Driving the Bolivian altiplano up to 4800m above sea level

[Thekombichronicles]

In 2019, we shipped our 1976 late bay named 'Ruby', from a port in Southampton (UK) across the pond to New York, where we intended on spending 12 months travelling around North America.

Turns out, we're not very good at sticking to plans!

Fast forward just over four years and we now find ourselves in Chile.

Last month, after spending time in Bolivia, we finally needed to leave and make our way to Chile. Over the years, we've realised that we prefer to take the less conventional routes. It means you get to see the cooler landscapes. And so, we decided we would tackle the treacherous Bolivian altiplano, otherwise known as the Laguna route.

A desolate track, crossing Bolivia's volcanic region, at over 4000m above sea level. Temperatures have been know to drop as low as -20°c at night. It's safe to say it is not for the faint hearted and probably not a place you take 47 year old VWs. But where's the fun in that right?

We spent a total of four days, driving the 500km of washboard road with some South African overlanders. Volcanos littered the horizon and we passes stunning rock formations along the way.

As the name Laguna route suggests, we also passed many lagunas. Some long dried up, but the star of the show (Laguna Colorada) was there in all it's glory! A stunning pink lake sitting at over 4300m above sea level. That night we camped next to the Laguna in blistering winds, but we treated to the most spectacular colours in the evening sky.

It's a drive that will forever live in our memories.

If you want to check out the otherworldly landscapes we passed through you can do so in the video below.


Link