Potosí to Cochabamba via Sucre. Paved from Potosí to Sucre and Epizana to Cochabamba. Potosí to Sucre is an easy two days, rather harder in reverse! Aiquile to Totora is a long hard day, but it can be broken in two by going via Mizque, also badly damaged by the earthquake. Totora is a beautiful and unusual village. Totora to Cochabamba is an easy two days. A previous correspondent took a direct route (hard) from Mizque to Punata. The adventurous could make their way from Mizque to Torotoro. Incallajta is a ruined Inca city in a lovely valley; the last 9km are very hard; the first 13km is the start of another hard back route to Punata.. Sehuencas is in the cloud forest and approximately the wettest place in Bolivia; the track is terrible with a deep ford, do not attempt in the wet season.

Cochabamba to Oruro. Paved. Took me three days. From Parotani to La Cumbre follows a different route from the old road shown on IGM maps. La Cumbre is occasionally closed by snow. La Cumbre means "The Top" and there are other passes with the same name. In the opposite direction, when leaving Oruro I would suggest asking for the Paria road. This short cut is new in 1998, so if you ask for Cochabamba people will probably put you on the La Paz road. Don’t take Avenida Cochabamba, which is paradoxically the Machacamarca road.

Oruro to La Paz. Paved. Busy. I suggest you go on the bus. I did it in two long days.

Patacamaya to Arica (Chile). Paved. Don’t forget you can’t take fresh food into Chile. I managed to avoid the "compulsory" baggage search at Lago Chungara, as the "system" didn’t work for cyclists. The PN Lauca on the Chilean Altiplano is stunning.

San Pedro de Atacama (Chile) to Uyuní. Many cyclists feel compelled to carry through this gruelling expedition. A route was described by an earlier CTC correspondent. The purpose of this note is to add detail, suggest alternatives, and stress the risks you are taking. Notes were taken on a four day circular 4wd trip from Uyuní. It is also common to do a three-day one-way 4wd trip, though whether they would carry your bicycle I do not know. These 4wd trips are extraordinary value for money, especially outside the July-September peak season. To cycle it would be markedly easier from Uyuní to San Pedro, as it avoids the big climb and potentially serious acclimatisation problem going from San Pedro (2,400m) straight up to the 4,500m ridge near Laguna Verde (salt, 4,400m). Swiss sponsors have paid to improve some of the tracks and erect a few signposts since the last correspondent visited.

A serious risk with this expedition is snow. It is said to be rare in the dry season, but it happened to me in 1998. It started snowing 4pm one afternoon and the following morning there was a good 5cm covering. At midday at Laguna Verde it was -5C instead of the usual 10 to 20C. The roads were probably passable for cycling by the following day. In August 92 there was a snowfall of 20cm. One 4wd tour got lost losing all lives, and some Italian cyclists were fortunate to be rescued off the Salar de Uyuní. There are regular 4wd tour groups following these routes, but it is unlikely they will be in a position to offer you a hitch, give food or water, etc. Do not ride on the Salar de Uyuní unless you have a compass and some kind of a map as it is easy to become disorientated.

You should carry about 12 days food. You cannot rely on being able to buy much more than crackers in the settlements on the way. This quantity will probably give you enough for a day off, a necessary contingency. You should do it a day or two quicker in the reverse direction.

On leaving San Pedro there is no water until near Laguna Verde, and normal people will need an overnight camp on the way. There are often strong winds in the area, and overnight temperatures are typically -20C. There are two options. (1) About 1km north of Laguna Verde, hidden round a rise, is a small Guardaparque hut in the end of a row of abandoned buildings. He presumably has a water supply. From there a reasonable road heads due north climbing gently over a 4,800m pass, turning NE and dropping gently to Laguna Challviri (salt, 4,400m, about 35km from L Verde). (2) The alternative route, which I have not followed, heads roughly E or NE from Laguna Verde to a mining camp where, according to guidebooks and the previous correspondent, there is simple accommodation available. The track then heads approximately N over a pass, descending through an area known as the Salvador Dalí rocks to come out at L Challviri. It’s a bit longer and harder this way.

Alongside the road following the W shore of L Challviri are several warm springs, which I presume can be drunk. The road continues north gently climbing to about 4,950m at the Sol de Mañana fumarole field. There is a fork near the top, left goes to the fumaroles; right by-passes them, staying slightly lower before joining up again. There are some experimental geothermal power installations in the area. After a few undulations, the road drops fairly steeply down to Laguna Colorado (salt, 4,400m). Near the SW corner of the lake is a signpost right to Alota. At the NW corner of the lake is an industrial settlement with two large lodges used by tour groups, where you may be able to get accommodation, or at least water. Failing that, there is a track along the north edge of the lake, (the old track to Alota), and you will find a large spring after 2km. The distance from L Challviri is 50km or 60km, which should be achievable in a long day if you are reasonably acclimatised.

There are two routes from L Colorado. (1) The harder route, used by the earlier CTC correspondent, carries on due north. You cross the Pampa de Silalá, a windy gravel plain at about 4,600m. There is no track, just lots of wheel marks in the gravel. It looked unrideable for about 20km. You pass some wind eroded rocks called Árbol de Piedra. The next section involves some steep little ups and downs on a bad track through scenery looking rather like Snowdonia. Then you come to a series of four salt lagoons with flamingoes, avocets, etc, the track improving but continuing steeply up and down between them. Then there is a gradual descent down to the Chiguana salt flats (3,800m). By the railway line is Chiguana military checkpoint. You are now about 150km from Laguna Colorado and the first possible place after there to beg for water, though it’s possible there are some springs around the salt lakes.

From Chiguana, there are three choices. (1)(i) You can ride straight along the railway line, which is about 160 dead flat tedious km to Uyuní; the settlement of Río Grande is about half way. (1)(ii) Heading NE away from the railway line you come to a settlement called San Juan in about 30km. There are several establishments offering simple accommodation to tour groups. They have a week-long drunken party around St John’s Day, the winter solstice (24 June). Another 25km NE brings you to Villa Martín Colcha K. A similar distance brings you to the edge of the Salar de Uyuní (3,650m). This, the largest salar, has a surface of pure salt (salt pans are usually salty mud) which is as flat and hard as concrete in the dry season. You can race over this, but you don’t want to be there when it’s dissolving in the rain. It gets painfully bright and hot on a sunny day. Following the wheel marks of the tour groups should bring you to Isla de Pescado, where you can camp round the back so long as the "guardian" doesn’t see you. Then the wheelmarks will take you E to the salt hotel (café), a salt craft shop, and finally the village of Colchani about 100km from Colcha K. Then it’s 25km SE down the main road to Uyuní. (1)(iii) If you are even more adventurous, head north from Chiguana across the salt flats, which are a bit soft. Climbing a little, the road becomes a terrible track passing through an extraordinary "forest" of dead corals. In about 40km you come to the village of San Pedro de Quémez, where a couple of houses offer simple accommodation to tour groups. Taking local advice, you could spend a day visiting the burial site of Cueva del Diablo. It is about 30km from San Pedro to the edge of the Salar, from where it is about 150km N then E following wheelmarks across the Salar to Colchani via Isla de Pescado as above, with the option of dropping in on some less-visited islands. You really do need a good map and some skill in navigation for this one.

(2) The easier route from L Colorado is to return 10km S and follow the signpost to Alota. This starts off E or NE then turns N. It starts as a good if undulating road to a mining settlement, probably a short day’s ride. The track deteriorates from here, not soft but rocky. You descend into a salt pan. Stay on the right hand side, then part way across climb up the right bank. The track is now steep and just two wheel lines. You cross a range of hills up to 4,800m, about half way through is a stream. Then you descend gently through cultivation to a picturesque village colloquially known as Valle de las Rocas, probably a long day’s ride from the mine. 60km further along a mainly flat road and across a nasty ford brings you to Alota, where there are several houses giving accommodation to tour parties, and a couple of place you can buy beer. From here it is 180km to Uyuní, mostly flat, but crossing a couple of ranges of low hills, and over rather loose material for some stretches. The scenery becomes tedious, but the prospects for getting a truck to Uyuní are improving. About 80km short of Uyuní is the small village of Vila Vila, where you can at least get crackers and soft drinks. There is a long ford over the Río Grande, probably salt. About 40km out of Uyuní it becomes a gravel road, but you are probably better off free-styling it over hard-packed ground to the side.

Potosí to Uyuní. Although I made this journey in a bus, recovering from salmonella, I offer the note because the road is too new to be properly shown on the military survey maps. The surface is reasonable, and the distance is about 200km. From Potosí (4,000m), follow the road to Oruro for a few km then turning left, dropping to 3,700m. Climbs steepish to 4,100m and drops steepish to a valley at 3,600m where there is a stream, possible campsite. Climbs briskly to 4,200m, shortly after the top is the village of Agua Castilla, (about km50, jct for Porco). From here the road undulates rather less extremely, generally falling, passing through some small gorges with streams and good camp spots. Crosses a well-watered pampa with small village of Chaquilla (lunchstop). The road enters a big valley, lunchstop. About km120 is the village of Tica Tica set on the Río Tumusla (bridge half-built 1998), simple accom and supplies. Follows the river approximately level, then starts the climb to Pulacayo (about km175, semi-abandoned mining village, has enormous old hotel which may be open). On up to a col about 4,150m, then quick descent to Uyuní (3,650m). Uyuní is an important railway town with a good market.

Sucre to Oruro. Unpaved. The old road from Sucre to La Paz. Passes through some areas of particular cultural interest.

Potosí to Oruro. Unpaved. The road out of Oruro is Avenida Cochabamba.

Santa Cruz to Cochabamba via Samaipata. Roughly paved. The old road. A better route for acclimatisation than the new road.

Santa Cruz to Cochabamba via Villa Tunari. Paved. The new road. A taste of the Amazon jungle and the cloud forest, plus a monster climb.