Why this ride
279 km from Susques to San Pedro de Atacama, about 3 h 34 of riding. The highest point is about 4,200 m. It crosses from Argentina into Chile - carry ID and check the toll rules. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Paso de Jama: Susques to San Pedro de Atacama
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 279 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 34
- Journey
- One way; return travel is separate
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Scenic road chapters
Susques → Paso de Jama
This part of the ride is 117 km of Susques → Paso de Jama.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 117 km
Paso de Jama → San Pedro de Atacama
319 km that neither climbs nor drops much. The road settles into the ground rather than fighting it. This is where a day makes up time without anyone trying. Third and fourth, and very little else.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 162 km
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Susques
Susques is a small high-altitude town on the road to Chile, perched on the Argentine puna at about 3,600 metres, where the air is thin, the sky is deep blue and the horizon is made of bare rust-coloured hills. The Ruta 52 climbs here from Jujuy through the Quebrada de Purmamarca, over the Cuesta de Lipán, one of the highest and most dramatic mountain roads in Argentina, then crosses the great white Salinas Grandes, the salt flats, before arriving in Susques. The town marks the beginning of the real altiplano.
Read the complete Susques write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Susques is where the day begins. Next is Paso de Jama.
2. Paso de Jama
Nothing prepares you for the quiet at Paso de Jama. At about 4,200 metres, the border between Argentina and Chile lies on the Altiplano, a huge, high plateau of tawny grass, salt flats and shallow lakes, ringed by volcanoes. The sky is a hard, deep blue, the air is thin and dry, and the only sounds are the wind and the occasional passing truck. Flamingos feed in the pale lagoons, and vicuñas, the delicate wild cousins of the llama, graze beside the road.
Read the complete Paso de Jama write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Paso de Jama comes up about 117 km into the recorded legs. Nothing on this route is higher. Next is San Pedro de Atacama, mostly downhill.
3. San Pedro de Atacama
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.
Read the complete Near San Pedro de Atacama write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 279 km.
Leg by leg
Susques to Paso de Jama
Susques → Paso de Jama is 117 km. This is the part worth slowing down for - look through the bends and use the pull-offs.
Paso de Jama to San Pedro de Atacama
Paso de Jama → San Pedro de Atacama is 162 km. Brakes and eyes forward; the views are behind the corners, not in them.
More motorcycle rides nearby
- Atacama Altiplano Route (366 km) · 293 km
- Paso de Jama (771 km) · 478 km
- San Pedro to Miscanti Lagoons · 152 km