Hello cycling, overlanding, and general travel world,
As I write this we are sitting in Arequipa, Peru, and contemplating the coming sections of our ride from Alaska to Argentina. Our original plan was to head toward Lake Titicaca and then into Bolivia to cross the Uyuni salt flats. However, we are getting into the rainy season and it seems that much of this area can be a bit miserable this time of year at the least and impassable in its worst state.
We are now looking to head into northern Chile and stay on the drier western side of the altiplano. And by "drier," I mean one of the driest and most desolate regions on the planet. The Atacama Desert. Abandoned towns and smuggling routes are the norm. Flowing rivers are not. Many of the few areas with H20 are saline and undrinkable. It is high desert, so it can be hot in the day and sub freezing at night.
The goal is to link the end of the Ruta de las Vicunas and the Paso Sico to create a complete route from northen Chile to the classic Ruta 40 in Argentina. Or, if you are really feeling spicy, you could pick up the Ruta de los seis miles in San Pedro de Atacama.
I have spent the better part of the last day working out what I feel is a doable route that will not put us without water for much more than 130 kilometers. At the same time, there are some assumptions. I'm posting all of the information that I have compiled here in hopes that people can offer some insight if they know specific places or where we may be able to find more information to fill in the gaps. I will also post links to the GPX file and my spreadsheet as it is too wide to display well on here.
Basic Details
Highlights
Links
Please feel free to leave your comments and feedback below. Thanks in advance.
Click the button in the upper left corner of the map to see the waypoints
GPS COORDINATES |
WHAT'S THERE |
KM TO NEXT |
CLIMB (m) |
DESCENT (m) |
TOTAL KM |
SURFACE |
GAS |
GROCERY |
CNV STORE |
CAMP |
HOTEL |
RESTAURANT |
WATER |
REST AREA |
HOUSES |
NOTE |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
19.27598° S, 68.63786° W | Colchane | 27 | 90 | 40 | 0 | P | ? | x | x | x | x | x | ||||
19.46874° S, 68.64453° W | Cariquima | 11 | 200 | 12 | 27 | x | x | x | look for hostal tata international l | |||||||
19.52477° S, 68.72184° W | Ancuaque | 77 | 1450 | 1475 | 38 | x | ||||||||||
20.03922° S, 68.83003° W | Collacagua | 43 | 540 | 250 | 115 | x | x | filter from river | ||||||||
20.32877° S, 68.96035° W | Pica bail point | 61 | 560 | 1000 | 158 | Pica is 50k and 3000m of downhill. has food and water. | ||||||||||
20.70813° S, 68.69483° W | Tenencia Ujina (police station) |
6 | 26 | 0 | 219 | ? | need to verify if it is open | |||||||||
20.75148° S, 68.68363° W | aerodromo coposa | 10 | 70 | 0 | 225 | ? | near police station. no ide if open | |||||||||
20.82618° S, 68.65732° W | Hotel Coposa (hotel pabellon) |
20 | 500 | 60 | 235 | x | x | x | mine hotel. recent reviews! probably groceries in town near mine | |||||||
20.97611° S, 68.59473° W | Ujina Mine | 4 | 255 | massive area. has to be food if we can get by security. road out exists on google maps, but not osm | ||||||||||||
20.95383° S, 68.56366° W | junction | 11 | 265 | 10 | 259 | x | google maps shows a building | |||||||||
21.01491° S, 68.48307° W | yuma abandoned train station |
18 | 23 | 435 | 270 | x | ||||||||||
21.06867° S, 68.36751° W | possible river | 25 | 40 | 325 | 288 | ? | ||||||||||
21.22398° S, 68.25286° W | Ollague | 69 | 345 | 400 | 313 | x | x | x | x | x | x | |||||
21.69783° S, 68.25016° W | Capilla de Nuestra Señora |
4 | 210 | 0 | 382 | ? | ? | x | looks like there is a small settlement | |||||||
21.72536° S, 68.27585° W | Ascotán | 45 | 60 | 800 | 386 | ? | ? | x | small settlement. border patrol and police | |||||||
21.94221° S, 68.54317° W | estación San Pedro |
55 | 830 | 0 | 431 | ? | ? | x | x | reviews on google. river to filter from from here to Cabaña | ||||||
22.06456° S, 68.05959° W | Cabaña | 23 | 270 | 130 | 486 | x | looks abandoned | |||||||||
22.21987° S, 68.00999° W | Aguada Linzor spring |
2 | 0 | 509 | ? | need to verify if there is water year round | ||||||||||
22.22948° S, 68.02333° W | Linzor | 25 | 475 | 280 | 511 | ? | x | one house town | ||||||||
22.35105° S, 68.01521° W | Geysers el tatio |
22 | 120 | 180 | 536 | x | x | popular tourism area | ||||||||
22.53057° S, 68.04101° W | Abandoned work area |
1 | 0 | 0 | 558 | x | abandoned buildings | |||||||||
22.53204° S, 68.04500° W | rio putana bridge | 10 | 100 | 350 | 559 | non-potable, saline | ||||||||||
22.59795° S, 68.06421° W | Machuca | 15 | 80 | 540 | 569 | x | x | |||||||||
22.71454° S, 68.05556° W | Turipite | 7 | 0 | 330 | 584 | ? | x | one house town | ||||||||
22.76051° S, 68.07192° W | Guatín | 23 | 30 | 800 | 591 | ? | x | |||||||||
San Pedro de Atacoma |
614 | x | x | x | x | x | x | x |
Like what we're doing here? Throw us some bread. It keeps tires on the bikes and food in our bellies! Better yet, share us on social media or send a link to a friend with a message that says something like "Hey, I consider you a person of refined taste and culture and think that you would enjoy this."
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