The Sky's the Limit PLUS Tour (17 day adventure tour)

We’ll personally pick everyone up at the airport and settle you into a hotel in Santa Cruz.  After dinner we have an informal orientation & prep session and a good night’s sleep.

We take the bikes on a 70km. (43 mile) round-trip practice run up to the “Jardin de las Delicias,” where we’ll encounter a series of breathtaking waterfalls on the edge of Amboró National Park.  Hanging bridge, dirt roads, stream crossings, hiking, swimming, and a picnic lunch are just part of todays adventure.  We’ll cap off the riding portion of the day with a ride up some curvy new slab to the mountain village of Samaipata where we’ll spend the night. 

We leave our quaint hotel in Samaipata and take the mountain route 360km up to Cochabamba, central Bolivia’s green farming valley.  We’ll maneuver our way up a picturesque older highway with a mix of dirt and pavement riding.

The BIG Climb Begins: Cochabamba to Quime (320km./200mi.)

Leaving the city we’re back out on the highway again this morning. The first of many passes that we traverse today sits at 4,000 meters above sea level, with the highest being over 4,700 meters. As we ride we’ll get to take in the majestic beauty of the snow-capped Andes Mountains. We then descend into Quime through a steep glacial valley.

We pick up where we left off yesterday as we continue our descent today, there’s no pavement today though as we head towards the Amazon Basin.  Our journey today is a roller coaster of sorts as we ascend and descend through several valleys with steep drop offs.

We continue traversing the mountain roads throughout the morning.  Just past the midday hour we’ll arrive to our lodge nestled in the outskirts of the picturesque village of Coroico. After we freshen up, we’ll have a bite to eat, take a dip in the pool and maybe even a hike around town or one of the local trails. This is our last night in the tropics until we arrive back to Santa Cruz, so we’ll soak up the rays before temps begin to drop tomorrow.

Today is one of several highlight days of the tour.  Departing Coroico we descend to where our road intersects with the infamous “Death Road,” from there it’s all up hill as we take on what what was once known as one of the most dangerous roads in the world, with its many twists, sheer drop-offs and spectacular views.  We keep climbing after we reach the highway, the summit pass (La Cumbre) sits at an elevation of over 4,700 meters (15,500 feet).  From there we descend into the city of La Paz, one of Bolivia’s capitol cities, with its vibrant mix of Aymara, Quechua and Spanish cultures.

After climbing up out of La Paz it's an easy ride cruising along the Altiplano (High Plains) region on tarmac to the city of Oruro, the capital city of the department of Oruro.

Leaving Oruro we head straight south, along the way expect to see plenty of wildlife, namely llama, alpaca and the occasional vicuña.   It’s a long(ish) day in the saddle but the roads are in good shape, so we’ll make good time.  As we near our destination we’ll get our first glimpse of the worlds largest salt flats and visit the old train cemetery.

It’s often cold in Uyuni, so we’ll sleep in a bit before heading out. Today we ride the salt flats following the Dakar route to Isla Incahuasi, the only island in the salt lake with ancient cactus plants, some over 500 yrs old. Lots of photo ops, lunch in the Salt Hotel.

Leaving the salt plains we climb higher!! ...to the imperial city of Potosí, capital of 17th century Spanish America. The whole city is an architectural treasure listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.  At over 4,000 meters (13,000 feet) it sits in the shadow of El Cerro Rico, the huge dome holding the richest silver mines in the history of the New World.

We explore the city of Potosi and the historic silver mines of Cerro Rico. Photo ops everywhere! ...from expansive mountainscapes to claustrophobic mine shafts.

An invigorating cruise over the mountain highway before descending to the city of Sucre, Bolivia’s judicial capital. It’s also known as “la ciudad blanca” (the white city) for the whitewashed walls of its pristine old city center. Its many churches and mansions from the 17th and 18th centuries still adorn the downtown streets. We’ll arrive with plenty of time to explore the downtown area as we’ll take a tour of the “Casa de la Libertad.”

Today we take the back roads to La Higuera, the lonely village where revolutionary Che Guevara was executed in 1967.   The road to La Higuera is a pilgrimage of sorts for the admirers of el Che.  On the way, we’ll stop to check out the market in Tarabuco and then again for lunch in the town of Villa Serrano to admire what the town boasts as the world´s largest charango.  Reaching La Higuera in the evening we stay at the rustic Casa del Telegrafista, once home to the telegraph operator that informed the authorities of el Che’s presence.

After a wonderful breakfast we visit the memorial room in the schoolhouse where el Che was executed.  The days route takes us through the mountains of Vallegrande and down the old highway. By late afternoon we’ll arrive once again to our hotel in Santa Cruz where our journey began. 

It’s a decompress day before returning to life as usual, so we relax the pace. We’ll spend the day exploring the city, it’s day of sight-seeing —last minute souvenir shopping, open markets and good food are a few of the options.  To cap off the day and the tour we’ll celebrate with a “farewell” dinner in the evening.

We’ll take you from the hotel to catch your flight home at the airport.  You’ll want to stretch out your sore backside before you board your flight and flip through your pics as you grin (and groan) thinking of all the fun that was had.  From here it’s time to start planning your next adventure!