Amazonia motorcycle trip through Bolivia

We will pick you up at the airport in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. From there, we will drive to the small town of Samaipata (120 km, 3 hours drive). We will check into a comfortable hotel and relax for the day. If your flight arrives later, we will spend a night in Santa Cruz. In that case, day 1 will begin the following day.

Today we start with a briefing, where we learn more about our route, about the local 'traffic rules', and get to know each other better. Then we set off on a ride to 'El Fuerte', a small, ancient Inca city and UNESCO World Heritage site. This was built around the older and larger stone sculptures in America. Some people believe this to be an ancient former alien landing pad.

We start simply, but the asphalt gradually disappears on the roads until it is completely gone. The landscape becomes rough, and colorful mountains are visible. The roads become quite demanding. After our little lunch, we continue on a stony road that challenges the suspension of the motorcycles. In the afternoon we arrive in Totora, a small colonial town built like a labyrinth of alleys where time seems to have stood still for 100 years.

The road to Cochabamba consists of very good asphalt and winds through picturesque valleys with farms and fields. Our lunch today takes place on the shore of a large lake, and the menu consists of fresh fish. After that follows a rather chaotic ride. A good practice for the traffic in El Alto the next day.

We leave Cochabamba and start our ascent. Through isolated, yet beautiful mountainous landscapes, we reach Alti-Plano (the highlands). On the newly built highway, we cross the Alti-Plano desert and quickly reach La Paz, the seat of government of Bolivia. If we are fast enough, we might be able to see the 'change of guard' at the presidential palace.

We leave the crowded streets of La Paz behind and climb to 4,700 meters above sea level. Then we almost literally dive into the Amazon basin. First, we need to ride the famous 'Death Road', the officially most dangerous road in the world. If we survive that, you’ll have the chance to prove your bravery on a 1.5 km long zip line. After all that, we take the real Death Road from Coroico to Caranavi. This time there are no tourists on mountain bikes. Instead, it’s filled with cars, trucks, and buses all wanting to get to their destination the fastest way possible.

We leave the narrow mountain roads and reach the Amazon basin, where we will drive into the jungle. Today our journey continues towards Rurrenabaque, the jungle trekking capital of Bolivia. Although it is a town of indigenous people, it seems there are more tourist 'Gringos' than indigenous people here.

The road to Santa Rosa is very dusty and hot, but before it becomes too much, we reach our lodge on the banks of the Yacuma River. After lunch, we start exploring the natural center, which is filled with wild animals like crocodiles, capybaras, dolphins, turtles, and various species of monkeys and birds. After lunch, we try our luck at piranha fishing and crocodile hunting (all environmentally friendly, of course).

Today we will try to find the largest water snake in the world, the anaconda. Following that is what many people consider the highlight of this tour, dolphin swimming!

Trinidad, the capital of the Beni department, is a large city on the Amazon, where boa constrictors could swim in open sewage canals. A special attraction is a Boeing 727 (a large airplane) that crashed in the jungle near the city.

Today we leave Trinidad early in the morning to enjoy the morning freshness. However, the heat quickly catches up with us, and we are happy for a coffee break after an hour and a half of driving. The road we are traveling is almost straight. As the first curves appear, we realize that we can also handle curves with the Suzuki DR650! At the end of this long day, we reach San Ramon, one of the first missions of the Jesuit missions in the Chiquitania region.

Today we can look forward to some asphalt again. But we shouldn't get too excited, as we have to avoid minivan-sized potholes. At the end of the day, we reach San Javier, one of the mission towns in Chiquitania. Before we go to bed, we take a look at the impressive wooden church from 1752.

With many great memories and experiences in our luggage, we ride back to Samaipata over a winding mountain road!

In the late morning, we make our way to Santa Cruz. There we can relax, linger at the plaza, and buy some souvenirs. In the evening, there is a farewell dinner.

Our journey ends here, and it’s time to say goodbye. But who knows, maybe you will come back. You won’t be the first!