19 Day. Level: Hard, 3.030 km, 60% dirt-road       Price info

Please also take a look at the desert pictures from “Quantum of Solace” tour.

Mission Impossible tour is basically a Wild Wild West tour, included 5 desert days.
Our mission, if we choose to accept it, takes us to the unbelievable beauty of the South Lipez desert (Hight plateau desert), located between 4.400 and 5.010 m altitude.
The desert sections are simply hard. Big sands and wide volcanic gravel, corrugated fields, rocky roads, no roads, 1.000 m wide tracks… it´s all included.  We will drive a peak at 5.010 m altitude and on top of this all we will attempt to ride our motorcycles on the absolute highest road in the world, the double super Uturuncu volcano sulphur road, 5.800 m or 19,000 ft above sea-level.
For all our efforts, we get compensated by a bath in a hot spring, thousands of flamingos, a geyser at 4.900 m altitude, a railway line that crosses a salt lake, spectacular rock formations, lakes of all colours, an active volcano and a fantastic “Martian” landscape in the middle of snow-covered volcanoes. At the end of the third day, we will stay in a 4-star hotel, entirely ecological, in the middle of nowhere.
Naturally we will also visit a lot of classical tourist site of Bolivia: Starting with the “Ruta del Ché” we cross the mountains towards Sucre, the colonial capital of Bolivia and the indigenous market of Tarabuco. Then the 500 years old, silver mines of Potosí, followed by the Salar de Uyuni, the largest salt flat in the world, the train grave yard, the Dakar monument, follow the footsteps of Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid in the spectacular scenery of Tupiza, pass an old tunnel, tasting a selection of wines in Tarija, Bolivia’s wine capital, ride the actual most anxious road of Bolivia, have a “high” snack on an yesteryears railway bridge and enjoy the fantastic roads and scenery of the wild west of Bolivia.
Highest peak: 5.800 m.

Day 8. To Quetena chica (alt. 4.200 m), 260 km, 100% dirt-road
Leaving Uyuni we enter the desert. Almost nothing grows here but the emptiness is far from boring. Until Villa Alota the roads are clearly, but the further we go, the less obvious the roads become and the more spectacular the scenery becomes. Far before reaching Quetena chica we notice the double peaks of Uturuncu volcano.
We will spend the night in a basic comfort lodge at the base of the Uturuncu volcano.

Day 9. Climb Uturuncu volcano and to Polques (alt. 4.400 m),  120 km, 100% dirt-road
Very early in the morning, we start to try to scale Uturuncu volcano via the absolute highest road in the world (5.800 m or 19,000 ft). At the end of the track, at 5.800m altitude, the landscape looks like it looked already 4.5 milliards years before: Sand, rocks, scree fields and gases hissing from the ground, nothing has changed since.
After lunch, we continue our route to Polques at the Laguna Chalvin. We will spend the night next to a hot spring where we can sit in steaming hot water, gazing at a zillion stars. Only basic comfort available.

Day 10. To Laguna verde (alt. 4.300 m) and Agua de Perdiz (alt. 4.300 m),  180 km, 100% dirt-road
Heading south we pass painted desert landscapes, endless valleys littered with massive rock pillars until we arrive at the Laguna Verde, the green lagoon.
After lunch back in Polques, we turn north passing volcanic vents that blast their gasses into the cold sky, bubbling boiling coloured mud pools and geysers at 4.900 m altitude and the Laguna Colorada with islands made of crystal white borax where thousands of flamingos come to breed.
Passing the famous stone tree (Arbol de Piedra) we end the day at Agua de Perdiz, an amazing sandy valley where the “road” is 1.000 m wide.
4-star hotel service for this night.

Day 11. To San Juan del Rosario (alt. 3.700 m), 150 km, 100% dirt-road
This morning we first have a date with soft sands, than with an ambush canyon, followed by a snack at the 1.000 flamingo view point at Laguna Hedionda, the stinking lake.
At the visitors viewpoint to the active volcano Ollague we make our picnic lunch.
Before we arrive at the remote town of San Juan del Rosario, we have to pass a railway over a salt lake.

Day 12. Crossing the salt flat to Uyuni (alt. 3.700 m), 250 km, 95% dirt-salt-road
Still surrounded by empty desert we make our way to an even more desolated area, the Uyuni salt flat.
The Salar de Uyuni is a dried up salt lake, the size of a small country (11.000 km square). Since the largest salt lake of the world has, no references, what so ever and because there are only two colours in the world (blue sky and white salt), there is no perspective. Our brain will have a meltdown and we can take the weirdest crazy photos.
On our way, we visit the cactus island “Inca Huasi”, the salt market, the flags monument, the first salt hotel and… the Dakar monument.

Day 13. To Tupiza (alt. 2.950 m), 185 km, 5% dirt-road                                        In the morning we leave Uyuni behind us on a new asphalt road. We will be surprise to find a huge Expresso machine in the small village, where we have lunch.                                                                                                                    We hope to view some Emus along the road and we visit some dinosaur tracks and a ghost city.                                                                                                  Before entering Tupiza we will ride the Bolivian Monument Valley. This is a part of the region where the (in-)famous Bandits Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid “operated” and were finally killed. But with all the spectacular stone monuments, don´t forget the hotel´s pool!

Day 14. To Tarija (alt. 1.860 m), 205 km, 30% dirt-road                                    When the rubber touches the dirt-road track, the landscape changes instantly into scenic back country roads with deep canyons. There is no infrastructure among our itinerary, so a picnic lunch is the only option.                                      The ride to Tarija, the wine capital of Bolivia continues quite diverse, just after passing the last mountain, a fantastic panorama opens up to the Tarija valley. This night we will have an event dinner at the best restaurant in town, the gastronomic highlight of this tour.                                                                    Possibility to visit the Casa Dorada and Castillo Azul and the paleontological museum (Extinct mammals).

Day 15. To Villamontes (alt. 400 m), 245 km, 20% dirt-road                          Snaking mountain roads take us from the rolling hills of Tarija to the arid dry Chaco region. The last part of this road is considered one of the scariest bus rides in the country. On the motorcycle, where we are in control, it is a lot less hazardous. Photographers get ready… and if you miss the part, no problem, we will ride it again…

Day 16. To Abapo (alt. 440 m), 320 km, 10% dirt-road                                          After all the dirt-road stages, it is again pleasant to feel asphalt under the tires. Our way leads us through the gas production zone of Bolivia. We ride a special to a monastery and cross an abandoned very narrow railway bridge. An exciting ride, nothing for people with fear of height. Only basic restauration, so we have a Bolivian grill dinner.

 Day 17. To Samaipata (alt. 1.650m), 210 km, 0% dirt-road                             The road to Samaipata takes us on asphalt roads along the Grande and Piraí River, the Eastern cordillera up to Samaipata, our starting point. Just before lunch, we will ride a last special: A very narrow suspension bridge… take care,  it´s moving.                                                                                                                In Samaipata, we leave our bikes behind and hurry to jump into the hotel´s pool.

Day 18. To Santa Cruz                                                                                        Late in the morning, we set off for Santa Cruz where we can relax, hanging around the plaza and do some souvenir shopping. In the evening, we have a farewell dinner.   

Day 19. To the airport                                                                                    Always a sad moment when we say goodbye. But who knows? You won´t be the first to come back for more…