Atacama Altiplano Route (366 km)

San Pedro de Atacama to Paso Sico · one way, about 366 km back to the start

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Why this ride

A one-way ride of 366 km, San Pedro de Atacama to the finish - roughly 5 h 02 in the saddle. The stops in between: Valle de la Luna, Lagunas Miscanti and Miniques and Salar de Talar. The highest point is about 4,600 m. It crosses from Chile into Argentina - carry ID and check vignette or toll rules. It suits an unhurried touring pace.

Roadbook

1. San Pedro de Atacama start

   San Pedro de Atacama is a small adobe town in the driest desert on Earth, and the contradiction is the attraction. It lies at 2,400 metres on the edge of the Salar de Atacama, a vast salt flat, in an oasis fed by streams from the Andes. The streets are dusty and low, the walls are the colour of dry mud, and behind the town the Licancabur volcano, nearly 5,920 metres, stands as a perfect cone on the border with Bolivia. Everything here seems to lean towards the sky.

   The Lickanantay people have lived in this oasis for thousands of years, and the town's church, built in the eighteenth century of adobe, with a roof of cardón cactus wood, is still the centre of local life. Spanish arrived in the sixteenth century, and the village was a stop on the old routes between the Andes and the coast. Today its small main streets are lined with adobe restaurants, tour offices and hostels, and the evening air is full of guitar music and the smell of wood fire.

   The surroundings are dramatic. To the south-west the Valle de la Luna, a landscape of salt-crusted ridges and sand dunes, glows orange at sunset, and further out, the El Tatio geysers steam in the cold dawn at 4,300 metres. Flamingos feed in the lagoons of the salar. The air is so dry and clear that it is one of the best places on Earth for stargazing, and the big astronomical observatories of the high desert are nearby. Nights are cold even after hot days.

   Riding here is a thrill, but it demands preparation. The road to Argentina over the Paso de Jama climbs onto the altiplano at over 4,200 metres, through some of the emptiest, most beautiful country in South America, and altitude sickness is a real risk, so take it slowly and carry water. Distances are huge, and winds blow hard in the afternoon. The nearest big town, Calama, is about a hundred kilometres away. San Pedro has a fuel station, but supplies can run short, so fill up whenever you can, and carry a spare container if you are heading out of town. Spring and autumn are the best seasons.

2. Valle de la Luna scenic

   Ten kilometres from San Pedro de Atacama, the land turns into something that looks borrowed from another planet, which is how the Valle de la Luna got its name. The valley is part of the Cordillera de la Sal, a range of ridges formed by folded salt and clay that have been squeezed, cracked and eroded by wind into fins, gullies and crusted white ridges. The ground is pale and brittle, and in places the salt crystallises on the surface in a thin frost that crackles under your boots. This is the driest desert in the world, and every detail of it feels sharpened by that fact.

   The best moment is the end of the day. Before sunset the ridges turn from beige to orange and then to pink, with the Licancabur volcano standing in the distance above the Bolivian border and the long shadows making the folds look three-dimensional. Crowds gather on the dune viewpoints for exactly this reason, so be ready to share the light, and bring a layer, because the temperature drops sharply once the sun slips behind the Domeyko range. At midday the glare is fierce and the air is bone dry, so water matters more than people think.

   The riding around San Pedro is made of long straight paved roads, gravel tracks, and a lot of space. The road to the valley is short and manageable, but the surrounding area is full of sand, corrugations and wind that can push a bike off line on exposed stretches. Keep an eye on the weather and the surface, particularly if you head off the main road, and carry plenty of fluids. Altitude here is already about 2,400 metres, so give yourself a day to adjust before heading up to the lagoons.

   San Pedro itself is a low adobe town of narrow streets, with a few thousand permanent residents and a steady flow of travellers, tour agencies and cafes. It has fuel, but it is worth filling the tank and carrying spare capacity if you plan a longer loop, because the distances out here are large and the next pump can be far. The village also has a small church dating back to the colonial era, and the Atacameño people who lived here long before the Spanish still shape its culture.

   There is an entry charge for the protected area, and rules about staying on marked routes, which protect the fragile salt formations. Respect them and the valley will look the same for the next rider.

3. Lagunas Miscanti and Miniques scenic

   Two blue lagoons lie at about 4,200 metres on the altiplano south of San Pedro de Atacama, and they look unreal. Laguna Miscanti and its smaller neighbour Laguna Miñiques sit at the foot of the volcanoes of the same names, with Cerro Miscanti rising above 5,600 metres to the west, and the water is a hard, cold blue against the tawny grass and bare rock. Flamingos feed in the shallows, vicuñas graze nearby, and the wind combs the surface into ripples. It is a protected reserve, and the staff at the entrance keep an eye on how close visitors get to the shore.

   The road to get here is the main attraction for many riders. From San Pedro you climb the long valley toward Socaire, passing through a landscape of dry riverbeds and ancient volcanic flows, and the altitude increases steadily. It is mostly paved, but the sections near the lagoons can be gravelly, and the temperature falls by many degrees as you gain height. The air is thin, and a bike can feel noticeably flat on the climbs, so treat the engine with some mercy. The wind is persistent and often strong, especially in the afternoon.

   Altitude demands respect. A lot of travellers arrive from sea level and push straight up to over four thousand metres, which is a recipe for headaches, nausea and poor judgement. Spend a couple of days in San Pedro first, drink plenty of water, and ride slowly. Sun protection matters, because at this height the ultraviolet radiation is intense even on a cold day, and a cheerful bright morning can burn your face before you notice.

   Fill the tank, carry a spare can if you can, and take food and water. Socaire, a small farming village along the route, has terraced fields watered by ancient channels and a little church worth a glance, but services are basic. In winter, snow and ice can close sections or make them treacherous, so check conditions before you leave town.

   Come in the morning, when the water is calmer and the light on the volcanoes is crisp. By afternoon the wind has a mind of its own.

4. Salar de Talar scenic

   Past the lagoons the road keeps climbing into country that has no obvious owner. The Salar de Talar lies on the high Atacama plateau, a flat white pan at well over four thousand metres, ringed by pale volcanic cones and washed with a thin skin of brine. It is part of the vast chain of salt flats that fills the basins between the Andes and the Domeyko range, each one formed when a lake dried up and left its minerals behind. The result is a landscape of extraordinary simplicity: salt, sky and the occasional cloud shadow moving across the plain.

   For a rider, this is remote riding in the real sense. The route toward Paso Sico, the high border crossing to Argentina, leads across open terrain with few buildings, very little traffic and long gravel stretches. The surface can be hard-packed and fast, then suddenly sandy or corrugated, and the wind builds through the day. The scale fools your eye, so distances that look short can take much longer than you expect. Keep your speed under control, and keep an eye on the ground for soft patches near the salt flat edges.

   The wildlife is sparse but striking. Flamingos gather in shallow lagoons on the salar margins, vicuñas pick their way across the scrub, and now and then a fox slinks off. The sky is intensely clear at night, which is why this region is home to some of the world's major observatories, and if you are camping or staying in a nearby village, the stars are dazzling beyond belief. It is also cold: night temperatures drop well below freezing, even in summer.

   Practical issues are serious here. San Pedro de Atacama, a good hundred kilometres or more away, is the only reliable place to refuel, and Socaire has very basic supplies at best. Ride with a full tank, spare fuel, food and water, a basic tool kit and a satellite messenger if you have one, and tell someone where you are going. The border crossing has its own opening hours and conditions, and weather can close it.

   Altitude sickness is a real risk above four thousand metres, so give yourself time to adapt and do not push your pace. The reward is solitude, light and a feeling of scale you rarely get elsewhere.

5. Paso Sico finish · 4092 m

   Paso Sico is a border crossing between Argentina and Chile that lies at over 4,000 metres in the middle of the Altiplano, and it is more of an idea than a place. There are no villages, no shops, only a gravel road crossing a high, dry, wind-blasted plateau, with salt flats, volcanoes and small lakes that flash silver or pink in the sun. The route runs from the Argentine province of Salta to San Pedro de Atacama, in Chile, crossing a landscape that most people never see, and the sense of emptiness is overwhelming.

   The scenery is immense. Salt pans lie in pale, flat expanses, with flamingos in shallow pools and vicuñas pacing across the dry grass. Volcanoes rise on all sides, many of them over five thousand metres, among them Socompa, on the border, whose eruption long ago left a vast landslide field. On the Chilean side, the road passes lakes such as Miscanti and Miñiques, which are a deep blue, set against reddish mountains, and the contrast is spectacular. The air is clear and thin, and the stars at night are astonishing.

   This is not a road for the casual rider. The surface is mostly gravel and sand, with washboard, rocky patches and the occasional river crossing, and the weather can change sharply, with strong wind, snow and freezing temperatures even in summer. Altitude brings its own problems: engines lose power, and riders can suffer from headaches and fatigue, so acclimatise before you go. The border post may keep restricted hours or close in bad conditions, so check ahead and carry your paperwork. You must be self-reliant.

   Fuel is the main practical issue. There are no pumps at the pass or anywhere near it, so carry enough fuel for the whole crossing and a margin, and plan your supplies in the nearest towns on each side. Calama, on the Chilean side, has large fuel stations and shops. Bring water, food and warm clothing, a repair kit, and a satellite communicator if you have one. Ride with at least one other vehicle and tell someone your route. If you do it right, you will remember the silence for years.

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