Bike Touring in Bolivia: Tips and Blogs from Cycling in Bolivia

Bolivia is a fascinating country to cycle in. Where else do you get to cycle across salt pans? Here's some information about bicycle touring in Bolivia.

Cycling in Bolivia

I cycled in Bolivia in 2010 as part of my bike tour from Alaska to Argentina. During that tour, I wrote a blog post a day. You can find links to these Bolivia travel blogs at the end of this post.

I found Bolivia to be a really interesting country to cycle in. There's great scenery such as the salt pans, the challenge in the altitude, and a feeling you're very much in a country different from those surrounding it.

Cycling Bolivia – Route

I'd arrived into Bolivia from Peru, and so my starting point for the Bolivia leg of my cycling trip was Copacabana by Lake Titicaca. From here, I would cycle to La Paz via Huarina.

From La Paz, I had several options, and decided to take the quiet roads towards Oruro and then the Salar de Uyuni, wild camping along the way.

Here, you'll notice that Google maps isn't much use to you! There's a lot of unpaved roads in the area, and road conditions are pretty adventurous to say the least!

Then, my bikepacking route through Bolivia would take me to Uyuni, Tupiza, and finally into Argentina.

The first digital nomad traveling by bicycle in Bolivia

During my time in Bolivia, I also dabbled with working online for the first time. Keep in mind that this was 2010 in Bolivia, and I was working from a netbook with a screen size of about 9 inches!

I don't know if that made me one of the first digital nomads – certainly one of the first working from Bolivia and traveling by bicycle!

The lessons I learned helped me create an online business that nearly 10 years later enables me to perfectly combine travel and work.

Highlights of my time in Bolivia

It goes without saying that cycling across the salt pans was the real stand-out moment of biking Bolivia.

Camping out on them was made even more memorable when I found a long abandoned can of beer half buried in salt that I celebrated with!

I also bumped into President Evo Morales when he visited Uyuni – quite literally! I don't think his security detail were pleased with my presence!

I've included a photo below. Maybe you can just about pick him out.

And I spent a lot of time working online, developing my writing skills, and learning that it was in fact possible to earn a living online. Even in Bolivia.

So, if you're thinking about how to fund long term travel by bicycle, I'd suggest starting to look into what jobs you can do online before you leave. You never know if it might prove to be useful.

Why I didn't cycle death road in Bolivia

Death road is labelled as one of the most dangerous roads in the world – I guess the clue is in the name!

I didn't pass through here as it was not on my route. Besides, I'd been up and down so many unpaved routes in the mountains by this point, taking a bike ride with a tour company on the actual death road didn't seem really worth it!