Camar is a very small village on the high edge of the Atacama, at around two and a half thousand metres, south of the great Salar de Atacama and a long way from anywhere that sells fuel. Its Segment Camar Sur belongs to the Qhapaq Ñan, the road network that the Inca state laid across the Andes in the fifteenth century, and in this part of northern Chile, the road ran along the flanks of the volcanic range, linking oases and passes between the high plateau and the coast. UNESCO lists the system as a whole, a web that stretched some thirty thousand kilometres.
The Incas did not so much invent these paths as bind together older ones. Atacameño herders had led llama caravans along these ways for centuries, carrying salt, wool, dried meat and maize between the desert settlements and the highlands, and the Incas turned the tracks into an administered system with relay stations and storehouses, where officials and messengers could rest. A messenger could pass news along the whole empire in a few days by running in relays, handing the message from one runner to the next. In the desert, evidence of the road is often subtle: a line of cleared stones, a low retaining wall, a cairn at a pass.
For a rider, the Atacama is not about corners. Main roads are long, straight and almost empty, climbing and dropping in great steps between basins, and the colour of the land changes with the hour, from pale ochre to deep red. Side tracks run over sand, gravel and salt crust, and wind builds in the afternoon, so go early. The air is thin, and a loaded bike loses power at this height, so do not be surprised when it feels flat. Nights are cold, even in summer, often below freezing, and the stars are stunning.
San Pedro de Atacama is the nearest place with fuel, food and beds, and it is a long way off, so fill the tank there and carry a spare can. Bring plenty of water, a warm layer, a puncture kit and offline maps, and tell someone your plan. Spring and autumn bring stable weather, while summer afternoons can bring storms in the high country that send water down dry gullies with surprising speed.