Destinations Magazine

Salt and Sand: Cycling the Bolivian Salt Flats

By Awanderingphoto
Finally a cycling photo of both of us!

Finally a cycling photo of both of us!

For once, the headwinds were the lesser of two evils as it was the sand which literally stopped us dead in our tracks. After cycling the first of two salt flats, we headed along a forty kilometer very rural road where we didn’t see a single car all day.

Tough riding! It took us nearly all day to cover 40km.

Tough riding! It took us nearly all day to cover 40km.

The road was so deserted that there were fences across the way to keep the llamas on one side or another.

The road was so deserted that there were fences across the way to keep the llamas on one side or another.

It's never good when you can see your own tracks in the sand.

It’s never good when you can see your own tracks in the sand.

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This was one of many mostly deserted villages we have passed throughout our time in Bolivia. Most of the people have left for the cities where there are more job opportunities.

This was one of many mostly deserted villages we have passed throughout our time in Bolivia. Most of the people have left for the cities where there are more job opportunities.

This, for us, is a road. Little jeep paths such as these are what makes Bolivia so fun!

This, for us, is a road. Little jeep paths such as these are what makes Bolivia so fun!

Then, after a grueling day, we finally made it to the second Salar. We were completely alone all day as there are no jeep tours who come through this region. I didn’t even know this Salar existed before talking with other cyclists so it was a pleasure to cross this beautiful gem. This Salar didn’t have hexagons like the other one.

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Pikes on Bikes technical details for this route: This route took place along the yellow line, through the second salar. We used our Garmin trekking GPS along with the Pikes GPS coordinates in order to find our way across.

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For a photo of the day and other updates follow me on facebook here, and for some awkwardly cropped photos from our journey, follow us on Instagram @awanderingphoto!


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