People Cycling Rides

Chile – Bike & Hike Patagonia & Atacama Desert.

This is a Approved Ride
Moderate
Ride Info
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Ride Leader
Thomas Ryan
Tour Dates
3/5/2024–3/28/2024
Start Location
Santiago, Chile (SCL/ CHI)
End Location
Calama (CJC)
Cost (est.)
$8390 (USD + $150.00 ride fee)
Deposit
$1590 (USD
Payment Due
1/6/2024
Tour Company
Ecotours Chile
Avg. Distance
46 mi / 74 km
Avg. Elevation
2953 ft / 900 m
Ride Description

For eight consecutive years, Chile has won “Leading Adventure Tourism Destination,” at the World Travel Awards (WTA). The country has become a destination for adventure touring due to its contrasting landscapes from north to south, with over 100 parks and nature reserves, more than 4000 km of coastline and the driest desert in the world. Our 24 day bicycling and hiking tour of Chile begins on March 5th, 2024 in Santiago and ends on the 28th in Calama (where you can book a flight back to Santiago to connect to international flights).

There are three distinct sections of this tour.

First we'll explore the Lake & Volcano District of Chile, dominated by astonishing National Parks, clear-water lakes, live volcanoes and some of the best thermal waters in the world. The start of the ride is fixed base allowing us to relax and enjoy the experience.

Our trip then progresses to Torres del Paine National Park (often called the Eighth Wonder of the World), a protected area of 242,000 hectares with a moving network of ecosystems that has lakes, glaciers, rivers, extensive meadows, waterfalls, forests and renowned granite towers.

Our adventure ends with six fixed base days discovering the Atacama Desert, with unique geography of sand, rock, and salt formations. Even though it’s known as the driest desert on Earth, the landscapes in the Atacama are mesmerizing.

The to… (Join People Cycling to read more)

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People Cycling's Ride Rating

People Cycling has four categories for our rides – Easy, Moderate, Difficult, and Challenging. It should be somewhat obvious what these categories mean, but please become familiar with the elevations and distances that define them:

Easy
Easy rides are under 30mi/48km in average distance and 1600ft/500m in average elevation
Moderate
Moderate rides are over the Easy rating but under 50mi/80km and 2460ft/750m
Difficult
Difficult rides are as over the Moderate rating but under 75mi/120km and 3280/1000m
Challenging
Anything over the Difficult rating

NOTE: This is not a strict guideline. There could be rides that have a day or two where the average elevation or distance exceeds the values given above. These anomalies should be outlined in the ride description. It is recommended that you read it carefully.

About People Cycling

People Cycling is a bicycle touring club, which you can join for free. We offer Domestic and International Cycling Tours which are led by volunteer Ride Leaders. Our tours are made up of a small group of participants (typically 15-20 or so) who want to ride an average of 30 to 55 miles a day over a one or two week period in interesting regions of the world. Our tours range in price from frugal getaways to luxurious adventures. We travel road, gravel, or mountain bike styles, and all bicycle types – including e-bikes, recumbents, and tandems are typically allowed.

Our ride leaders are volunteers and do not financially profit on tours they lead. They are also given broad discretion on how to lead their tours, and we consider them our greatest asset.

People Cycling tours are operated at cost or at lower cost (as negotiated by our ride leaders) than individuals can obtain on commercial tours. Within the cost of a tour, there is a nominal fee to support club operations and provide tools to ride leaders to manage their rides.

What are you waiting for? Join today to see what bicycle adventure awaits you in our club.

A lifetime membership in People Cycling is absolutely FREE, so please join us and become one of us – we the people, cycling together.