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.
From Tiahuanaco it runs 202 km to Tiahuanaco; allow about 3 h 43 of riding. On the way it passes Segment Desaguadero Titijoni, Segment Arbolera-Parcco Chua Chua, Segment Pomata-Chaca Chaca and back through Segment Arbolera-Parcco Chua Chua. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 4,100 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available. It crosses from Bolivia into Peru - carry ID and check the toll rules.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Segment Tiwanacu
Tiwanaku stands on the Altiplano of Bolivia, at about 3,850 metres, in a bare, cold plain ringed by far mountains. The road you take there passes through the little town of Tiahuanaco, where the colonial church is built partly of stone taken from the ancient ruins, and where the central square holds some of the carved monoliths. This segment is part of the Qhapaq Nan, the Inca road system, which linked the empire from Colombia to Chile and was inscribed by UNESCO in 2014.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Segment Tiwanacu is where the day begins. Next is Segment Desaguadero Titijoni.
2. Segment Desaguadero Titijoni
At around 3,800 metres above sea level the air on the Altiplano is thin enough to make lacing your boots feel like exercise, and Desaguadero is a place where you should take everything at half speed. The town sits on the border between Peru and Bolivia at the southern end of Lake Titicaca, where the Desaguadero river drains the lake toward the south. The segment of old road near Titijoni is part of the Qhapaq Ñan, the Inca road network listed by UNESCO in 2014, which ran along the shores of Titicaca on its way between Cusco and the southern provinces.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Segment Desaguadero Titijoni comes up about 43 km into the recorded legs. Next is Segment Arbolera-Parcco Chua Chua.
3. Segment Arbolera-Parcco Chua Chua
At close to four thousand metres, on the Peruvian shore of Lake Titicaca, the air is thin enough that walking briskly feels like work and the light is so sharp it seems to sharpen the edges of everything. This stretch belongs to the Qhapaq Ñan, the great Andean road network that the Inca built and extended across their empire, and here it runs through Aymara farming country between the towns of Yunguyo and Desaguadero, both about twenty kilometres away, with the Bolivian border a short distance east.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 71 km into the recorded legs you reach Segment Arbolera-Parcco Chua Chua. Next is Segment Pomata-Chaca Chaca.
4. Segment Pomata-Chaca Chaca
On the southern shore of Lake Titicaca, between Juli and the Bolivian border, the Inca road ran along the edge of the lake at nearly four thousand metres, linking Cusco with the lands of Collasuyu, the southern quarter of the empire. The Pomata section of the Qhapaq Ñan, part of the World Heritage listing of the Inca road system, follows the shore through Aymara villages, terraced hills and fields of potatoes, quinoa and broad beans, with the immense blue lake always beside you. The light at this altitude is intense, the air thin and dry, and the lake changes colour with every passing cloud.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Segment Tiwanacu closes the day.
Leg by leg
Segment Tiwanacu to Segment Desaguadero Titijoni
Segment Tiwanacu → Segment Desaguadero Titijoni is 43 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Segment Desaguadero Titijoni to Segment Arbolera-Parcco Chua Chua
Segment Desaguadero Titijoni → Segment Arbolera-Parcco Chua Chua is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Segment Arbolera-Parcco Chua Chua to Segment Pomata-Chaca Chaca
Segment Arbolera-Parcco Chua Chua → Segment Pomata-Chaca Chaca is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Segment Pomata-Chaca Chaca to back through Segment Arbolera-Parcco Chua Chua
Segment Pomata-Chaca Chaca → back through Segment Arbolera-Parcco Chua Chua is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Segment Arbolera-Parcco Chua Chua to back through Segment Desaguadero Titijoni
back through Segment Arbolera-Parcco Chua Chua → back through Segment Desaguadero Titijoni is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Segment Desaguadero Titijoni to Segment Tiwanacu
back through Segment Desaguadero Titijoni → Segment Tiwanacu is 43 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.