After the rain finally stopped in Ollague on the Chilean-Bolivian border I left on a sunny morning for the drive through the Atacama Desert (one of the driest places on earth) to San Pedro De Atacama, Chile.  San Pedro is an oasis in the desert that is quite overly touristy. Before arriving in town I saw a sign off the main road for Valle de la Luna and although I was quite tired of riding on dirt roads decided to take a look.   I arrived at a small entry hut with wooden barricades but there was a small gap between the barricades big enough for the bike to get through.   As I road up the hill and looked in my mirror I noticed a gesticulating man half-heartedly chasing me.  I pretended not to notice and after about 2o minutes arrived at the other (main) entry point and noticed I had avoided paying some entry fee.

After one day of camping at the Pear’s campground in San Pedro De Atacama I went to the border in the morning to cross into Argentina hoping to make it to Salta.  To get there one needs to cross the Jama Pass.  It was closed due to snow on the pass and so after lying around at the customs office waiting for news for an hour I went back to town and set up camp again for the night.  A dutch couple was camping there as well so we passed the evening drinking wine and looking at the stars.

ALMA Observatory Atacama Desert, Chile

The Paso Jama was open the following day and I did the exit formalities with Chile and drove up over the pass. The KLR was chugging quite badly with the altitude even after adjusting the fuel/oxygen dial.   I crawled up the road until there was a fair amount of snow and ice on the hillsides and occasionally on the road.   The pass went on for a long time – about 160kms and reached about 4,820 meters at one point. It was freezing cold and I started to fall asleep – apparently pilot’s need to have oxygen about 10,000 feet – and found myself swerving into the opposing traffic’s lane.

Jama Pass, To Argentina, Chile

There were some deer-like animals drinking from a river on the pass but I was too cold and tired to stop.  After clearing Argentinian custom’s I drove a bit lower and into this valley of interesting rock structures.

Rock Valley after Paso Jama, Argentina

After a lot of driving I ended up in Salta after nightfall and checked into the Hotel Samkama (Buenos Aires Calle 44 or so) for 75 Pesos. After many weeks in the Andes / Altiplano I’m quite relieved to be closer to sea level.

Town outside Susques to Jujuy, Argentina

San Pedro De Atacama Chile to Salta Argentina Distance and Altitude Profile

ALMA Observatory Atacama Desert, Chile	Jama Pass, To Argentina, Chile	Jama Pass, To Argentina, Chile	Jama Pass, To Argentina, Chile
Rock Valley after Paso Jama, Argentina	Rock Valley after Paso Jama, Argentina	Rock Valley after Paso Jama, Argentina	Rock Valley after Paso Jama, Argentina
Rock Valley after Paso Jama, Argentina	Rock Valley after Paso Jama, Argentina	Rock Valley after Paso Jama, Argentina	Rock Valley after Paso Jama, Argentina
Rock Valley after Paso Jama, Argentina	Rock Valley after Paso Jama, Argentina	Bienvenida a Argentina	Canyon outside Susques to Jujuy, Argentina
Town outside Susques to Jujuy, Argentina

San Pedro De Atacama Chile to Salta, Argentina GPX Garmin Track