Hi - Can anybody give me some information on the roads in southern Bolivia? We are two up on a Yamaha XT600Z Tenere, with camping gear (so heavy!), and planning on going north from Argentina (Jujuy) into Bolivia in 2 or 3 weeks time. Once in Bolivia, we would like to go to Uyuni (inc salt flats) and then to Potosi, La Paz and on in to Peru. My question is - what are the roads like in this part of Bolivia (I know they are unpaved), especially considering the bike we are on and the fact that I do not like soft sand!!?

Any advice that anybody can give would be most welcome so that we can plan accordingly.

I took the train (rear shock coloapsed and riding dirt with hard tail sucks) so thats an option for you. I was told that section was some of the roughest riding they had on the whole trip. But thats just hersay so take it for what is worth.

Kyle

Hi,

the same questions apply to me as we are going on a trip from Peru to Bolivia and back. We will start in one week in Lima, then heading most likely to Cuzco, lake Titicaca, La Paz, Uyuni and back to Lima.

So any info about the roads are welcome.

AND HOW IS THE SITUATION AT THE SALAR DE UYUNI??

Regards to all!!

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Gerd
Duesseldorf, Germany

Hi,

Roads in Bolivia are not all that bad. Most of them are un-paved, but with good gravel.
Only if you go to realy remote places (St. Vincent for example) you might find yourself in soft sand and riverbeds.
Roads to and from main cities (I consider Uyuni a main city) are better then the average dessert-road in Australia (not to much corugation).

Fuel is sometimes tricky, so fuel up at every ocasion.

Hope this helps

Maarten

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maartensworld.com
beyond-anywhere.com

I rode from Potosi to Uyuni this past Dec and thought it was one of worst corrugated roads ever, but would have gladly ridden it again after the roads south thru San Vincente to Tupiza. :=) Just plain bad.....

Greynomads,

We were in and around Uyuni two up on a heavily loaded AT a couple of months ago. The road between Ourou (SP?) and Uyuni buggered of first aftermarket shock. The road between Uyuni and the Argentine border buggered the replacement.

Was it worth it? Oh yes, the countryside was amazing.

....and did I mention the weather at that time?

Mark.

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Two wheels good,
Four wheels bad (unless it's two bikes).

http://www.markincyberspace.com

Hello,

I just came from Bolivia, and have ridden just about every main road there. if after I am done here, you have any more questions, please send me a PM or email me, I am happy to help.

If you come up through argentina and into bolivia you will first hit villazon, then about 5 hours later on somewhat bad road you are in tupiza. there isnt much sand, but there are a lot of very ¨washboardy¨sections. however, very beautiful. from there to potosi is also a pretty ride, but a lot of it is a riverbed. i was there like 1.5 months ago, and it was still a little wet, but there werent any very rocky sections. you will even hit a patch of pavement for a while. from potosi to oruro and then to la paz it is all very good pavement. however, i highly recommend trip up to see sucre if you are in potosi, it is only a couple hours away.

ok, now the REAL way to come into Bolivia from the south. in between jujuy and san pedro de atacama is Paso Jama and it is kind of no mans land for about 100 k´s in terms of what country you are in. however, off of this paved highway you can turn north into bolivia for what i can personally gaurantee is some of the most amazing landscape you will ever come across. almost all non motorcycle tourists normally will do this area by jeep. what I did was I followed a jeep tour from uyuni across the salar and south into chile. very very very very very worth it. the roads are a bit tough, im not gonna lie. and i must admit to you, there is some parts where it is a little sandy, but if you stay in the tire tracks, youll be ok. there is also one strecth of about half a kilometer that is so rocky it is more like a mountain biking trail, but its all over very quickly. what i would personally reccomend, if you are willin to get josteld around for a few days would be to go to san pedro de atacama and pay to follow a jeep through this route. it is more or less impossible to do alone on the bike because 1) the roads are all unmarked and there are a lot of detours 2) you would need to carry enough gas to go about 600 k´s...... so, if you choose to do this, you will feel like you are riding on mars for 2 days as you ride past blood red lakes, flamingoes, salt flats, rock gardens, etc. then after 2 days ride from s.p. de atacame you will arrive at the salar de uyuni.........ah, salar how i love you. it is truely incredible. following a tour there is no problem of getting lost, and there is very little water on it except at the very end ( if coming from chile) just be sure to put on some sunscreen . going alone, you might get mixed up thinking you are heading for the correct island, but really its just some mountain way off in the distance.........

ok, ill stop rambling, i just like to be thorough. if you have any mroe questions about bolivia let me know, i spent a total of about 40 days there over two trips through, and know the condition of just about every road cause i was there like 5 days ago. but whichever way you come, riding on the salar de uyuni is an ABSOLUTE MUST. its a very strange feeling to be able to close your eyes and turn your bike in any direction at full throttle with no danger whatsoever.......... cheers guys, enjoy bolivia, it is truly a fascinating country. see you on the road

bob

Being an old man not too strong in the legs, I ride a Honda 125 Cargo loaded with gear for a six month trip. I hate gravel, soft sand and corrugations. And I hate rocky riverbeds that, on the map, pretend to be highways and I hate riding alongside vertical thousand foot drops. Oh, and I don't much like sandstorms. I had plenty of all that in Peru (plus great times riding from Cusco to Puna and on down the lake). Riding through Bolivia I stuck mostly with tar and crossed the frontier into Argentina at Yuquiba (blog at www.simongandolfi.com). Cochabamba was joy after the cold of the alteplano. I had breakfast on a Sunday with member's of Cochabamba's Classic Bike Club - great people - though the seats on their bikes filled me with envy; no numb butts for the Classic Bike Club! Good luck and have fun...

Hi - Having now completed the ride from Villazon to Uyuni and on to Potosi, I can now answer my own question and provide up to date info.

First of all the ride was absolutely fantastic with a different, awesome view round every bend and over every rise!

Villazon - Tupiza: Gravel and corrugations on a level road for the first 20km or so and then the road starts to climb. Some steep parts but nothing the Tenere couldn't handle. The road continues climbing and descending into valleys before arriving in Tupiza (probably 3 - 4 hours without stops - we stopped a lot for photos and took 5 hours). There is a filling station before crossing the bridge into town (fill up here as there is no more fuel until Uyuni). Hotel Mitru had good secure parking and excellent rooms, if a bit pricey at Bs150 (with bath).

Tupiza - Atocha: Similar road which continues the climb and descent pattern but getting ever higher. Again, steep sections and many hairpin bends but not much traffic so quite safe (relatively!). Finally, you descend into a valley and end up riding the last 5km into Atocha along the river bed - not much water at this time of year. Follow tracks to enter Atocha opposite the hospital (about 4 hours without stops - we took about 6 to 7). We stayed at the only Residencial in town which is on the plaza - not brilliant but Bs60 (with bath) and secure parking inside.

Atocha - Uyuni: Leave Atocha along river bed again before climbing out and upwards. The road has been "resurfaced" with new soft gravel and is quite treacherous in places for the first 10km - one tight corner is particularly slippery and needed a bit of a push! After that, the road climbs steadily until reaching the altiplano at around 13,000 feet. It is then almost completely flat until Uyuni although quite badly corrugated. Wherever there is the opportunity for buses and other traffic to go fast, that's where the corrugations are. So uphill it's not much of a problem and neither is steep downhill as traffic usually goes quite slow (dodgy brakes or what!?). There was a section about 30km before Uyuni which was literally desert with high dunes and blowing sand. But only parts of the road were covered but not too deeply - even I managed it without difficulty and as I said in my opener, I hate soft sand! About 4 hours without stops - we took around 5.

Uyuni - Potosi: Same pattern of climb and descend through stunning scenery. Some sections of really smooth dirt (even got into top gear). Again quite bad corrugations on flat and gentle downhill sections. No fuel until Potosi so fill up in Uyuni. About 5 hours without stops - we took around 7 hours.

The worst thing about this route are the corrugations which are probably worse than West Africa but without the potholes. Otherwise the surface is quite good and did not cause us any problems.

Oh - and the Salar is absolutely awesome - just ride and ride and ride.

Hope this helps.

Peter

hi peter
sorry to go off topic here but I wanted to ask you if you have any luggage/pannier tips for the xtz600 tenere with 2 up? I am on the brasil/bolivian border making my way across to Colombia on an 89 tenere - solo at the moment but picking up the girlfriend in Colombia so will need to have panniers made on the way or in Bogota (travelling with big bag strapped to seat at moment) - any tips or dos and donts from your experience would be greatly appreciated

cheers

fward

Hi - As we are 2-up on a long term trip (over a year) we are very heavily loaded - "Touratech" panniers (mounted in a rack made by Ernie at Overland Solutions), big "Ortlieb" bag with camping equipment, tank bag, panniers over tank and bag on front carrier. We also have sundry items strapped to the top of the panniers. However, your situation sounds a bit different, so biggest tip is keep it as light as possible. We reckon that if we didn't camp, we could manage with the panniers and tank bag and probably a smaller bag on the rear carrier. The front carrier is for our camera bag. This would certainly lighten our load.

Having a lighter loaded bike would have made riding much easier on the dirt roads described in my earlier post but it still wasn't that difficult.

Hope this helps.

Peter

Hey greynomads

I am in Salta, Argentina. And I wann go up to Bolivia/Peru too. I am looking for a partner/partners which would like to ride the Laguna Verde, Laguna Colorado to the Salar de Uyuni etc.

Let me know about your plans.

Thanks
Marcel
R1200GS Adv.

Marcel , I sent you an email.
We will do that road (in around 8 to 10 weeks time) but the other way round : Salar to San Pedro de Atacama.

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Maria

www.franglais-riders.com

I did the track from Villazon to Tarija a few weeks ago and like others, i can only advise it for the scenery and the bolivian country lifestyle. This was dry season and the track was more impressing than really difficult, easier than some ripio tracks in the Andes in Argentina. Just make sure to use gears to control your speed in downward slopes and stay on second gear. I saw some road trains on the track and i was happy to be on a motorcycle! I stayed on the mountain side of the road because the height was quite impressing.

There were some buses wrecks downhill and some crosses on the side of the road, meaning that in wet conditions, the road can be dangerous. I was fortunate enough not to get any puncture (no gomerias in the lost villages on the altiplano). There is a 5 bolivianos toll to use the track (0.5 Euros) and the officer will charge you 2 bolivianos to register you on his book.

Keep an eye on stray dogs, the engine noise and vibrations make them quite aggressive and they attack in group. Wear protective gear for your eyes, the dust when 4x4 pass you can be annoying.

Go for it, it s a bit of adventure but a lot of beauty and wild nature.

Hi there
I was driving the road from Uyuni to Tupiza 5 days ago.
In my eyes a bad road. You will find a lot of terrible washboard. There are some tough sand passages when wind was/is blowing...
A couple of trucks were blocked... me too :-) Some lovely people from a SUV-Group helped me to get out of the sand.
There are no signs for direction - you have to ask the local people for the way if you don't have a GPS.
Especially the last 40 kilometer before you arrive in Tupiza are fantastic because of the scenery.
Finally: You have to pay for this bad road! I paid Bolivianos 10.-- for 1 Biker and 1 Bike.