TRANSCONTINENTAL: USHUAIA – AREQUIPA

Welcome to Ushuaia, the city at the end of the world, nestled between the mountains and the Beagle Channel. At the end of Ruta 3, in Tierra del Fuego National Park and facing Antarctica, your motorcycle road trip across South America begins where the roads run out. We follow the channel to Estancia Harberton, then cross Tierra del Fuego through wind-twisted forests and dark peat bogs to Porvenir, before taking the ferry across the Strait of Magellan to Puerto Natales.

After skirting Torres del Paine National Park, we cross back into Argentina towards El Calafate, on the trail of Butch Cassidy along Lago Argentino. A rest day brings the breathtaking sight of the Perito Moreno Glacier, a rumbling wall of ice 197 ft high. Then the summit of Fitz Roy tears through the clouds as we approach El Chaltén, the grand gateway to Los Glaciares National Park.

Heading north on the legendary Ruta 40, we take on the "Malditos 73" challenge: 45 miles of loose gravel and crosswinds that put our machines to the test. Between herds of guanacos and great blue lakes, we reach Estancia La Angostura and then Lago Posadas. The Paso Roballo border, a wind-swept no man's land of demanding tracks, takes us back into Chile to Puerto Río Tranquilo, on the shores of Lake General Carrera. There, a boat trip to the Marble Cathedrals reveals a labyrinth of natural caves with bluish reflections.

Day 1: Ushuaia → Estancia Harberton – 47 mi
Day 2: Estancia Harberton-Argentina → Porvenir-Chile – 271 mi (off-road: 78 mi)
Day 3: Porvenir → Puerto Natales – 177 mi
Day 4: Puerto Natales → Torres del Paine – 53 mi
Day 5: Torres del Paine-Chile → El Calafate-Argentina – 179 mi (off-road: 25 mi)
Day 6: El Calafate → El Calafate – 0 mi
Day 7: El Calafate → Chalten – 224 mi
Day 8: Chalten → Estancia La Angostura – 183 mi (off-road: 45 mi)
Day 9: Estancia La Angostura → Lago Posadas – 167 mi (off-road: 45 mi)
Day 10: Lago Posadas-Argentina → Puerto Rio Tranquilo-Chile – 146 mi (off-road: 146 mi)
Day 11: Puerto Rio Tranquilo → Puerto Rio Tranquilo – 0 mi.

From Puerto Río Tranquilo, we set out on the legendary Carretera Austral. Ruta 7 leads us to Puerto Aysén, a small port of colourful houses overlooking misty bays, then through Queulat National Park and its fishing villages to Puyuhuapi, a hot-spring village nestled in a fjord surrounded by hanging glaciers and waterfalls.

Via Futaleufú, with its deep canyons and rushing rivers, we cross back into Argentina, where the pampa contrasts sharply with Chile's greenery. Heading due north to Esquel, we ride through national parks of ancient cypress trees and turquoise lakes to Bariloche. Patagonia takes on an alpine, almost European feel, and a welcome break lets us ride along Lake Nahuel Huapi, stroll through town and enjoy chocolates and craft beers.

Back on the track, the views keep coming: emerald lakes such as Meliquina roll past while the Lanín volcano dominates the horizon, all the way to San Martín de los Andes and an asado with the locals. Between tarmac and ochre dust, the Seven Lakes region takes us along crystal-clear lakes such as Lake Moquehue and its wild forests to Villa Pehuenia. We then cross back into Chile through Conguillío National Park, where our bikes wind along a track of black ash between ancient araucaria trees, under the watchful eye of the Llaima volcano, to the village of Curacautín.

Day 12: Puerto Rio Tranquilo → Puerto Aysen – 173 mi (off-road: 62 mi)
Day 13: Puerto Aysen → Puyuhuapi – 165 mi (off-road: 43 mi)
Day 14: Puyuhuapi-Chile → Esquel-Argentina – 152 mi (off-road: 56 mi)
Day 15: Esquel → Bariloche – 216 mi
Day 16: Bariloche → Bariloche – 0 mi
Day 17: Bariloche → San Martin de los Andes – 236 mi (off-road: 62 mi)
Day 18: San Martin de los Andes → Villa Pehuenia – 158 mi (off-road: 50 mi)
Day 19: Villa Pehuenia-Argentina → Curacautin-Chile – 83 mi (off-road: 34 mi).

Curacautín, a haven of peace facing the majestic Llaima volcano, marks the start of a new section. We swap the dense, humid greenery of the volcanoes for the salty air of the Pacific coast: along the shore towards Constitución, the scenery alternates between cliffs, wild beaches and pine forests. Valparaíso then welcomes us, a chaotic and colourful port, and a rest day lets us explore on foot this open-air museum of poetic street art.

Heading east, the legendary Paso Caracoles and its 29 dizzying hairpins carry us up into the Andes and mark our return to Argentina. The corrugated tracks of Uspallata lead us to San José de Jáchal, an oasis at the foot of the Andes. The journey then takes on an otherworldly feel in the Valley of the Moon (Ischigualasto Park), a fossil desert dotted with rock mushrooms and dinosaur footprints, before we rejoin the famous Ruta 40 and the curves of the Cuesta de Miranda, in the heart of a bright red valley, to Chilecito.

Distances are given as a guide only.

The road to Belén becomes a challenge: remote trails where riding becomes instinctive between dry riverbeds, watched only by the odd shepherd, then gravel tracks weaving between the abandoned mines of Minas Capillitas. The green vineyards of Cafayate and its renowned bodegas welcome us, before the Quebrada de las Conchas, a glowing red canyon of natural amphitheatres, guides us to Salta "la Linda". In this beautiful colonial city, we celebrate the stage with a traditional asado and folk music.

Day 20: Curacautin → Constitucion – 309 mi
Day 21: Constitucion → Valparaiso – 243 mi (off-road: 4 mi)
Day 22: Valparaiso → Valparaiso – 0 mi
Day 23: Valparaiso-Chile → Uspallata-Argentina – 185 mi
Day 24: Uspallata → San Jose de Jachal – 247 mi (off-road: 22 mi)
Day 25: San Jose de Jachal → Chilecito – 208 mi (off-road: 37 mi)
Day 26: Chilecito → Belen via Tinogasta – 140 mi (off-road: 35 mi)
Day 27: Belen → Cafayate via Andalgala – 190 mi (off-road: 62 mi)
Day 28: Cafayate → Salta – 164 mi (off-road: 61 mi)
Day 29: Salta → Salta – 0 mi.