I just rode from Uyuni to San Pedro de Atacama, it was a hell of a ride! I did it solo on my DR200, after leaving the road that goes to Calama I really began to worry that something might happen.

There are other 4WD's but if you had a mechanical failure I doubt they would help you, perhaps for a massive fee, who knows.

Anyway, if you want some route info (all the maps I had were useless out there) you can check my Spot history, just click here and change 'history' to 'all' on the left hand column and click the orange dots to get the GPS co-ords.

On a side-note, the road between Uyuni and Tupiza was fine for me and I found it to be quite a pleasant ride, albeit a dust storm hit me as I was entering Uyuni.

That should learn you that you mostly must check things out yourself, even if you can trust others judgement, things change, one week the road is good [because that road grater machine had just straightened it for you the day before] and the next week [after a nice rainy day] the road is full off gullies and ruts. Mostly its roads, and roads are there to be driven on. It's not Dakar crossing dunes where there are no roads... Go and explore, be surprised and don't be scared of what others will tell you. But then you know this otherwise you would have never driven your bike outside of Europe... :-)

Adventurous greetings,
Coen

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- On the road since 2003 in a vintage Land Cruiser

Hi, great you made it to the Salar, it doesn´t matter whether you arrived by bus, on foot, by bycicle, parachute, whatever, it is a fantastic place and I´m glad you didn´t miss it, I don´t think there is anything quite like it anywhere else in the world. What you say about conflicting reports is one of the attractions of travelling in Bolivia, I too couldn´t get two reports that would match, adds a bit to the adventure. Good luck on the rest of your trip and keep us posted, abrazos,

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Fernando Costa
Ilhabela, SP BRAZIL

Merry christmas all!

Does someone know if the border point at Ollague is fully equipped in terms of aduana for the bike? I have a vague recollection of reading somewhere that it is necessary to get the bike stamped out of the country by the police in Uyuni, but I can't find that info anywhere. Anyone able to fill me in please?

Also, a couple of people in this thread have mentioned going via Alota between Ollague and Uyuni (i.e. not via Rio Grande). Any particular reason for this? Is it road quality or just for the views?

Finally, the only remotely useful thing I can add to this thread is that the unsealed sections between Villazon - Tupiza - Potosi are manageable 2up on a big bike. Several river crossings and some washboard in places, but perfectly manageable (even fun in places!). 4 days ago the deepest river crossing was about 30 - 40 cms, and it's been pretty dry since.

If anyones's in Sucre, we're headed to cafe bar Amsterdam for Christmas lunch (426 Bolivar street)

[quote=garmei;316906]Merry christmas all!

Does someone know if the border point at Ollague is fully equipped in terms of aduana for the bike? I have a vague recollection of reading somewhere that it is necessary to get the bike stamped out of the country by the police in Uyuni, but I can't find that info anywhere. Anyone able to fill me in please?

I was there in April and left Bolivia at the Abaroa/Ollague border; no problem at all at both Bolivian and Chilean Immigration/Aduana offices, it all went relatively quick.

Also, a couple of people in this thread have mentioned going via Alota between Ollague and Uyuni (i.e. not via Rio Grande). Any particular reason for this? Is it road quality or just for the views?

I´m probably one who have said that. When we left Uyuni towards Abaroa/Ollague and then Calama, a guide we met in Uyuni(very knowledgeable) told us that the road via Rio Grande is full of trucks whereas via Allota is totally remote and very beautiful. We followed his advice and did not regret it at all. He also mentioned a new road that goes from Allota to Abaroa that is not shown in any of the maps that I´ve seen. You can clearly see the road (top lefthand corner) at:

http://fernandocosta.smugmug.com/Travel/Road-from-Uyuni-Bolivia-to/12194215_JfeUc#868001069_tmiCy-A-LB

Have a safe trip and let us know how it went. Once in Chile be prepared to see some very beautiful scenery right after Ollague, particularly the salares de Ascotan and another one that I forgot the name). At the border you will be riding around the omnipresent and magnificent Ollague volcano, wow, I´m missing that already.

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Fernando Costa
Ilhabela, SP BRAZIL

Hi all.
We went on to the Salar on the 29th December. There was about 500m of water at the entrance (40cm deep at most) and then it was mostly dry on the salar with a few mushy bits. I think it has been dry since them, so things may have improved. We only went in a 100km, so I dont know what conditions are like towards the western end.

The road to Colachi is horrible, but the locals have made tracks to the side of the road to avoid the worst of the washboard and these came in quite useful.

As far as the road to Ollague goes; we ended up going via Alota simply because we couldnt see any other roads! They may be there, but we missed them. From Alota to Ollague the road was in bad shape with very long sections of very deep windblown sand. We almost fell on countless occasions and have one small off. It took us 7 hours to go from Uyuni to Ollague!!! Please take care.

The border is very quick and easy. There is no petrol on the Chillian side until Calama. We were very fortunate to find ourselves in a hostal in Ollague with a very enterprising owner who keeps a 100litres or so of fuel ready to sell to stranded overlanders! The price is inflated, but fair. The hostal is on the northern side of town, adjacent to the football pitch and down the road from the rural post office. I did see a sign for fuel in a village 95km west of Uyuni, but didnt fill up there because I assumed there would be fuel in Ollague (sorry, cant remember the name of this village). In total, the route we took from Uyuni to Ollague was 250km and it's a further 210 km to Calama.

Hope this is of use.

Oh yes, by the way, there is a llavadero (hosepipe and water!) next to the petrol station you pass on the way towards Colachi. Despite my best efforts to clean my bike a fork seal has gone. Finally, take some WD40 with you - you cant buy it in Uyuni.

hi all.

Im on a dr650 travelling with friends in a car at the moment. Currently in el bolson in argentina. Plan to head north to bolivia (Uyni) over the next 2 weeks. I leave my friends there and go to uyni alone and through bolivia. Meeting them again in peru. Would love to team up with someone! If anyone is interested?

Dates can be flexible..

Andrew

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http://www.andrewmclagan.com

Sorry to bring up an old post, but I hope to share my story so others don't find themselves in the same situation!

Not having maps for Bolivia, I used my phone and both Nokia Maps and a Google Maps type app stated that the road from Tupiza to Uyuni was on the south side of the Rio Tupiza. It is incorrect - we followed the river, train line etc for 60km, camped and gave up. You can see where the old road was, and it's now no good - many landslides cover it.

Leaving from Tupiza, head north on the bitumen until the military checkpoint, and then there's a sign letting you know the turn is on the left.

As of today, the road was pretty average (bit of sand and lots of corrugations) on the Uyuni side. The other side is fine. For what it's worth, we didn't have any trouble on loaded CG125s - anything can do it with patience (that said, we did it over 2 days, and stayed in Atocha).