Exactly four months ago I rode my motorcycle south from Ecuador and started a trip without any specific route or schedule. Through Peru, Bolivia, Chile and now in Ushuaia Argentina, I am probably near the halfway point of the trip. It isn’t possible to be any further from Ecuador and still be in South America. It has been a good four months. 

Traveling by motorcycle enables access to places that planes and tour buses pass by. From the mountains of Peru, through the flat barren landscapes of coastal Peru and Argentina, and the high lakes of Bolivia speckled with flamingos.  The incredible traffic on the roads of Lima and La Paz. The coastlines of Paracas Peru and northern Chile. The vast expanse of the Atacama Desert, parts of which have not seen rain in over 400 years. These are the things that most of the world’s tourists will never see either because they are not aware of them or they are flying over them to get to Antarctica or Machu Picchu.

With the exceptions of Ushuaia/Antarctica (Argentina), Machu Picchu (Peru), Patagonia (Argentina/Chile) and the Galapagos Islands (Ecuador), there are few destinations on the entire South American continent that rise to the top of most people’s bucket lists. In fact, you won’t find a single South American city or country on any list of the top 10 tourist destinations in the world. And surprisingly, even if you only look at tourism within the Americas (North, Central, and South), Ecuador, Peru, and Chile are not listed in the top 10 (1). 

Here is a quick recap of the past 4 months and my impressions of the highlights.

Peru

The mountains of northern Peru are awesome and can be experienced at a fraction of the cost of their better known Patagonian cousins to the south.

To travel through these mountains you have to be willing to rough it just a bit. The roads can be bad. If you are driving, take your time. If you are traveling by bus or some other type of tour, be patient. You won’t be speeding down the roads very often. Most roads in the mountains are dirt and some are very bad dirt. The best way to see this little corner of South America is by traveling routes 107 and 110 between Carhuaz and Catac. Route 106 is perhaps even more stunning, but may be impassable during the rainy season and you will not find any buses going here. 

Living and traveling here is cheap. Hostels and motels generally run between $8 and $20 USD. Do some research before you travel. In some places the beds are not the best and sometimes there is no hot water. The food is basic and lacks variety. Sometimes you have to put up with these things to experience parts of the world that are more off the beaten track. This area has been the highlight of the trip so far.

A TIP ABOUT FOOD IN NORTHERN PERU: Restaurant food in northern Peru (except possibly in Lima) is very much lacking in fruits and vegetables. However, the local markets have just about anything you can imagine and are very cheap. Visit the markets (in Spanish – mercado) to supplement your restaurant diet.

In my opinion, the northern coast of Peru down to Lima is nothing special. However, south of Lima  and the road to Cusco is absolutely worth driving. The beautiful coastline of Paracas, the oasis of Huacachina, the sights of Nazca, and the drive from Nazca up route 30A and 35 to Abancay and Cusco would make a great Peruvian vacation all on their own. If you decide to book a flight over the Nazca Lines, you might consider getting some meds for motion sickness even if this has never been an issue for you in the past. 

Cusco/Machu Picchu/Sacred Valley – Well worth the price and time. If you have transportation, I suggest you spend only a couple of days in Cusco and consider spending more time staying in one of the small towns in the Sacred Valley (e.g. Urubamba). Be aware that Cusco is over 11,000ft/3400m high and if you have issues with elevation, take the necessary precautions. The Rainbow Mountain (to the south of Cusco) is amazing in good weather and a good test of your ability to hike at high elevation (over 5000m/16000 ft). Many tours are available here from Cusco, but if you have your own transportation, make sure you fully enjoy the drive up to the mountains which is spectacular.

Machu Picchu is of course the crown jewel of this area, but there are MANY other things worth seeing throughout the Sacred Valley. It is not necessary to have a guide when you visit Machu Picchu, but in my opinion it is worth the extra cost. You can hire guides in Cusco before you go or you can get one at the park entrance. 

TIP: You must take a train from Ollantaytambo to get to Machu Picchu (about 90 minutes) and many people sleep on the train. DO NOT SLEEP. The scenery on the way is a must see.

Lake Titicaca (Peruvian side)- Nice, and worth a couple of days, but IMHO, not a highlight of the trip so far. The culture of the people on the floating islands in the Lake is interesting, but has become so touristy that I have to wonder how much of the original culture is actually left. On any day the boat that takes you to the islands will be in the company of 50+ other boats all arriving at the same time. Which of the islands your boat visits is scheduled ahead of time by the governing council of the islands.

Bolivia

La Paz was ok and worth a couple days of exploration, but not a place you want to drive through. Ride the Teleferico for a great view of the city, especially spectacular at sunset. It is a much better option than driving. If you must drive, try to enter and exit the city early in the morning and preferably on a Sunday. Be aware, finding gas may be difficult in Bolivia as many stations are unwilling to sell to non-Bolivians and if they do, the price will be at least twice the posted amount (this is a government regulation because the price of gas is government subsidized for Bolivians).

Uyuni was pretty amazing and worth a couple of days. You won’t be impressed by the town itself, but that is not why you go there. I suggest you use a guide for the salt flats. The best option (in my opinion) is an all day tour that will start in the late morning and end about 10PM after seeing the sunset over the salt flats and a couple hours of stargazing. Of course the weather could interfere with both of those activities.

Sucre was a nice town and the highlight was the dinosaur footprints (the largest known occurrence in the world). The site, just outside of the city and behind a cement factory, was very well done while being both informative and interesting. I was skeptical about going here, but was glad I did. Make sure you get there in the morning for the noon tour. The price of entry was about $10 and included the tour which gives you a close up view of the footprints and a great explanation of how they were formed and why they are now visible on a vertical wall.

 If you are driving, choose your roads carefully. The roads throughout Bolivia are not good.  Be aware that if you are a US citizen, you must provide lots of documents in order to get a visa, including recent bank statements. Then you pay $160 for the visa which is free for just about everyone else. 

Chile

San Pedro de Atacama (Chile) – There are some really nice day trips from this town (I highly recommend you see the geysers and see them at sunrise if possible). The town itself is nothing special, crammed with tourists, and expensive. If you have the money, the Terrantai Hotel is one of the best and yet not the most expensive.

Santiago – A nice city and particularly nice in February since a large percentage of the population leaves and goes on vacation elsewhere. Unless you are into cities, Santiago is not a spectacular tourist destination.

The drive from Santiago, over the mountains to Mendoza Argentina, is awesome and worth doing in your own transportation. I am told it is possible to rent a car in Santiago and drive, but make sure you get all the necessary documents from the rental company for international travel. The road is good and you can make the drive in 1 day.

Argentina 

Mendoza to Zapala – A gorgeous ride through farmland and Argentinian desert. The Andes are visible to the west most of the most of the time. HOWEVER…about 75km of the road is dirt and very difficult on a motorcycle. Should be fine in a car.

Zapala, Neuquen, Rio Gallegos – It was great to see the ocean after days of driving the barren lands of central Argentina. Seeing tens of thousands of Guanaca is interesting, but this was perhaps the most boring ride of all time. It is just miles and miles of flat and empty landscapes. When you stop at a gas station to relieve the tedium, you know there are better places to ride. There is a reason that most people heading for Ushuaia choose to fly from Buenos Aires. The wind in this area (and further south) can be brutal on a motorcycle. It was 50+ MPH (80KmH) at times.

Tierra del Fuego – South of Río Gallegos you take a 30 minute ferry ride to Tierra del Fuego. Once on the island of Tierra del Fuego, the road from the ferry dock to Rio Grande is nothing special. Just more of the barren and desolate landscape that is must of southeastern Argentina. But, as you approach Tolhuin, everything changes. One minute it is barren and the next you enter the forest and mountains of the southern half of Tierra del Fuego. The 100 kilometers from Tolhuin to Ushuaia is what most people imagine Patagonia to be. Towering, snow covered mountains and you ride through them to arrive at Ushuaia.

Ushuaia – Ushuaia lies on the shores of the Beagle Channel and is surrounded by mountains. Hiking/trekking opportunities abound, but most people come here because this is the gateway to Antarctica. Cruise boats depart just about every afternoon from November to March. 

Warning – don’t plan on coming here and then buying the clothes or equipment you might need for camping, cruising or hiking. It is available, but the prices are exorbitant. In most cases, clothing, camping gear, shoes, and cameras will cost you much more than in the USA or Europe. Hotels can cost as much as $450 USD/night, but I rented a loft from a local woman and paid $35/night. You won’t need Argentinian pesos. Most people don’t make purchases with cash because the largest peso note is 1000 pesos (worth about $1 USD). Use credit/debit cards or USD for almost everything. I use pesos only for buying gas because for some reason it is much faster than using a card at the gas stations. 

In the summer (December – February) the temperatures are cool. By March you can expect cold and occasional snow. It has snowed a little bit every morning for the past week. The afternoon it is a little warmer and people seem to schedule their outdoor activities to start about noon.

So, four months down and some unknown number of months to go. As with any long trip, and most shorter trips, not every day is great. There have been some rough times. I have laid my motorcycle down (that is biker code for crashing) multiple times on the roads of Bolivia. In Peru, just north of Lima, I have ridden for hours through fog so thick that riding was hazardous. There were days on end of the most boring landscapes this side of the moon. I have pulled over and huddled next to abandoned buildings just to get out of the wind while waiting for my fingers to warm up enough that I could feel them. 

On the flip side, I have ridden some of the most spectacular mountain roads that were seemingly made for motorcycle riders. I have walked warm ocean beaches without another human in sight and viewed towering snow covered mountains equally devoid of people. I have ridden through the driest place and visited the largest telescopes on the planet. I have seen condors flying over Colca Canyon. I have had some of the best hot chocolate ever.  I have ridden through herds of alpaca and llamas numbering in the thousands. I have seen the Milky Way while standing in the middle of seemingly endless salt flats near Uyuni. And later today I will leave Ushuaia by ship, destination Antarctica. Not a bad 4 months.

1. World Tourism Rankings – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Tourism_rankings