La Paz – Chacaltaya Ski Station – La Paz
An amazing day of cycling from La Paz up to the old ski station at Chacaltaya. At 5,260m this may be the highest place a standard car can reach in the Americas. The views from the ski station are stunning – Huayna Potosi, Mururata and Illimani in the Cordillera Real, La Paz and El Alto to the south, and if you look hard enough a tiny bit of Lake Titicaca can be seen to the west. If you still have the energy when you make it to the ski station you can climb up on a path the 100m or so to the top of Cerro Chacaltaya. For the well acclimatized, this is a long, but not overly strenuous day trip on unloaded bikes.
| Total dist. | Stage dist. | Description |
| 0km | La Paz, Plaza Murillo (3,700m). | |
| 12.4km | Go through streets of La Paz to the autopista. Climb to toll booth at top of autopista. Loads of traffic, but a good 3m-wide hard shoulder to cycle in. | |
| 12.4km | Toll booth at top of autopista (4,090m – GPS01). | |
| 0.3km | Continue on main road to junction. | |
| 12.7km | Turn R at junction onto main 3-lane highway to Lago Titicaca. | |
| 1.3km | Continue on 3-lane highway to first major turn-off to the R. | |
| 14km | Junction to Zongo/Chacaltaya ski station (GPS02). Turn R, heading for Huayna Potosi in the distance. Ask for Zongo or the ski station if you need to ask a local for directions. | |
| 6km | From junction with 3-lane highway continue heading straight for Huayna Potosi. Go along street filled with market stalls (when we were there), and straight over at 2 roundabouts. 3.5km (17.5km total) from the junction at GPS02 the ripio begins (GPS03). After a further 2.5km arrive at a signposted junction. Surface bumpy and rocky. | |
| 20.0km | Signposted junction (GPS04). Go straight on to Zongo. | |
| 7.9km | Climb to another junction. Road is still quite bumpy and rocky. | |
| 27.9km | Junction (4,600m – GPS05). Go R and climb to Chacaltaya (L descends and goes to Zongo). | |
| 10.0km | Road improves and climbs gently for 4.7kms to first zigzag. Then climb gets steeper as you pedal 5.3kms up zigzags to the ski station. Road is often rocky but it’s all rideable. | |
| 37.9km | Chacaltaya ski station (5,260m – GPS06). Great views of El Alto and the Cordillera Real. | |
| 37.9km | Descend to La Paz by the same route. To join the autopista going in the direction of La Paz you need to cross the bridge over the autopista and loop round. | |
| 75.8km | La Paz. |
| Details | |
| Time taken – 1 day and amount climbed 1,760m |
3 hours: La Paz to Zongo/Chacaltaya jn (GPS05). 2 hours: Junction to Chacaltaya ski station. 3 hours: Chacaltaya ski station to La Paz. |
| Traffic | Loads until you hit the ripio, then a few tourist vehicles per hour up to Chacaltaya. |
| When we cycled | Early August 2010. |
| Difficulty | 3 |
| How much we had to push on this route | Not at all |
| GPS Point | Description | Lat/Long/Altitude |
| GPS01 | Top of autopista | 16.5010 S, 68.1629 W, 4,090m. |
| GPS02 | Junction to Zongo/Chacaltaya ski station | 16.4995 S, 68.1747 W, 4,090m. |
| GPS03 | Ripio begins | 16.4707 S, 68.1681 W, 4,190m. |
| GPS04 | Junction (go straight) | 16.4349 S, 68.1615 W, 4,310m. |
| GPS05 | Junction (R to Chacaltaya) | 16.3965 S, 68.1731 W, 4,600m. |
| GPS06 | Chacaltaya ski station | 16.3539 S, 68.1318 W, 5,260m. |
hey up,
not an update, just wanted to say thanks really. I came across your blog i dont know when, anyway, i remember seeing the picture of the road for chacaltaya, and i was like i have got to ride this! loved the road, so thanks for sharing!
also, i looked for the alfonso agarte road thing, but ended up on avenida chacaltaya which led me there, not sure if you made a mistake here, or you just went another way…
anyway keep adventuring, im not as hard core as you guys, with all the off roading and high passes, but now and again it just has to be done…
cheers
jason
Hi Jason,
Glad you enjoyed the road – it was definitely a Bolivian highlight for us!
I’m pretty sure we did go via the road I’ve marked on the Google Map, though I can’t guarantee that the name Av. Alfonso Agarte, as it’s called on GM, is correct. I guess Av. Chacaltaya must be an alternative (though I can’t see where it is on GM).
Thanks for the update, and yep, those high roads just have to be cycled!
cheers
Neil