Paso de los Libertadores (412 km)

Mendoza to Los Andes Chile · one way, about 412 km back to the start

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Why this ride

From Mendoza it runs 412 km to Los Andes; allow about 5 h 38 of riding. It goes by way of Potrerillos, Uspallata, Puente del Inca and Cristo Redentor Pass. The highest point is about 4,050 m. Cristo Redentor Pass is subject to seasonal closure - check it is open before you set off. It crosses from Argentina into Chile - carry ID and check vignette or toll rules. It suits an unhurried touring pace.

Roadbook

1. Mendoza start

   Mendoza is a city of trees. Walk or ride any of its wide avenues and you will pass under rows of old plane trees, fed by narrow irrigation channels called acequias, a system that the indigenous Huarpe people started long before the Spanish arrived. The reason is the desert: Mendoza gets very little rain, and every green leaf here exists because snowmelt from the Andes is carried down in channels and spread across the plain. It is a city of nearly nine hundred thousand people in the greater area, set against a wall of mountains that, on a clear winter morning, includes the white shoulder of Aconcagua far to the west.

   An earthquake in 1861 flattened most of the colonial town, and the planners who rebuilt it did so with wide streets and open plazas so that people could flee into the open next time. That gives the centre a spacious, calm feeling, with Plaza Independencia as its heart, and cafes spilling onto the pavement under the shade. For a rider arriving on a loaded bike, the traffic is orderly by South American standards, though buses, taxis and drivers who ignore their indicators call for alertness.

   The ride from here is a wine ride. Malbec is the grape that made the region famous, and the vineyards of Luján de Cuyo, Maipú and the higher Uco Valley produce some of the best. The roads between the bodegas are flat and straight, lined with poplars, with the Andes on the horizon, and the mood is more of a gentle roll than a hard ride. Many bodegas offer tastings and lunch by appointment, and as a rider you will want to take that slowly, or just buy a bottle for later.

   Ruta 7 leads west toward the mountains and eventually to the Chilean border via Uspallata, a spectacular road that climbs to the Cristo Redentor tunnel region and the foot of Aconcagua. In winter, snow can close the border crossing for days.

   Fuel is plentiful in the city and along the main roads, and the choice of food is excellent, from empanadas to long beef grills. Summer is hot and dry, so start early. Autumn, with the vines turning red and gold, is the finest time of year to be here.

2. Potrerillos scenic

   Potrerillos is the point where the vineyards of Mendoza give way to the real mountains. The village sits beside a reservoir on the Mendoza River, about thirty-five kilometres from the city, and from here the road to Chile begins to climb. It is a green, irrigated place surrounded by dry brown hills, a contrast that makes the lake look very blue. In summer, locals come here to swim, sail and eat grilled meat, and the lakeside has an unpretentious holiday feel.

   The road is Ruta 7, the old international route that links Mendoza with Santiago via the Paso de los Libertadores. It follows the river upstream in a canyon of tawny rock and tunnels, and it has been a major trade route since colonial times, when mule trains carried goods across the Andes. In the nineteenth century, General San Martín used a route in this region to lead his army across the mountains to liberate Chile, an epic undertaking that shaped South American history. The railway, now mostly abandoned, once ran here, and you can still see old bridges and stations along the valley.

   For a rider, the road above Potrerillos is a real pleasure. The surface is generally good, the bends are wide and the scenery grows more dramatic with every kilometre. The air gets thinner, the colours more intense, and by the time you reach Uspallata you are in a high desert of reds, yellows and greys. Traffic includes heavy trucks heading for the border, so be careful on blind curves and when passing. The weather can change quickly, with wind and cold arriving fast above two thousand metres, and snow in winter can close the road.

   Fuel is easiest in Mendoza before you leave, and again in the village of Uspallata farther along, so carry some margin. Mendoza itself has everything, including excellent wine, and many riders start here with a hearty breakfast of medialunas and coffee. Local specialities include grilled beef, empanadas and the famous Malbec, which is wonderful in the evening but not on the road.

   Early morning is the best moment, with cool air and soft light on the rock. In summer, the heat in the lowlands builds quickly, and the mountains are the best escape.

3. Uspallata scenic

   Uspallata is a high, dry valley with a lot of history. The village sits at nearly two thousand metres in the Andes of Mendoza, in a wide basin ringed by brown, bare mountains, and it is a halfway point on the old road between Argentina and Chile. In 1817, the Army of the Andes under General José de San Martín crossed the mountains in several columns, and one of them marched through the Uspallata valley on its way to liberate Chile, a story that every schoolchild here knows.

   The road you ride today is Ruta 7, the main highway over the Paso de los Libertadores, and it is a long, impressive ride. From Mendoza, it climbs through the Potrerillos reservoir and the gorge of the Mendoza river, past rust-red cliffs and rocky ridges, then into the Uspallata valley, where the horizons widen. The road is generally good, with long straights and sweeping bends, but trucks use it heavily and the wind can be fierce. West of Uspallata the road climbs towards Puente del Inca, with its natural stone bridge and sulphurous springs, and the great mass of Aconcagua, the highest peak in the Americas at almost 7,000 metres.

   Uspallata has fuel, restaurants, a few hotels and small shops, so it is an important stop before the high mountains. The village was used as a location in the 1997 film Seven Years in Tibet, since the landscape looked like the Himalayas, and the local people take pride in the fact. The empanadas and grilled meat are good, and so is the local wine, as this is the edge of Mendoza's famous vineyards.

   The pass above is open most of the year, but snow and wind can close it, especially in winter, and the border tunnel has customs and immigration with long queues for trucks. Check conditions before you set out. In summer, the days are hot and the nights cool, and the high light is brilliant.

4. Puente del Inca scenic

   Puente del Inca is a natural stone bridge that has been coloured by a mineral spring. The bridge spans the Las Cuevas River in the high Andes, and the water, rich in sulphur and iron, has stained the rock in streaks of orange, yellow and rust. Hot springs rise beneath it, and the surface is coated with mineral crusts that look like paint. It sits at about 2,700 metres, in a valley of scree and bare mountains, with the white mass of Aconcagua, the highest peak in the Americas, somewhere beyond the ridges to the south.

   Despite the name, the bridge was not built by the Inca. It formed naturally, as ice, sediment and mineral-rich water bonded together over thousands of years. The Inca did use trails in the region, but the colonial and later periods saw far more traffic, with mule caravans and travellers crossing on their way between Argentina and Chile. In the early twentieth century a hotel and thermal baths were built beside the bridge, and the ruins of that complex remain, a ghostly cluster of buildings half swallowed by the mineral deposits. Because of safety concerns, access to the bridge itself is limited, but you can see it from nearby viewpoints.

   The road, Ruta 7, climbs to the site in broad bends along the valley, with a good surface and mountains closing in. The air is thin and cold, and the wind can be sharp. A line of small stalls sells souvenirs, mineral rocks and snacks, and a few simple cafes offer hot drinks and empanadas. The scenery is stark, and the colour of the rocks, red and ochre in the sun, is striking.

   Uspallata, to the east, is the last reliable place to refuel on the Argentine side, and you should fill up before you start the climb, because the distances and altitudes ahead use more petrol than you might expect. The road beyond Puente del Inca leads to the Cristo Redentor tunnel and the old pass, and conditions depend heavily on the weather. In winter, snow and avalanche risk can close the road, sometimes for days.

   Altitude can affect you, so take it easy and drink water. A short walk around the viewpoint is enough, and the late afternoon light makes the rocks glow.

5. Cristo Redentor Pass scenic · 3832 m

   At 3,832 metres, the old pass between Argentina and Chile is one of the high points of South American riding, in more than one sense. It is a bare saddle of rock and scree on the border, with thin air, a hard wind and a statue of Christ the Redeemer standing on a plinth, arm raised, facing both countries. The monument was erected in 1904 to celebrate a peace agreement between the two nations after a long dispute over their frontier, and the bronze figure has been a symbol of friendship ever since.

   Most traffic now goes through the long tunnel beneath the mountain, which opened in the 1980s and is a fixed link on the Mendoza to Santiago route. The old road over the top is a far smaller affair, rough and steep, and it is usually open only in the warm months and when conditions allow. It climbs from the Argentine side in a series of tight turns on gravel and broken tarmac, with steep drops and little protection. Check the status before you try it, and expect to turn back if snow or wind makes it unsafe. The Chilean side drops through a famous sequence of switchbacks, known as Los Caracoles, on a better road that connects to the Aconcagua valley.

   The history is as high as the pass. In 1817, General José de San Martín led his Army of the Andes through passes near here to attack the Spanish in Chile, an extraordinary feat of logistics through snow and cold, with thousands of men, mules and cannon. The route was part of the campaign that led to Chilean independence, and the memory of it runs through both countries.

   Uspallata on the Argentine side and Los Andes on the Chilean side are the places to fill the tank. Border formalities can take hours at the tunnel, particularly in summer and at weekends, so bring documents for you and the bike, patience and some food and water.

   The cold is brutal even in summer, and the wind can knock a bike sideways. The best conditions are a still, clear morning, when the peaks around you stand out with total clarity.

6. Los Andes Chile finish

   Los Andes sits at the foot of the real thing. The town lies in the Aconcagua valley in central Chile, at about eight hundred metres, among orchards of avocados, grapes and citrus, with the whole wall of the high Andes rising to the east. On a clear day, the snow-covered cone of Aconcagua, at 6,961 metres the highest mountain outside Asia, is visible not far beyond the border, a tilted white tooth above the lesser peaks. The town was founded in 1791 by the governor Ambrosio O'Higgins, the father of the independence hero Bernardo O'Higgins, as a stop on the route over the mountains.

   That route is the reason the town matters. The Paso de los Libertadores, also known as Cristo Redentor, is the main road crossing between Chile and Argentina, linking Santiago and Valparaíso with Mendoza, and it follows an old mule track used for centuries by traders, soldiers and travellers. In 1817 General San Martín led an army of some five thousand men over the Andes by passes near here to attack the Spanish in Chile, one of the great military marches of history. A railway, the Transandine, once ran over the pass, until floods wrecked part of it in 1984.

   The road from Los Andes climbs steadily up the valley and then reaches the famous Caracoles, a stack of switchbacks that lifts the road up a headwall with a long series of tight hairpins, passing the ski resort of Portillo before it reaches the border tunnel at about 3,200 metres. The surface is generally good, but the road is heavily used by trucks, and queues at the border can be long, sometimes hours. In winter, snow and avalanches close the pass regularly, sometimes for days, so check the status with the border authorities. The air is thin, the wind cold, and weather can change quickly.

   Los Andes has about fifty-seven thousand people, so it has all the services you need: fuel, banks, supermarkets and hotels. It is the last place to fill up and to organise the paperwork for the border, including insurance and vehicle documents. Customs on the Chilean side are at the top of the pass, so allow plenty of time.

   Pastel de choclo, a baked corn and beef pie, and a glass of local red wine make a fitting last meal in Chile.

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