not using terminology to your liking, but when I crossed by jeep before there were places to sleep with beds. This is what I was referring to. Hostels, hotels, hospedajes, they all refer to places that rent beds. sheesh! BTW, there is at least one place that goes by the name Salt "Hotel."

Thanks, this is what I was wondering. The bike will likely sit out no matter where I sleep. I am prepared for camping down to about -10 f. It does OK at 0 c with a little coaxing. I have 6 liters of extra water so I could even do a dry camp. I hope to camp at least one night in the middle of the solar, so I can get some night shots.

Not hardly, anywhere you see people everyday is not all that remote. I have done a 16 day trek where I did not see a single person the whole trip and was 8 days at one point from the nearest vehicle access and the trail head was in a place where you might not see another car for days.

Places where people live in groups, year round. What else would you call them? There is at least one spot with several houses and even a church. Possibly hamlet would have been a better term.


When you are 12.5 months into a 15 month trip there is simply some research that doesn't get done. I had an unexpected change of route so haven´t had much time to prepare (do research) for this section.

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India Himal, 3mo,2x; Kazak/Krygyz/Tajik, 3 mo; Kashi-Lhasa, China 219! 6 wk; Nepal, 4 days/trekked 55; Santiago-Ushuia-Cusco, 7 mo; Peru, 3 mo; Chile-Medellin 3 mo; Medillin-Arica, 3 mo

300-400km range is fine, just fill up at every chance you get.

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Peter Kongsbak
South East Asia, USA, Central and South America and Scandinavia.

Glasswave:
Sorry for being unfriendly, but... in reference to research, try this:

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...tances-28035-2

or this:
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...ma-uyuni-34664

Both of these two threads where updated in the last three weeks, so aren't too far down the threads under "south-and-central-america-mexico". Easy to find, and both come up as one of the top items if you search "salar de uyuni" and select "route planning" and "South and Central America and Mexico" as the topics to search in. Lots of other helpful threads as well.

It would have taken less time to do the search than write your questions. And a little bit more to skim through the messages and find answers.


Yes, you could join a jeep tour with the understanding that you would meet up with them at various points along the route. if you were indeed doing the same route.

The ruts the 4-wheels follow are soft and/or washboard. Out of the ruts, and its soft - not sand so much - more like either a very course sand or fine gravel - but you sink into it. You can't easily switch ruts. The 4-wheels go much faster over this, and can easily cut across tracks. Where the road is a single double track and very rough, the motorcycle can go faster than the 4-wheels. I found that once in a rut, I was pretty much stuck in that rut.


Your choice of words. If you said "4 walls and a roof" you'd be describing the places better. Calling them hotels is certainly embellishing their status.

Well, again, you didn't say when or where. In places where its over 4500m, (lago Colorado) its likely to be closer to -20C. The salar is something like 3800m, so lots likely warmer. And the salar is not what I call remote - its the stretch from San Juan to Lago Colorado I would call remote. To my way of thinking, that's more remote than sleeping in the seclusion of a forest days from the nearest person. There's places where there's nobody or nothing around, and then places where there is indeed "nothing".


Well again, you didn't define a route, so its hard to know what you are talking about. On my map of Bolivia, there were "dots" on the map with a name, but when at that spot, they were barely what you would call a village.

So what I'm confused about - you actually have traveled through there before, in a 4-wheel vehicle, and you are asking these questions about hotels and villages? You must have dozed off in the back of that jeep.

so I should apologize for being so sarcastic in my answers! You're on a trip, not sitting at home.

I'm in Africa now - got to run (there's a lion on my ass).

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quastdog
Chiang Mai, Thailand

As I said, I had little time and using it to search for a tire source in Salta. Since not much came up in reference to tires, I elected to make a post about it because tire search common and I figured a tire thread for Salta may help some others. Because I had another few minutes, I thought I would post the Salar ?´s in hopes I would be pointed to a couple of good threads. Upon arriving in Salta, I had some time for searching and perused those threads.

I sometimes forget how compact and specific the hubb is, when searching a high volume forum like advrider.com or DPreview.com (digital photography), it can take quite a bit of reading to find your answers.

Thanks, I think I may do this because I am a little concerned about crossing this border.

Sounds a lot like China 219 to Tibet!

When I crossed before, it seems as though everyone was following the same route. So I assumed it was the "standard" route and this would be implied.

My question about camping was in regards to safety from other people. I central Asia for example, you should never camp within easy walking distance of a village. In much of Boliva as well, I don´t think it would be safe to camp where lot´s of people are likely to happen by. In some places I have been the sheltered sleeping is reserved only for people on guided tours and independent travelers are not given accommodation and have to camp.

I thought I had a pretty good idea about the Salar from my previous jeep crossing, but then, as I began to get close, I realized that there are many things you don´t think to ask when on a guided tour. Also, two years ago, my Spanish was next to nothing and our driver spoke no English. I didn´t think I would be here again just two years later, traveling by bike and din´t make mental notes or ask the right questions. Guided tours seem to have a way of numbing people´s minds. That´s why I don´t often take them.

No worries, I was a little cranky when I answered your post. I have been going too hard, because I had mech problems in Patagonia. I have now decided "f___ it", to hell with schedules and the pressures from others. I need to slow it down and relax a bit. I decided to stay in Salta for another day to relax a bit and enjoy the city. Just making this decision has lifted a tremendous burden from my shoulders and I feel better than I have in weeks. :-)))


Good on ya! Buen Viajo!

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India Himal, 3mo,2x; Kazak/Krygyz/Tajik, 3 mo; Kashi-Lhasa, China 219! 6 wk; Nepal, 4 days/trekked 55; Santiago-Ushuia-Cusco, 7 mo; Peru, 3 mo; Chile-Medellin 3 mo; Medillin-Arica, 3 mo