10 Day Best of Bolivia: Express Highlights Guided Motorcycle Adventure Tour

Overview

Bolivia Motorcycle Tours offers you this ride that will take you off the beaten path, so you can experience some of the very best that this land of geographical extremes and cultural diversity has to offer. Your journey will be filled with amazing sights and challenging rides mixed with smooth sailing roads. Join up for a wonderful time in Bolivia!

Highlights

• Starts in Santa Cruz and ends in La Paz
• Take the "old" road up into the mountains
• Pick up the trail of the famous rebel, Ernesto “El Che” Guevara
• Stop at the "Imperial City of Potosi"
• See El Cerro Rico, a huge dome holding the richest silver mines
• Take a tour of a still-active mine
• Explore the Uyuni Salt Flats
• 9 nights accommodation with airport transfers

Itinerary

1. Day 1 - Arrival: Welcome to Bolivia

   Bolivia Motorcycle Tours will personally pick everyone up at the airport and settle them into a hotel in Santa Cruz. After dinner, the group will have an informal orientation and prep session, followed by a good night’s sleep.

2. Day 2 - "La Ruta Del Che:" Santa Cruz to La Higuera (265 kilometers / 165 miles)

   You will get off to an early start this morning, first with breakfast at the hotel, then a quick trip to Bolivia Motorcycle Tours' base just outside of the city, where the bikes are waiting for the group. You’ll spend the morning hours riding the slab on the “old” highway. Expect plenty of curves and a few grades with plenty of beautiful scenery before arriving in the town of Vallegrande. In the afternoon, you’ll leave the pavement and follow a dirt road all the way to the lonely mountain village of La Higuera, where the revolutionary “El Che” Guevara was executed in 1967. The road to La Higue

3. Day 3 - World's Largest Charango: La Higuera to Sucre (280 kilometers / 175 miles)

   After a wonderful homemade breakfast, you will visit the memorial room at the schoolhouse where “El Che” was executed. Afterwards, you will pick up where you left off yesterday, as you continue to ride the back roads, leaving the department of Santa Cruz and crossing into the department of Chuquisaca at a bridge over a huge gorge. Along the way, you will stop for lunch in the town of Villa Serrano and admire what the town boasts as the world's largest charango (a small, stringed musical instrument of Andean origin that resembles a guitar). Once you reach the highway, you’ll pick up the pace as

4. Day 4 - To the Silver City: Sucre to Potosi (160 kilometers / 100 miles)

   After breakfast at the hotel, saddle up and hit the road once again. Leaving Sucre at an elevation of 2,750 meters (9,000 feet), you’ll begin the slow climb up to the “Imperial City of Potosi,” which sits at an elevation of more than 4,000 meters (13,000 feet). The entire city is an architectural treasure listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site and sits in the shadow of El Cerro Rico, the huge dome holding the richest silver mines in the history of the New World. No visit to Potosi is complete without a visit to the silver mines, so after sampling a typical lunch, you’ll do just that. Before

5. Day 5 - Gateway to the World's Largest Salt Flats: Potosi to Uyuni (205 kilometers / 130 miles)

   Expect a lot of climbing and descending this day as you take the “new" highway all the way from Potosi to the old railroad town of Uyuni which sits on the outskirts of the world's largest salt flats. Along the way, keep your eyes open for vicuña as this is one of the areas they call home. On your last descent, you’ll get your first glimpse of the salt flats that stretch as far as the eye can see.

6. Day 6 - Ridin’ the Flats: El Salar de Uyuni (175 kilometers / 110 miles)

   On the edge of town, you'll check out the train cemetery, before making the 20-kilometer (12-mile) ride to the village of Colchani, the entrance to the salt flats. You will ride the salt flats, following the Dakar route to Isla Incahuasi, the only island in the salt lake with ancient cactus plants, some over 500 years old. There will be lots of photo ops as well as lunch at Cactus Island. The hotel for this night is located on the edge of the salt flats, so you can watch the sun set over the salt flats as you relax in the hotel's pool. Make sure to bring your appetite as the food will be gourm

7. Day 7 - Heading North: Uyuni to Oruro (300 kilometers/ 185 miles)

   Leaving Uyuni, you will head straight north. Along the way, expect to see plenty of wildlife, namely llama, alpaca, and the occasional vicuña. It’ll be a long(ish) day in the saddle but the roads will be in good shape, so you’ll make good time as you ride to the city of Oruro, the capital city of the department of Oruro.

8. Day 8 - The Great Altiplano: Oruro to La Paz (225 kilometers / 140 miles)

   Pulling out of Oruro, it'll be an easy ride, cruising along the Altiplano (High Plains) region on the tarmac to the city of La Paz, the highest capital city in the world, sitting at an altitude of more than 3,600 meters, nearly 12,000 feet. You’ll get settled into your hotel and take a tour of the city. After a farewell meal, it’ll be time to pack your bags and get a good night sleep before heading back home tomorrow.

9. Day 9 - Death Road Day Trip (190 kilometers / 120 miles)

   This day, you will ride the infamous “Death Road.” You will slip out of the city and climb to the summit pass at an elevation of nearly three miles (4,700 m / 15,500 ft.) and then plunge down the “Death Road.” You’ll make a drastic drop in elevation as the temperature rises. Along the way, you’ll try your hand at ziplining high above the valley floors. After a quick lunch in the subtropical village of Yolosa, you’ll take the “new” highway back to La Paz.

10. Day 10 - Departure Day

    For those who would appreciate the extra assistance, Bolivia Motorcycle Tours will take you from the hotel to catch your flight home at the airport. You’ll want to stretch out your sore backside before you board your flight and flip through your pics as you grin (and groan), thinking of all the fun that was had. From there, it’ll be time to start planning your next adventure!

Ride Details

Terrain

20 - 30% off-road

Bike

Rental bike (Yamaha T7, included)

Mileage

1,860 kilometers / 1,155 miles

Daily rides

160 - 300 kilometers / 100 - 185 miles

Riding gear

Not included - helmet, gloves, boots (minimum)

Meals

All included (except snacks and alcoholic drinks)

Accommodation

You will be accommodated in various places along the route. Lodging will typically be based on double occupancy. Participants who will come alone will usually need to share a room with someone else. There is also the option for single occupancy at an additional cost.

Food

All meals are included, except snacks and alcoholic drinks.

Getting There

This one-way tour begins in the subtropical lowlands of Santa Cruz and ends in the capital city of La Paz, located in Bolivia's highlands. You will start things off by taking the "old" road up into the mountains where you'll pick up the trail of the famous rebel, Ernesto “El Che” Guevara, during his last days. Then, it'll be a mix of dirt roads and smooth asphalt as you push on to the colonial cit