Amazonia: Andes to Amazon by Motorcycle

Fourteen days from the Bolivian highlands into the Amazon basin, guided, on a supplied Suzuki DR650SE, covering 2,385 km.

Amazonia is rated Medium, with 20 percent dirt road, and reaches a highest riding point of 4,650 metres. The operator describes it as the tour that takes riders from the highlands into the steaming Amazon basin. It includes the Death Road, once officially the most dangerous road in the world, and a stop in Totora, a colonial town the operator says has stood still for a century. It can be combined with the operator’s Mission tour for the Jesuit churches of Chiquitania.

From Samaipata the route goes to Totora, Cochabamba and La Paz, with the witches market and the changing of the guard if timing allows. It then climbs the Cumbre de Coroico to 4,650 metres and descends the Death Road to Coroico, where a 500 metre zip line is offered, before Caranavi and Rurrenabaque. Two days follow in the pampa, run by a local tour operator, by minibus and longboat to a lodge on the Yacuma river. The operator lists wildlife that can be seen there, though no sightings can be promised. The return runs through Trinidad, San Ramon and Samaipata.

Each price is per rider and covers the Suzuki DR650SE, tourist-class hotels, three meals a day, entrances, local guides, road tolls and fuel, with airport pickup at Viru-Viru in Santa Cruz and a 4WD support vehicle following the group. Scheduled groups are capped at six. Riders bring their own helmet and riding gear, book their own flights, and need travel insurance with adrenaline cover. The pampa excursion is provided by a local operator rather than by the riding guides, and the operator lists it within the tour programme.