Cycling through the Lagunas in southwest Bolivia
This is a day by day description of the exceptionally beautiful Lagunas route from San Juan in Bolivia to San Pedro de Atacama in Chile.
We rode this route over eight days in early October 2016. We were on 50mm (2 inch) Schwalbe Mondial 29er tyres with a fairly light load (about 30kg for bike and gear).
At most we carried 4 days food and 2 days water. There are good water sources at least every second day and good shops near Laguna Colarada which is about 4 or 5 days from San Juan.
The riding is best in the morning as a strong SW wind tends to blow from about midday (and sometimes earlier).
Days 5 – 8 from Laguna Colorada to San Pedro de Atacama are fairly easy, and could be done in 3 days as opposed 4.
Wait, aren’t the tour jeeps terrible? No, on the whole they’re not too bad at all. Mostly they wave and give encouragement. We were also given fruit, chocolate, and offered water.
During the second half from Laguna Colorada onwards there seemed to be more of them. This is mostly because there is often only one road as opposed to 20 different tracks, meaning they’re closer to you.
There are many other excellent resources online that also cover this area: Tour.tk Southwest Bolivia PDF, Fat Cycling blogpost, Pikes route description (an alternative), many others Google will let you in on.
I’ve made the notes below as some of the above are a few years old and the state of the villages, shops and roads have changed a little bit. And of course they will continue to change!
The campsites we used are found at the end of the GPX file for each day.
Day 1: 53km, 439m up, 105m down
From San Juan to camp at 4034m, below the first pass.
Take two days water from San Juan. The first part of the day is a little sandy, but there was no more than a few hundred meters of pushing.
The climb to the campsite is fairly gradual, a bit sandy and rocky, and can be tough if the wind is blowing. It’s 95% rideable though. The camp spot has a nice stone wall windbreak, level ground and great views.
The ride took us 5:30 (riding time) into a strong SW wind.
San Juan has well stocked shops, but no restaurant. We bought tuna, pasta, pasta sauce, tomatoes, onion, pumpkin, chocolate bars, cookies, olives, canned peaches, canned mushrooms, jam, porridge oats, instant mash potato flakes, milk powder, butter, beer, wine and chips.
Day 2: 46.6km, 565m up, 469m down
From our camp at 4034m below the pass to Laguna Hedionda.
About 2.7km after you leave camp is another campsite / shelter on your right, which is another option for night one.
The ride to Laguna Cañapa is beautiful and rocky. It’s all rideable minus some very small sections where you need to push from one trail to another. The road from Laguna Cañapa to Laguna Hedionda is pretty good.
We stayed at the Ecolodge Los Flamingos on Laguna Hedionda for 50 Bolivanos per person. They had comfortable beds and sell beer and dinner. Dinner was 40 Bolivanos, and a big Huari beer was 35.
The ride took us 5:45 hours (riding time).
Day 3: 44.5km, 811m up, 345m down.
From Laguna Hedionda to a sheltered camp at 4595m, 9km past the turn off to Hotel Del Desierto.
Take two days water from Laguna Hedionda. The road in the first part of the day through the Lagunas is good. It’s all rideable and not too sandy. The road in the second half of the day is pretty sandy. The tracks we took were still 90% rideable however, but slow going into the wind.
The ride took us 7 hours(riding time) into a strong SW wind.
Day 4: 38km, 119m up, 429m down
From camp 9km past the turn off to Hotel Del Desierto to Laguna Colorada.
The first 20km of road to Arbol de Piedra is good and all rideable. The next 17km to Laguna Colorada is pretty wash boarded, and sandy in places. It’s still 95% rideable though.
The ride took us 4:30 (riding time).
Day 5: 23km, 462m up, 84m down
From Laguna Colarada to a sheltered campsite at 4691m with a beautiful view over Laguna Colarada.
Take 2 days water from Laguna Colarada. We detoured to the shop at Huayllahada refugios. This was about 10km from Laguna Colarada and was well stocked. We bought crackers, tuna, biscuits, coffee, chocolate and porridge.
The road from the shop back to the main route heading south is sandy, and required a little pushing. You’d be better off rejoining the main road from the way you came. The the rest of the day the roads were good and all rideable.
The ride took us 3:45 (riding time).
Day 6: 36km, 363m up, 646m down
From camp above Laguna Colarada to Polques on Laguna Challviri.
It’s an easy day with a good, rideable road all the way. The section coming into Polques is stunning.
The restaurant does not serve lunch or dinner, but does breakfast. Lots of jeeps have lunch however. We stayed on the floor in the restaurant and had breakfast for 15 Bolivanos.
The ride took us 3:45 (riding time).
Day 7: 35.6km, 387m up, 442m down
From Polques on Laguna Challviri to camp in abandoned buildings near Laguna blanca.
It’s another easy day with a good, rideable road all the way. The view coming down to Laguna Blanca is outstanding.
The ride took us 3:40 (riding time) into a strong W wind.
Day 8: 63km, 400m up, 2276m down
From camp in abandoned buildings near Laguna Blanca to San Pedro De Atacama.
The road is pretty good all the way. From the Bolivia / Chile border to San Pedro de Atacama the road is paved and fast.
The ride took us 4:10 (riding time) into a strong W wind.
Enjoy your first hot shower in a long time in San Pedro de Atacama.
