Northern Chile, Andean impressions. (page 10 of 10)

We had slept in Pica here.

It’s pretty basic for the price, but Chile isn’t a very budget-friendly country.

It’s gonna be a mammoth leg between Colchane and Putre via Arica. You won’t see anything—not the Isluga volcano or the stunning Mocha road.

It’d be better to stay at this hotel, which cuts down on driving the next day. I haven’t stayed there myself.

That’d be Pica – Salar de Huasco – Hostal Altus (definitely not enough time for Isluga; depends on your arrival time in Cariquima)

Then Hostal Altus – Mocha – Arica – Putre, already a massive 500-kilometer leg, even if it’s all paved.

Plan for extra fuel in Pica.

(Colchane is worse than Cariquima based on accommodation reviews... It must be places where you sleep fully clothed or bring your own sleeping bag...)

I spotted the same one in Pica...

Something like this—what do you think? Splitting the route in two with an overnight stop... Yeah, it doesn’t really help with my fuel cans, but the route looks great...



Or I could stick with the national highway and Arica, with a night in Arica or before... For now, I’ve got a night in Codpa before Putre

That’s what I was suggesting from the start! ;)

I didn’t go that way myself, but it doesn’t seem too complicated except for the altitude. Plus, you’ll pass through Surire, so you won’t need to go back there.

But at that point, it’s better to sleep in Cariquima...

You could also do Cariquima → Surire → Codpa. There’s a track from Surire to Codpa. (Stay overnight in Codpa)

Then get more fuel in Arica before heading up to Putre.

I really like the Cariquima-Surire-Codpa option—I hadn’t noticed the track before.

It lets me refuel in Arica before heading up to Putre. But I also like the Altus route—I need to calculate the kilometers and fuel range 😅 I don’t want to push it with crazy-long stages either 😅 How did you plan all this when you went? It seemed so simple in your 😏travel journal

I messed up my planning because I zigzagged way too much!

The issue was both gas and accommodations.

I didn’t want anything too basic... One night in Cariquima was fine, but not a whole week like that!

For gas, I only needed full tanks except in Putre. I’d scouted all the pumps ahead of time. That partly explains the zigzagging.

I’d read a bunch of blogs. The roads didn’t seem too bad. Still, there was the seasonal risk since I traveled during the southern winter. It could’ve snowed, and that would’ve been really rough for driving!

One thing you shouldn’t forget, though, is to download Maps.me Chile. Super handy because road signs aren’t always super clear... And Google Maps isn’t as precise for off-road tracks.

Hi Agnès

We're making progress, not fast enough for my liking but we're getting there...

So this would give us: Day 1: SPA/PICA 400 km. 1 night Full tank + jerrycan Day 2: PICA/ALTUS via Mokka 200 km 1 night Altus Day 3 & 4: ALTUS/CODPA via SURIRE 300 km 1 night ?, 1 night CODPA Day 5: CODPA/PUTRE via ARICA 250 km night PUTRE and fill up in ARICA

Max kilometers without a station: PICA/ARICA, about 600 km (40 L tank + 20 L jerrycan, that should do it...)

What do you think? 😊

Well, I dug a little deeper and honestly, I found zero accommodation between Chusmiza and Codpa, around Surire... So unless we head straight to Codpa in one day—which is impossible given the terrain—or go back down to ruta 5... ugh, real hassle...

Or in the end, one night in Altus, morning at the hot springs, then a night in Colchane to get closer, and I push straight to Codpa via Surire—6 hours and 184 km...

Hey Bruno,

With this route, you won’t be heading to the Salar de Huasco, which is really easy to access from Pica.

You should check the condition of the track from Ollague to the Salar (so between Spa and Pica) or the track between the Salar and Cariquima (so between Pica and the Hostal Altus).

For the route from Hostal Altus to Codpa via Surire, I’d do it in one go, leaving super early. I’d also ask the host you’re staying with in Codpa which is the best track to take down from Surire.

That way, you could spend 2 nights in Pica and do a loop around the Salar de Huasco without worrying about fuel or the state of the tracks. From Pica to Hostal Altus, on the paved road, you’ll pass another gas station, and you can also visit the detour through Mocha-Huavina-Cambalache-Usmagama, plus the ghost town of Humberstone.

It’s tough to get recent info on the tracks in the Altiplano. Maybe you could reach out to Diamina and start a discussion about it?

Finally, I’d bring 2 jerry cans, which you can buy in a big city like Calama.

It's hard to get recent information on the routes across the Altiplano. Maybe you could contact Diamina and start a discussion about it?

It’s true I’ve been hogging your travel journal for way too long Thanks anyway for all this valuable info—I’ll look over the route again and maybe start a thread.

You’ll have a better chance of getting info with a new thread! Here, it’s pretty much just me answering you. 😉

It doesn’t bother me too much not having 50 answers that contradict each other, not to mention the emerging controversy every time (which even happens with games/competitions 🏴‍☠️). Over the course of my travel journals, I think we travel in a similar way. Adventure, yes, but structured! And we don’t turn down a nice hotel! 😉 And a good bottle, for sure!

For the bottle, it's not the hardest thing to find in Chile.😉

Well, it doesn’t mix well with altitude...

Accommodation isn’t cheap in Chile (compared to the general standard of living).

The northern part of the country isn’t very explored, except around San Pedro. Whether in a group or alone, it’s the same. It’s not easy to find information! Even less so for recent updates on road conditions.

I get the feeling that isolation and altitude are the main challenges, more than the road conditions themselves. But that’s just my impression.

We’d need the testimony of someone like us—reasonably adventurous.