San Pedro de Atacama – Laguna Blanca – Licancabur – Laguna Colorada – Villamar – Alota – Ollague
A beautiful trip through the lagunas in southern Bolivia which is a very popular area with cycle tourists and backpackers in jeeps alike. There are a number of routes which can be taken in the Sud Lipez – the one we describe below goes round the west shore of Laguna Blanca (for access to Licancabur), goes northeast from Laguna Colorada to Villamar and Alota, then heads west from Alota to Ollague (for access to Aucanquilcha). The classic route for cyclists is to head north from Laguna Colorada, past Arbol de Piedra and from there north to Laguna Hedionda, San Juan and the Salar de Uyuni, but note that this is also the route almost all the jeeps take. Be prepared for lots of dust.
Like many of the routes described on this website, long sections are at high altitudes and the weather can be extremely cold and windy so ensure you have camping equipment and clothing of sufficient quality to cope with this. High season (May – October) sees plenty of tourist traffic on this route and in these months it is rare to go that long without seeing a jeep.
It’s best to stock up on all supplies before leaving San Pedro (or Ollague/Uyuni if coming from the north). While you can buy some very basic supplies the Bolivian villages on the way, don’t count on finding anything very exciting. The weight of food and the fact you need to carry a day or two of water at times makes for heavy bikes. Added to this, the road surfaces aren’t especially conducive to high speeds, so expect to travel slowly. Not such a bad thing when there are no end of spectacular views to enjoy.
| Total dist. | Stage dist. | Description |
| 0 km | San Pedro de Atacama (2,440m). Tourist town with all facilities, but empty ATMs on Sundays. Do immigration formalities and get water before starting your climb. | |
| 45km | Climb 2,270m to 4,665m on tarmac. Reasonable amount of traffic. No water. | |
| 45km | Hito Cajon turn-off (4,665m – GPS01). Go left. | |
| 5km | Downhill on ripio. | |
| 50km | Bolivian immigration. Water. | |
| 8km | Downhill on ripio for about 6kms to Eduardo Avaroa park office (150Bs entry) then further 2km to the refugio at Laguna Blanca. | |
| 58km | Refugio Laguna Blanca (4,350m – GPS02). Accommodation, water, very basic supplies. From the refugio we went left (clockwise) round Laguna Blanca as we wanted to climb Licancabur. The main road goes right (anti-clockwise) round the lake and is in much the better condition of the two. | |
| 5km | Sandy track to Laguna Verde. After 5kms get to a signposted junction (GPS03) – straight to Licancabur, R to Polques. | |
| DETOUR TO LICANCABUR Go straight at junction GPS03. After about 4kms there are some shelters near Laguna Verde. Possible to hide bikes here, or if it’s not windy, continue on the tough track for a few more kilometers towards the volcano. Just above where the track ends, there are some Inca ruins which provide shelter from the wind and thus make a good base camp from which you can make a day excursion to climb Licancabur. Return to the junction at GPS03 to continue to Polques. | ||
| 63km | Junction GPS03. | |
| 5km | From GPS03 junction, turn north and descend the sandy track for a kilometre to cross the stream between Lagunas Blanca and Verde. There are lots of tracks around, but head northeast and about 4kms from the stream crossing you hit the main ‘road’ again. Again it’s sandy. | |
| 68km | Rejoin the main road which has gone round the east shore of Laguna Blanca. | |
| 14km | Climb to pass. | |
| 82km | Paso del Condor (4,735m – GPS04). | |
| 19km | Descend, then flat to Polques, passing the Piedras de Dali which are to the right of the road. | |
| 101km | Polques (4,390m – GPS05). Possible to stay the night, get food, water and very basic supplies. There are also hot thermals which you will get to yourself in the evening once the jeep tours depart. | |
| 25km | Climb to pass. | |
| 126km | Paso Sol de Mañana (4,944m – GPS06). Turn R at the signposted junction that is the pass. | |
| 20km | Descend to Laguna Colorada. | |
| 146km | Junction at south end of Laguna Colorada (~4,350m). R/straight to Park Office. (L to refugios and the road to Arbol de Piedra and Laguna Hedionda). | |
| 14km | Flat road on E shore of Laguna Colorada. | |
| 160km | Park Office – you’ll be asked to show your park ticket. | |
| 25km | Climb 250m from Laguna Colorada, then descend before 15 flat kilometres to the Salar Capina mining camp. On the flat section the road splits into two and the two run parallel. We went on the left hand road. The roads rejoin again about 8kms before the mining camp. | |
| 185km | Campamento Salar Capina. Possible to stay the night, get a basic meal and water. | |
| 9km | Skirt eastern edge of Salar Capina. At a junction with a signpost (can’t recall what it said), go R (climbing) rather than sticking to the edge of the salar. After a very short climb, road descends to the edge of the Salar briefly before beginning the proper climb to the pass. | |
| 194km | Begin proper climb to the pass. | |
| 7km | Climb to pass. Initially steep but then flattens off. | |
| 201km | Paso Salar Capina – 4,660m (GPS07). | |
| 22km | Descend steeply down a pretty valley. During this descent there is a stream to wade. Go L at a junction 2km before Villamar. | |
| 223km | Villamar (4,030m – GPS08). First proper village since San Pedro de Atacama. Basic shops, 3 hospedajes. For Alota, continue on the road through town. | |
| 39km | Flat with little climbing. | |
| 262km | Start of descent to Alota. | |
| 12km | Descend to Alota. If you stick to the main road you have to wade the river before Alota. As you near Alota it may be better to ignore the desvio signs (they looked like they might stay there a while), follow the ‘closed’ road and cross the river on the foundations of a bridge. Join the main Avaroa to Uyuni road just west of Alota (and go R for the village). | |
| 274km | Villa Alota (3,830m – GPS09). Nice village with plenty of accommodation options and some slightly less basic shops. | |
| 29km | Leave town heading W on main road (go E for the main road to Uyuni). Climb to pass. The first 15kms were on a good surface as good as tarmac. | |
| 303km | Paso Caquella (4,351m – GPS10). | |
| 50km | Small ups and downs for 32kms. From ~4,150m begin 18km descent to Avaroa. | |
| 353km | Estacion Avaroa, the Bolivian border post. It has a train station, immigration facilities and some old abandoned trains, but no shop or accommodation. | |
| 5km | Head west and cross the border to Chile. All flat. Surface looked suspiciously like old tarmac on the Chilean side. | |
| 358km | Ollague (3,710m). Village with guesthouses (Hostal Atahualpa and Hostal El Cuervo offer beds for around 10000pesos per night) which offer meals, 2 free internet places, and a couple of shops in which you will find a better selection of goods than anywhere since leaving San Pedro. Still not much fresh fruit or veg around though. |
| Details | |
| Time taken – 7 days and amount climbed 5,310m | 8 hours: San Pedro – Laguna Blanca (2,300m climb). 8 hours: Laguna Blanca – Laguna Verde (for Licancabur) – Polques (600m climb). 7 hours: Polques – Laguna Colorada (N end) (740m climb). 7 hours: Laguna Colorada – Villamar (610m climb). 4 hours: Villamar – Alota (210m climb). 8 hours: Alota – Ollague (850m climb). |
| Traffic | Plenty on paved road to turn-off to Hito Cajon. Tourist jeeps (very dusty) when on main ‘road’ from Laguna Blanca to Villamar, though only at certain hours of the day. Nothing from Villamar to Alota. Some lorries from Alota to Avaroa. |
| When we cycled | Late June 2010. |
| Difficulty | 4 |
| How much we had to push on this route | None on the main route. A lot on the detour round Laguna Blanca to climb Licancabur. |
| GPS Point | Description | Lat/Long/Altitude |
| GPS01 | Hito Cajon turn-off | 22.9170 S, 67.7966 W, 4,665m. |
| GPS02 | Refugio Laguna Blanca | 22.8220 S, 67.7837 W, 4,350m. |
| GPS03 | Junction | 22.7995 S, 67.8186 W, 4,350m. |
| GPS04 | Paso del Condor | 22.6679 S, 67.7548 W, 4,735m. |
| GPS05 | Polques | 22.5358 S, 67.6498 W, 4,390m. |
| GPS06 | Paso Sol de Mañana | 22.4254 S, 67.7879 W, 4,944m. |
| GPS07 | Paso Salar Capina | 21.8970 S, 67.5422 W, 4,660m. |
| GPS08 | Villamar | 21.7561 S, 67.4813 W, 4,030m. |
| GPS09 | Villa Alota | 21.4030 S, 67.5987 W, 3,830m. |
| GPS10 | Paso Caquella | 21.4455 S, 67.8438 W, 4,351m. |
Here are a few links to good resources about this route/area:
Tour.tk have an excellent guide to Cycling South West Bolivia.
Beat’s betzgi.ch site has good route information for the road from San Pedro de Atacama to the Salar de Uyuni via Laguna Hedionda.
And here are some blog entries we like which cover trips in the region:
Carl’s South America by Bike.
Amaya and Eric’s Worldbiking.info.
The first day of Jeff Kruy’s journal entries on CGOAB.
There are many other journals from trips in this area – please let us know if there are any really good ones that you think we should include here.
I cycled this route in May 2012. The only thing I would add is that the road surface between Villamar and Alota is no longer in good condition but was very sandy. I had to push for around two kilometres on this stretch. This may be because of the particularly heavy rain in the wet season of that year (even by early May most of the Salar de Uyuni was still underwater). Stunning scenery but be prepared for some seriously chilly conditions and gale force wind!
Here’s a blog post describing this section of my journey – http://cyclingthe6.blogspot.com/2012/05/fear-and-loathing-on-altiplano.html
Steve – cycling the 6
We recently did the laguna route. There were some changes compared to the pdf from tour.tk
Therefore we decided to write some information down here. Note, that it is worthless without the pdf of tour.tk
https://www.dropbox.com/s/irv9hdeeuohnui9/lagunen%20update%20lolaundtotorollen.docx?dl=0
You can also download it at http://www.lolaundtotorollen.wordpress.com
All the best and enjoy the amazing laguna route!
I know it is not exactly the same route, but I posted some update about Ruta de las Lagunas on
http://www.tour.tk/tour-guides-south-west-bolivia.htm
We also posted some comments about climbing Licancabur :
http://pikesonhikes.blogspot.com/2010/07/volcan-licancabur-potosi-region-bolivia.html?showComment=1347327457357#c5207447143420645681
Thank you for these really good website !
I cycled from the border to San Juan through Villamar, Alota and San Agustin in early May 2013. Here are some notes:
– I took my bike on one of the transfers to the border from San Pedro de Atacama for the popular Lipez+Salar tours. The cheapest I found was 6000 CLP for the transfer (they also invited me for breakfast with them at the border). That saved me a long, tiring and kind of boring climb from San Pedro.
– At Laguna Blanca (the entrance to the national park) there is a refugio that charges 50 bs, I camped behind it for free. They had the usual soup+spaghetti dinner for 25 bs. Fill your water bottles in the evening – in the morning the water in the tap is frozen as is the water in your bottles unless you cuddle with it.
– At Polques the hot pool is amazing, especially at sunrise. Tourists flock between 7 and 9 am. The building across the road from the pool apparently serves food and can let you sleep on the floor. The building that is a bit further is an hospedaje that charges 30 bs for a bed, very nice people.
– Close to Piedras de Dali there is a parallel road that passes closer to the rocks. This is very sandy.
– Near the top of Sol de Manana there is a road that goes down to the geysir field. It is a kind of steep. A little bit further, to the left of the main road there is a hot pool with sulphur, boiling mud and all the other extras.
– Before the top of Sol de Manana, where the road turns right, there is a shortcut, which is however very bumpy and sandy. It might be better to continue on the main road.
– The refugios at Laguna Colorada are some 12 km to the west of the junction where the road splits after the descent. There is a canyon right at the junction which is perfect for camping. There were a lot of flamingos on the eastern shore of the lake and the light was perfect in the morning for pictures. At the park ranger office at the northeastern end of Laguna Colorada there is a small tienda that sells water and biscuits.
– The miners at Salar Capina were very friendly and gave me a room, meals and water for 30 bs.
– The road from Capina to Villamar is in very bad condition.
– Some 15 km after Villamar there is a small canyon good for camping. Also, further, before the drop to Alota it could be nice to camp at the rock formations.
– The river before Alota does not need to be waded, there is a “bridge” made of stones a hundred meters to the west.
– If going to San Agustin from Alota, exit Alota on the main road going west and turn right a bit after a bridge (1 km from Alota).
– The road from Alota to San Agustin is very beautiful although in bad condition. There were a few vehicles, some abandoned farms and many llamas. At the top of the climb there is a turnoff to a lagoon and condor nests, 6 km away. I did not go but it sounds like a nice place for picnic/camping.
– San Agustin is a friendly village with shops and an internet place (if they have electricity).
– From San Agustin on there is a lot of sand, but then the road gets much better.
– in San Juan you can find bread in the afternoon around 4 pm. It gets sold out quickly. The lady who bakes it does not hear very well so knock hard on her door. Ask around for where her house is. Otherwise, one of the salt hotels there, Cabanas de sal, at the western end of the village, is absolutely amazing and very affordable. And doña Silvia has a soft spot for cyclists. The dinner and breakfast are very good and reasonably priced. All cheap hospedajes in San Juan were locked when I got there around 5 pm – the owners are often working in the field, so it is best to wait a bit until 5.30-6 (sunset).
Generally I thought this route was logistically a lot easier than for example the Carretera Austral. In theory (only in theory!) one could even do this without a tent and there was no need to carry water for more than one day. There are many tour jeeps. Sometimes they pass only at certain times of the day. Between Alota and San Juan there were no tour jeeps, but some friendly locals in pickup trucks or on motorbikes passed me by. Africamericabike.com have a good description of this route as well.
There was Entel coverage only around San Agustin.
Hi,
We cycled from Chile to Uyuni (so in a northward direction) at the end of March / beginning of April 2015, and we wrote an update of the guide of tour.tk.
If you are interested, you can download it by clicking on the link below :
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8m1odylzgc8YVpZNksweXJBWTQ/view?usp=sharing
Thanks for this amazing site, and good rides !
I took a somewhat different route through the lagunas, going Villa Alota-Villamar-Quetena Chico-Laguna Colorada-Polques-Laguna Verde.
Some information about the roads connecting to Quetena Chico (distances and elevations approximate):
Villa Mar – Quetena Chico 85km
Time taken: 9 hours
Pushing: none, road condition similar to Villa Alota-Villamar
Traffic: some between Villa Mar and Soniquera.
1 car/hour between Soniquera and Quetena Chico
0km Villamar. Go south, go straight after 2 km (R leads to Salar Capina). Flat until Soniquera.
25km Soniquera. Village with 2 basic shops next to church. If you don’t need anything, take a sharp right just before descending into Soniquera. Climb steeply uphill for a kilometer.
27km at junction upon arrival at highland plateau go R. Follow road until Estacion Sol de Manana.
40-50km road descends and ascends through several quebrada’s and rock formations. Possible to get water and camp.
50km start of long steady climb.
60km top (4700m?)
70km Estacion Sol de Manana. Entry National Park. Merge with ‘other’ AndesByBike route. Go R. (L goes to San Pablo de Lipez)
85km Quetena Chico. Possible to buy luxury items such as bread and canned apricots. Hostal Condor (30 Bs) allows use of kitchen and washing of clothes.
Quetena Chico-Laguna Colorada (50km)
Time taken: 6 hours
Pushing: none, some bad sections but always cycleable
Cars: 3 in 6 hours
General advice for this route is to take water (no resupply possibilities) and leave as early as possible to avoid the in-your-face headwind you will encounter at 4800m.
0km: climb steeply uphill out of Quetena Chico. Road keeps climbing for 30k.
5km: several abandoned houses
15km: cycle through rock formations. Last possibility for shelter.
30km: top (4800m?). Road keeps going up and down for another 10k.
40km: crossing with another, clearly often used, track. Go straight and descend. Views of Laguna Colorada.
50km: puesto de control at Laguna Colorada. Merge with ABB route. Left (south) goes to Sol de Manana, Polques and Laguna Verde. Right (north) goes to Villa Mar. Straight goes to Refugios Laguna Colorada (but access is prohibited since this is a breeding ground for the flamingos)
Also note it’s no longer allowed to climb volcanoes without a ‘guia’. This costs 300 Bs. It’s not really an issue for Uturuncu, but at Licancabur the ‘guardaparque’ sometimes inspects the Inca Ruins just before darkness.
Hi all,
Thanks for route description, it helped us a lot. We took this road in early March 2018.
Some dirt roads were a bit better than expected:
– From the Laguna Blanca to Sol de Mañana Geysers: trucks are taking this road and therefore private companies are now maintaining the road. It was quite descent dirt road when we took it, freshly rebuilt.
– A small portion just before exiting the national park is maintained by the mining company located in the Campamento Salar Capina
Between Villamar and Alota there are two very nice geological formations which are worth seeing:
– La Valle de Rocas, right outside Villamar
– The Laguna negra, a bit after
You can ask any tourist 4×4 for guidance, they all go there. Here is the description of the route we took to visit these places: https://1tipi2bicycl.es/en/road-book/the-valle-de-rocas-and-the-laguna-negra/
If you want more information (GPS tracks, elevations, photos, day by day resume) got to our website: from the first day (https://1tipi2bicycl.es/en/road-book/bye-bye-chile-almost/) to the last one (https://1tipi2bicycl.es/en/road-book/the-valle-de-rocas-and-the-laguna-negra/).
I cycled the Lagunas Route in September 2019. I was alone. I started in San Juan, south of Salar de Uyuni. I crossed Salar de Chiguana to the road leading to Lagunas Cañapa, Hedionda and Honda. I crossed the Siloli Desert to Laguna Colorada. From there I joined the Pikes’ route (going S instead of N) and cycled to San Pedro de Atacama. I have included detailed daily logs and gpx tracks in my CrazyGuy blog http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/SAm19tim. For Pros and Cons, see http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/page/?page_id=592439
Many thanks, Neil and Harriet, for all the trouble you have taken to create this website. It has helped me both in Peru and Bolivia. I purchased your Huascaran guide book, which was well done and useful.