Cuesta de Lipán - Pozo Colorado (RN52)

It got cold last night. The tent tarpaulin is is covered by a small layer of ice and even if it isn't raining, some moisture seems to condense out of the fog. Even though our campsite is conveniently located with direct acces to the road, we had a quiet at night. The heavy traffic stopped as darkness fell; fewer than 5 trucks rolled past us during the night. Despite beeing cold, it´s time for some positive action, so we get up, boil water for soma hot tea, then dismantle the tent and get on your bikes.     

Our campsite is located at an altitude of 3700m, the Lipán pass is at 4170m, which wich offers us 470m elevation gain to warm up. And luckily the weather improves over time: the clouds keep clearing and allowing us fantastic views of the sourounding slopes of Argentinias Andes.       

After a distance of about 1400 meters / 0.9 mi and 130 meters / 425 ft elevation gain, we stop and take a look back at the hairpin curves behind us where we pitched our tent last night. Up here it doesn't take much to decide to take a short break: above 3500 m, any reason for a break is appreciated.

After another 1600 meters / one mile and 110 meters / 360 ft of elevation gain, we stop at the Mirador de la Cuesta de Lipán viewpoint. We look back at our campsite again and the route behind us winding up the hill.

Shortly before we cross the 4000m altitude line, we take another look back at the last three bends in the upper section of the Cuesta de Lipán. The steep slopes into which the pass road is constructed, lay behinde us. 

In front of us there is much flatter terrain now. The gradient gets significantly smaller, the remaining 5% feel quite pleasant compared to what we cycled through. The wind up here suggests that we are already quite close to the top of the pass.  

The Lipán pass with its marker stone can be seen from afar. The last miles we even cycle under a blue sky. At the "Monolito 4170m de la Cuesta de Lipán" we have to wait a bit because a group of travellers falling out of a minibus in front of us occupy the stone for a group photo. Then it's our turn to take our summit photo. Done! 4170m! We've barely finished taking the summit photo when another minibus with a group of travellers stops. The driver gets out, opens the door and asks his passengers to applaud the crazy cyclists, and that is what the travellers do. Thanks for cheering us up!  

On the western flank of the pass, a completely different landscape unfolds: The Altiplano side of the Lipán is less steep and rugged than the climb on the east side. Here the Andes are more hilly and you feel the incredible vastness of the Puna. Instead of the steep hairpin bends we experienced on the climb, the road here seems to be more of a meander shape.  

While we stopped frequently on the climb to cope with the elevation gain and low oxygen levels in the air, here we stop even more frequently to enjoy the scenery. 

Up here on the Altiplano west of the Cuesta de Lipán it is just as colorful as the famous site in Purmamarca. The mountains surprise us with their colors, which range from light yellow to dark red. The efforts of the last few have definitely been worth it. 

Even though it's all downhill since we reached the top of the Lipán pass, we still have to pedal hard because the bikes don't roll by their own due to the strong wind. Any sections of the road that protects us from the wind are wellcomed. 

Have I mentioned how incredibly colorful the mountains here are?  

After a ride of around 20 kilometers / 12.5 mi at an altitude of 3,800 meters / 12500 ft , the mountainious part of the road ends. Now it becomes much flatter, we have arrived in the Puna, the Argentine part of the Altiplano. There is a nice restaurant on the road towards Salinas Grandes, where we stop and treat ourselves with a late second breakfast. Tea for Marion, coffee for me and a portion of fried eggs on freshly baked bread. And the whole meal under the blue sky of Argentinias Andes at 16°C. It can´t get any better.  

The Ruta 52 now leads straight towards the Salinas Grandes, which can be seen from distance as a bright strip in front of the next mountain range. It is also quite windy here, the area is known for its strong winds, which usually blow in a westerly direction at this time of year. 

On our last few meters to our accomodation we come across a group of vicunas (at least I think they are vicunas). The vicunas, along with the guanacos, are non-domesticated version of these animals, while llamas and alpacas are their domesticated relatives. The animals seem extremely curious, but unlike me, they don't seem to have a problem with the cold or the wind.