Bikepacking Chile/Bolivia 2022

Lagunas Route Nov/Dec 2022

The Lagunas route has been on my wish list for a long time. This year this bikepacking adventure became a reality. After leaving the city of Arica, Chile, I was immediately met with a vast, desolate landscape and an unforgivingly strong wind. The gravel roads were a mixture of sand, rock and clay, with some smal stretches of pavement here and there. The nights were sometimes quite cold and I was grateful to have my warm sleeping bag with me. I often camped on the side of the road, watching the stars in the night and listening to the absolute silence of  the desert.  As I made my way through the Puna, I was constantly reminded of how powerful nature can be.  The views were stunning and make the effort absolute worth it. The first few days of the trip were tough because my training condition was not optimal and I was quickly out of breath and then there was the thin aire and the roads  with deep and loose sand.  To ensure that you have an enjoyable and safe experience, you should make sure to pack plenty of warm clothing, and a sleeping bag that is rated for cold temperatures. The coldest night was about -10 ℃ in the Parque nacional Lauca. Depending on the route, I took up to 8 days of food and 9 liters of water with me. It is also recommended to bring a detailed map of the route, as well as information about local services and water that may be available along the way.  I used for my Android Smartphone the Locus Maps App with Openandromap   and for the Garmin Etrex 30x GPS Opentopomap and planed the route with Garmins Basecamp. Bikepacking through the Puna and Atacama region has been an amazing experience for me and I feel privileged to have witnessed its beauty. This is a place I will never forget.

Altough i said to myself that it was the last time to tour in a desert region like this in south America,  I’m already thinking about a tour a bit more south of the Lagunas route, the Ruta de los Seismiles.

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