Argentine Atacama

Argentine Atacama –
Motorcycle Tour in the Argentinean Deserts

Argentina

Now All Inclusive*

DURATION

8 days / 7 nights

PARTICIPANTS

4 – 10 Riders

DISTANCE

1.500 km

PILLION
Difficult
DIFFICULTY
Fairly difficult
GRAVEL ROADS
Difficult
Motorbike Tour in the Argentinean Atacama Desert


You want emptiness? You got it!

This one week motorcycle tour adventure tour takes you up into the wide, lonely mountains of the Puna of Salta and Jujuy, the Argentinean part of the Atacama Desert.

  • Eternal sunshine reigns in this fascinating landscape of salt lakes and scattered volcanoes.
  • Ride a BMW motorcycle across the dazzlingly white surface of the salt lake Salinas Grandes.
  • Visit the most picturesque mountain villages and the most important of the Pre-Inca ruins.
  • Enjoy the stunning beauty of the Quebrada de Humahuaca canyon (UNESCO World Heritage Site 2003).
Argentine Atacama motorcycle tour

The best Motorcycle choice

The trip is suitable for any experienced motor-biker with some basic off-road experience. People having lung, heart or blood circulation problems should consult their doctor for the altitude.

BMW F700GS

798cc
75 hp
210 kg
820 mm seat hight
19” front wheel

All inclusive*

4.700 US$

Low seat hight, good handling on road, suitable for gravel.

BMW F800GS

798 cc
85 hp
220 kg
880 mm seat hight
21” front wheel

All inclusive*

5.100 US$

Best for gravel, good handling, not heavy, high seat.

BMW R1200GS

1.170cc
115 hp
240 kg
850 mm seat hight
19” front wheel

All inclusive*

5.700 US$

Good handling, recommended for riding with passenger.

PILLION / PASSENGER

All inclusive*

2.600 US$

SINGLE ROOM SURCHARGE

650 US$

* Services included in the all inclusive package
Services NOT included
Argentine Atacama motorcycle tour

Travel itinerary

You will be picked up at the airport in Salta and brought in the Hotel from where our motorbike tour starts next day.

A twisting tarmac road through densely wooded hills takes us into the picturesque Quebrada de Humahuaca canyon. The road then winds over the 4000m high pass Abra del Condor to the remote mountain town of Iruya, lying in a narrow part of a deep valley, surrounded by colourful mountains and bizarrely eroded rock walls. Hike into the mountains to a wonderful look-out point, from where we’ll have stunning views over the valley of Iruya.

Riding our motorcycles north to the Bolivian border we visit the historic church of Yavi and nearby rock carvings. We set out to the most extreme north western corner of Argentina to admire the national monument, Laguna Los Pozuelos, a lagoon at 4000m altitude, home to unique flora and fauna. Then we carry on to the Quebrada de Humahuaca where we visit the Ruins of Tilcara. Climbing the twisty tarmac road crossing the Cuesta de Lipan (4170m) we reach the dazzling white salt lake Salinas Grandes, and after a short stretch of tarmac road we hit a gravel track which takes us through a beautiful hidden valley to the viaduct La Polvorilla of the “Train to the Clouds”.

To end our trip you’ve got a real motorbike adventure: we ride up the highest pass in Argentina, the 4895m high Abra El Acay! We’ll be snaking up the mountainside to the pass to enjoy the stunning views from 5 km above sea level! The last part will lead us on good tarmac road along the tracks of the legendary “Train to the Clouds” through the colourful valley Quebrada del Toro.

*Note: The tour operator reserves himself to make changes or adjustments to the itinerary at any time.

Do you have any question?

Our Tours are suitable for any experienced motorbike rider. You should have a riding experience of at least 10.000 km altogether and some 2.000 km over the last year. Off-Road experience is only necessary for as “difficult” marked tours, although some off-road riding experience of course is advisable.

Usually from all over the world you first have to fly to Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina. From there you go on a local flight to your starting destination. Depending on the tour you chose this would be Salta, San Carlos de Bariloche, Ushuaia or Mendoza.

There are two airports in Buenos Aires: The international airport Ezeiza (EZE) and the city airport Aeroparque (AEP). Usually you will arrive in Ezeiza, go through immigration, get your bags, go through customs. Then you probably have to change to the local airport Aeroparque to go on your local flight. You need to have 3-4 hours minimum between the arrival and take off if you change Airports in Buenos Aires

The tour begins with your arrival at the starting location. E.g. if the tour is dated 1.1.2025 – 10.1.2025, we meet in the evening of the 1st of January for briefing, handover of the motorbikes, welcome dinner, and you can catch a flight back on the 10th of January to fly back home.

You can take your flight back home on the date indicated as ending date. That is the day after the last riding day

It is recommended to get to the starting location one day earlier, we happily make a reservation for the room extension for you.

All the hotel nights with breakfast on the tour are included. Starting with the night of the meeting, handover of motorbikes and welcome dinner, ending with the hotel night of the last riding day.

You will need a decent riding gear, clothing for all kinds of weather and moderate temperatures, sun protection, personal items. 

  • Paperwork: It is necessary that you have a passport valid for at least another 6 months, a valid drivers license for big motorcycles, vaccination documents, credit card with min. 4.000US$ credit for the guarantee deposit.
  • Money: Cash US$ Dollars is the best to have. You can change US$ cash dollars in most towns, but they will not be taken as payment. Everything you want to purchase during your stay will have to be paid in local currency. 

    ATMs are found in bigger towns and cities, but you will be restricted to extract a small amount of cash each transaction, but you will be charged high bank fees.

    Credit cards are useless outside big hotels and restaurants, most shops don’t accept credit or debit cards.

Apart from the big cities, South America is safer than expected. It is very safe to travel in the countries we go to. In the mayor cities you have to take care of pick pocketers and scams as everywhere, but no violent crimes are to be expected.

The official language in all South America is Spanish, except for Brazil. English is understood and rudimentary spoken in Hotels, Restaurants and other touristic locations. Anywhere else you would need to speak and understand Spanish to communicate. 

You need an international health insurance that does not exclude motorcycling. It has to cover any possible hospitalisation, surgery, medicine and/or repatriation costs. It also has to cover explicitly COVID 19.

  • Vaccination: For Chile and Argentina there are no obligations for vaccinations expect Covid 19.

    Bolivia has an obligation for yellow fever vaccination but it is not controlled in the mountain areas where we are entering the country. 

    COVID 19: Travel rules due to the Covid 19 Pandemic are different from country to country and are changing frequently. With an internationally accepted vaccination proof it is possible to travel in most countries lately.

Due to the ongoing SarsCov2 Pandemic we are frequently adjusting to the changing rules worldwide and in Argentina. It is very important that you check the travel rules of your home country but also the ones you are traveling to.

If travel rules of the affected countries by your travel will make it impossible to participate on a tour with us, we will refund any payments you have made to us.

Available dates

28.03.2024 04.04.2024
05.09.2024 13.09.2024
17.04.2025 25.04.2025
11.09.2025 19.09.2025

Got some question?

    Discover your dream trip!

    RELATED TOURS

    Not only the gorgeous South American landscapes, but also the history, culture and way of life of the people, is what we want our clients to experience. Perfect tours for small
    groups: this enables us to design tours individually, and to adjust them to the
    needs and skills of the participants.