With a heady combination of amazing views, well-paved roads and adventure riding trails, South America is just the perfect place to go on your next road trip. Both cultural and geographical diversity adds on to overall charm of the place. And, the icing on the cake is, paperwork required for taking your own bike and riding it is quite straightforward. You can make a plan according to the time you have for exploring the place. With limited time, the best option is to focus on just one or two countries.
What to Look Forward to?
There is no other continent that has more to offer in terms of biological diversity than Latin America and a road trip through the countries of Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Chile, and Columbia will expose you to the best of it.
The Andes is the longest mountain range in the whole world. In the course of your trip, you will also get plenty of time to acquaint yourself with these mountains and explore them with your inner climber.
Latin America offers some of the most spectacular ascents and descents in the whole world with, spectacular and ever-changing scenery.
The experience of the southern winds is like nothing else. Live and understand why sailors who sailed the Southern Hemisphere used to say that below the 40th latitude there is no law and below the 50th there is no god.
Latin America is filled with music, culture, food, people, wildlife, nature and wonderful people who you can experience and get acquainted with in the course of your whole journey. There is no better way to truly immerse yourself in all the experiences that the continent has on offer or to engage with the true spectrum of diversity.
Places to Visit:
Colombia
The country is fast emerging into the international arena even after the many years that it has been part of a terrible civil war. The country has a lot to offer with a great variety of natural diversity. Starting from the coastal plains, the scenery changes till the high mountains of the Andes range. There is much to be experienced, starting from Cartagena’s nightlife to the transformation of cities like Cali and Bogota and the spectacular scenery.
Ecuador
Largely known for the Galapagos Islands, the country has immense biological diversity throughout it. Although it only accounts for around 0.2% of the world land area, it has about 8% of the world’s mammal species, 5% of its reptile species, 16% of its bird species and 8% of its amphibian species. Keep your eyes open and you’re bound to witness amazing sights.
Peru
There is no other country that offers you a journey through various fascinating civilizations. From the Chan Chan in the north to the creators of Nazca lines in the south, Peru is amazing. It has on offer the ancient culture of Lake Titicaca and the mysterious Machu Picchu. Peru is also a delight to the senses with delightful cuisine and over 28 microclimates.
Bolivia
Throughout Bolivia, you get the unique experience of touring at an altitude that falls within the range of 3000 to 4000 at all times. With the world’s largest salt flat, Salar de Uyuni that spreads over 10,582 km, the possibility of a surreal experience is high.
Patagonia
The main thing to do here is to visit the evergreen trees that can grow over 60 meters high. There is nothing like it to put things into perspective.
Atacama Desert
Known as the driest desert in the world, the Atacama desert is known to be the best place in the world to engage in stargazing. Take the trip to engage with the universe and be completely free of light pollution and the chaos of the industrial world.
Concerns About Touring Latin America
There are many misconceptions about taking a road trip through Latin America. It is important to understand what concerns are legitimate and which are merely fiction before starting out on your trip.
The main thing to watch out for are bad drivers. This is one serious menace to watch out for, especially since there are no other dangers that can even come close to the amount of damage that is caused by traffic accidents. Be aware that there are various roads on which drunk, sleep-deprived, and speeding drivers ride with barely any concern for any road safety. To keep yourself safe, ensure that you never ride after dark. Make sure that you always wear your helmet and do frequent shoulder-checks. It is a good idea to first ask locals and find out which roads should be avoided or are dangerous.
Make sure you always stay alert for stray animals, children, potholes and landslides and wear a helmet to ensure that you do not end up crashing or falling off your bikes. The concerns of contracting parasites are present as well. Make sure you drink purified water and eat only after assessing the hygiene standards. Also, never walk around barefoot. To avoid any cases of heat exhaustion through sunstrokes or sunburns, avoid riding during the hottest parts of the day. If you need to, take regular breaks, drink lots of water and make sure that you use sunscreen.
