Seeking suggestions for routes and sites in Paraguay and eastern Bolivia. Planning a long trip through the interior or Peru, Brazil, Paraguay, Bolivia, ending Peru, slated for 2016.

For the southern Brazil segment, the current plan is to see the insane 1 mile wide falls at Parque Estadual do Turvo, then Iguazu Falls (required.) Visit Asuncion...then next stop Bonito, Brazil?

One of many questions, should I swing west and ride deep into Paraguay? I've read a little about the Chaco. Is it worth adding a western loop into the ride? How is the route from western Paraguay to south-western Brazil? I am dying to see the crystal clear waters of Bonito, BR.

The Bolivian question: what is the ride like from Santa Cruz to La Paz? I rode western Bolivia in 2013...now want to ride eastern Bolivia. Working on refining the route to avoid Oruro and go through the mountains to the east.

Any thoughts are welcome.

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Peter B
2008/09 - NJ to Costa Rica and back to NJ
2012/13 - NJ to Northern Argentina, Jamaica, Cuba and back to NJ
2023 - Peru, Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina, Chile, Bolivia...back to Peru.

Blogs: Peter's Ride

Have you thought about the La Paz, Trinidad, Santa Cruz loop? I did that last year it was excellent. I've done part of the road to Santa Cruz from via Siampata Sucre. It was paved and a blast to ride. I'm not sure how it is until Cochabama. La Paz to Oruro is pretty ugly, just a main highway with tones of buses and trucks. Lots of construction when I was there but almost finished. There is a backroute via the Yungas, I've done a lot of that if you're interested. It's much more interesting but quite testing in parts and time consuming compared to the alitplano highway route.

> There is a backroute via the Yungas, I've done a lot of that if you're interested.

Tell me, tell me! I am very interested. I wrote the North Yungas Road (I mena you pretty much have to...) as a day trip out of La Paz. I really don't know the good stuff east of La Paz.

Was this route paved?
La Paz > (Bolivia 3) > Trinidad > (Bolivia 9/10) > Santa Cruz

My plan is to ride a 250cc dirt bike (Chinese knock off of a Honda, from a good home and well prepped) and carrying as light a kit as possible for 3-4 months. I'm happy to take lots of dirt and gravel roads on this trip.

Thinking about taking this route (and completely open to suggestion!):
La Paz > Coroico > (Bolivia 25) > Cochabamba > (Bolivia 7) > Santa Cruz

From a trip in 2012-2013 I came to know that western route (Bolivia 1) all too well. Arriving from Argentina and exiting into Peru, I rode that stretch three times...

...Yacuíba, AR > Rio Entre > Tarija > Potosi > Sucre (stopped 3 nights) > Potosi > Oruro > La Pas (flew home for 3 weeks) > La Pas > Oruro > Potosi > Sucre (stopped for 7 nights) > Potosi > Uyuni (3 day truck tour) > Potosi > Oruro > La Paz > Copacabana... Yeah, that stretch from Oruro to La Paz is really brutal. In Jan/Feb 2013 the deep ruts caused by poor road construction and heavy trucks was a nightmare. And then there was the constructions... If I never ride Boliva 1 again, I will die a happy man.

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Peter B
2008/09 - NJ to Costa Rica and back to NJ
2012/13 - NJ to Northern Argentina, Jamaica, Cuba and back to NJ
2023 - Peru, Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina, Chile, Bolivia...back to Peru.

Blogs: Peter's Ride

Hi Peter,

The route between La Paz and Trinidad is mostly unpaved but so long as it's dry, I think the road is good going. From Trinidad the road is a two-lane paved road in excellent condition and that takes you all the way to Santa Cruz. If you're in that area I'd strongly recommend you do the Ruta de Chiquitos. You can find more about that with google. I did it last year with another HUBB member. We had fun!

See map below for the section I did;



Lots of switchbacks and gravel to get through. Quite hair raising in parts due to buses power sliding around blind corners. Interesting ride nonetheless, gets quite low at one point, around 1600m so much more humid. Some interesting towns to stop at along the way if you want a room. You can also see that there is another route running straight from La Paz. I imagine this would be a lot higher and far less busy, but no idea on condition of the road. Past Irupana the traffic deceases considerably. Last year a lot of road works. Quime is a nice place to visit, a bit like Cororico but without any tourists. The altiplano highway is much faster but traffic moved quickly and I struggled there on a 250 to keep abreast of it. It was quite boring. I'd take the back-road if I were you, or the Trinidad route. You can make a small detour to Rurrenabaque by this route. That's probably the place I most regret missing in the entire country.



When are you thinking of going by the way? I'll be passing through hopefully in early October/Late Sep on my way to Cusco.

Thanks for the advice on eastern Bolivia!

I call this trip, "South America: Into the heart of the Beast" and its timed to ride Brazil 319 from Porto Valho to Manuas during the dry season, June/July. The Amazon section can be at the begining or the end of a estimated 3-4 month trip. Hoping to slip away in 2016, but a new job may deplay the trip

Below find rough plan. Red dots indicate edits that have not been applied to the master trip plan.

__________________
Peter B
2008/09 - NJ to Costa Rica and back to NJ
2012/13 - NJ to Northern Argentina, Jamaica, Cuba and back to NJ
2023 - Peru, Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina, Chile, Bolivia...back to Peru.

Blogs: Peter's Ride