Michał

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BORDERS - PASO DE JAMA 🇦🇷 / 🇨🇱

23.24°S, 67.08°W

We all go through different passages in life… mine usually means Chile*

Chile, as the mountainous extension of Argentina, plays a very important role. Thanks to Chile, you can exit and enter Argentina — and you can do it in the mountains. Crossing the Chilean-Argentine borders is one of my main hobbies, and I have many achievements in this field: next on the list — Paso de Jama!

Paso de Jama, Paso de Jama… — the caravan walked through the desert… the northernmost crossing — it connects Argentina’s Ruta Nacional 52 with Ruta CH-27 (Chile). From 4320m a.s.l. on the Chilean side, you descend literally and figuratively sharply downward, cutting through Atacama, solar farms and volcanic ranges together with caravans of trucks crawling at 10 km/h, all the way to the popular desert resort with that kind of loose-but-rigid vibe — San Pedro de Atacama.

The return is a real test for the engine; if you pass it — the descent on RN52 becomes pure pleasure — either you reach the not-always-passable-in-those-regions but adventure-guaranteeing RUTA40, or you wind down through the solar fields to the villages of Jujuy.

There’s asphalt, so it’s the aristocracy among mountain crossings — in terms of artistic impressions, it can’t compare to San Francisco, Aguas Negras or Piscas Negras, but it’s still cool.


*Chile — A little-liked South American country; they play football with the Russians." ALL TEXTS