I Camped Near One of the World’s Highest International Borders… BIG MISTAKE 🥶 | Ep. 41

Today is the last day of my visa, so I will enter Bolivia today. I have reached 4600 metres now, and I am having a lot of trouble breathing. We will go to the base, which is at around 5000 metres.

I paid ₹2000 for something—everything is very expensive here. I have loaded all my सामान (luggage), so the cycle is overloaded. I have even put a horseshoe on it so that no evil eye affects me.

There is a bank inside that vehicle. Right now, I am looking for a place where I can sleep.

Hello, salaam, Sat Sri Akal, Ram Ram everyone. Once again, welcome to my YouTube channel.

Last night, I came here and slept. This is my hostel. My सामान was just lying like this; I didn’t unpack much. I just took a bed and went to sleep. There are three beds in this room. It’s a small but beautiful hostel. There is also a restaurant or bar here, and inside they have made a small hostel with around 10–12 rooms. They have even done plantation here—look at this pomegranate tree, the fruits are so big.

I will park my cycle here, explore the city a bit, and then leave. Look at these pomegranates—one even burst open. They taste sweet. There are so many on this tree.

I will check out, leave the cycle here, and first go around the city.

This is a restaurant. It’s 10:00 in the morning. The city feels like a desert—dust is blowing everywhere. Let’s go and explore the city.

There is a big craze for cycling here. People move around on bicycles. There are also currency exchange shops here, called “cambio”.

You can see many tourists here, mostly Europeans. This is another currency exchange shop. This is the main street of the city. Everywhere, you will see people travelling on bicycles.

This place gives a feeling similar to cities like Casablanca in Morocco.

From here, you can book many tours. You can even go to Bolivia—there are 4-day tour packages available. There are many restaurants here, beautifully designed inside.

In the morning, most people go out on tours. Tourists come here, take packages for 1–3 days, and go into the desert. There are hot springs, high-altitude lagoons, and saltwater lakes where you can float without sinking.

This is a supermarket. And after this, the city almost ends. The city is surrounded by volcanic mountains, and they look absolutely stunning.

People also come here to train because the oxygen level is low, which helps improve lung capacity.

There are many small restaurants and hotels here, not very big ones. People move around on bicycles, and you will find many rental cycle shops everywhere.

I explored the entire city in about half an hour. It is a small town.

Now I am outside the city. From here, I will show you the view. We need to go towards those mountains—you can see them there. The elevation there is around 3000 metres.

This is the city centre. There is a vehicle here that works as a mobile bank. This is the market area. That building is the municipality office of San Pedro de Atacama.

This is a local market called “feria”, where small vendors sell goods. There are very small shops here. I can see more Bolivian and Peruvian culture here rather than Chilean traditions.

Even while walking, I am feeling breathless today. I am not sure how far I will be able to go.

Many shops are closed. Now I have reached the other side of the city. This road goes further ahead.

The houses here are simple and made of mud, wood, and stones—just like in desert areas. Even the poles are made of wood.

This is a supermarket. It is the only big supermarket in this town. Before leaving, I need to pack food supplies for the next five days.

Let me show you outside the city once more. This is the road I came from last night.

I saw a beautiful cycle here under a tree. It looks amazing. It is decorated so nicely—with lights, even a sheep’s decoration, and a horseshoe for good luck.

I have been cycling for 10 years and have seen many cycles, but this is the first time I have seen such a beautifully decorated one. It looks absolutely stunning.

This road goes towards Calama. There is a small river here. On the other side of the river is Moon Valley, and on this side is Death Valley.

If you ever come here, you can take tours. But I will go to even more challenging places than Death Valley.

Water here is brought from far away, from the mountains and snow, almost 40 km away. This water supplies the entire city through a single pipeline.

This is a shop selling vintage items. You will also find some people using drugs here, though not as many as in big cities.

So, I have completed the full round of the city. Now I will sit somewhere and fly my drone again.

And this is a bike shop.

Today is the last day of my visa, so I will enter Bolivia today. I have already reached 4600 metres, and breathing is becoming very difficult. We will go to the base of these mountains, which is around 5000 metres.

I paid ₹2000 for something here—everything is very expensive in this place. I have loaded all my luggage, so the cycle is fully overloaded. I have even put a horseshoe on it to protect from bad luck.

There is a mobile bank inside a vehicle here. Right now, I am looking for a place where I can sleep.

Hello, salaam, Sat Sri Akal, Ram Ram to everyone. Once again, welcome to my YouTube channel.

Last night, I stayed here. This is my hostel. My luggage was lying just like this—I didn’t even unpack much. I just took the room and slept. They gave me this bed. There are three beds in this room.

It’s a beautiful hostel. There is a restaurant or bar here, and inside they have made this small hostel with around 10–12 rooms. They have also done some plantation here. Look at these pomegranates—so big! One has even burst open. Let me taste it… wow, it’s sweet!

I will park my cycle here, check out, and first explore the city.

This is a restaurant. It’s 10:00 in the morning. The city feels like a desert—dust flying everywhere.

Let’s ride inside the city. There is a big craze for cycling here. People use bicycles to move around. There are also “cambio” shops—currency exchange places.

This is another hostel. Many tourists come here, mostly Europeans. You can see people exchanging money here. These currency exchange shops are called “Casa de Cambio”.

This is the main street of the city. You will see people riding bicycles everywhere.

The city gives a feeling similar to places like Casablanca in Morocco.

From here, you can also book tours to nearby places. There are tours to Bolivia as well—some are 4-day tours. There are many restaurants here, beautifully designed from inside.

In the morning, most tourists leave for tours. People take 1-day, 2-day, or 3-day packages and go into the desert. There are hot springs here, high-altitude lagoons, and saltwater lakes where you can float without sinking.

This is a supermarket. And almost here, the city ends.

The entire city is surrounded by volcanic mountains. They look so beautiful—it feels like something magical.

People also come here for training because of low oxygen levels. It helps improve lung capacity.

There are small bakeries and restaurants everywhere. This is a small town, with small hotels and cafés, not big ones.

People mostly move around on bicycles. You will find rental cycle shops everywhere.

Now I have almost covered the entire city in about half an hour—it’s a small town.

Let me show you the view from this side. Now I have to go towards those mountains you can see ahead. That’s around 3000 metres elevation from here.

This is the city centre. There is a mobile bank inside a vehicle here. This is the market area, and that building is the municipality office of San Pedro de Atacama.

This is a local market called “feria”. There are small shops selling different items. The shops are very small.

Here, I feel more influence of Bolivian and Peruvian culture rather than Chilean.

Even while walking, I am feeling breathless today. I’m not sure if I will be able to ride properly.

Many shops are closed. Now I have come to the other side of the city. This road goes ahead towards the mountains.

Most houses here are simple and made like desert homes—using wood, mud, and stones. Even the poles are made of wood. It reminds me of old village houses in India.

This is the only big supermarket in the town. Yesterday, I bought some things from here. Before leaving, I need to pack food supplies for the next 5 days.

Let me show you outside the city again. I came from this road last night.

Look at this beautiful cycle parked under a tree. It is decorated so nicely—lights, design, even a sheep figure on it. It looks amazing. There’s also a horseshoe on it for good luck.

I have been cycling for 10 years and have seen many bicycles, but this is the most beautifully decorated one I have ever seen.

That road goes towards Calama. There is a small river here—crossing it leads to Moon Valley, and on this side is Death Valley.

If you ever come here, you can take tours to these places. But I am planning to go to even more extreme locations.

Water is brought into the city from the mountains, from about 40 km away. There is only one main pipeline supplying water to the whole city.

This is a vintage shop. And yes, you will find a few people here who drink or use substances, but not as many as in big cities.

So, I have completed the full round of the city. Now I will sit somewhere and fly my drone again.

And look, this is a bike shop.

I will not go very close to the border because the border is at 4500 metres. I will go up to around 3500–4000 metres. Look at the weather all around—it has changed completely. The road has become totally empty now. No one is coming. There is just a tower, and I am getting breathless.

I have reached 2700 metres. San Pedro is at 2300 metres, so I have climbed about 350 metres. Nothing much is visible on the camera, but it feels like I am in a galaxy. The time is around 10 pm… now it is almost 11 pm. I am looking for a place to sleep. I cannot ride anymore—it is a very steep climb. I will continue in the morning. My cycle “Dhanno” is standing here. Look, the moon is rising—it feels like daytime.

Good morning, friends. I have woken up. Sunrise is about to happen. It was very cold at night, so I covered myself with an extra layer. Usually, I don’t spread my stuff like this, but today everything is scattered. Now the sun has risen, and suddenly it has become very bright. This was my place for the night.

I will pack everything now and move ahead. There must be some town ahead. I could not travel much at night because I got tempted by network signal. If I had gone further, there would be no network.

Everything is ready. I packed my tent and belongings. There was donkey dung near me last night—I didn’t even notice. Now I say goodbye to beautiful San Pedro. I have covered around 202 km from San Pedro.

It is 5:15 am, and the sunlight is already very strong. I can see trucks struggling in first gear. They are having a very hard time. I knew I would also struggle. The border is about 20–21 km away, and the entire stretch is uphill.

Today I am carrying a lot of water—two 3-litre bottles, plus other bottles—around 6 litres in total. I have been pedalling continuously for 2 hours without stopping. I have never pedalled like this before. I am completely exhausted. Only 5 km left to the border. I already covered 13 km, and I am tired.

Look at that mountain—that’s the one I saw from far away. Now I will take a rest here for half an hour or one hour. I will make coffee and first fly my drone.

Drone is done. Now let’s prepare something to eat—bread and coffee. The trucks are struggling badly. I feel lucky I started early in the morning. At night, it would have been much harder.

Drink coffee, drink tea—but honestly, this doesn’t really build health. I brought bread and cheese, but it got crushed due to overloading. I will have to finish it now. Everything is scattered here—salt, spices, dry fruits, bananas—because I don’t know if I will get food in the next two days.

There is a small restaurant after 100 km, but for vegetarians, it is very difficult to find food. Anyway, I will eat now. Last night I didn’t even have dinner—just two bananas and juice.

Coffee is done. Now packing again.

I have reached 4100 metres. I need to go up to 4600 metres. After breakfast, I will move slowly. The next 400 metres will be difficult, then it will be easier and more flat.

My throat is getting bad, and cold wind is blowing. There is snow on the mountains. Small streams of water are flowing—this water goes to San Pedro city. That city depends on these mountains for water. In summer, it becomes very difficult. In winter, there is snowfall.

I have reached 4600 metres. Breathing is very difficult. Only about 2.5 km left. The highest point is around 4660 metres. After that, it will go downhill. The border is also at this height.

The wind has become strong. The immigration building is now visible. I need to complete Chile immigration here. Bolivia is still about 2200 metres lower from here, so I will feel better there.

I am slowly climbing, sometimes walking. At high altitude, breathing becomes difficult, and I have started getting a slight headache.

Only 300 metres left. That building ahead is Chile immigration. These mountains are half in Chile and half in Bolivia.

This will be the highest border crossing of my journey across 132 countries—around 4650 metres above sea level.

Now only a few metres left. I just want to clear immigration quickly. Bolivia immigration is a bit lower, so my headache will reduce.

Finally, I have reached. This is the border. Time to say goodbye to Chile.

I went inside immigration, and they stamped my passport. Today is the last day of my visa, and today I will enter Bolivia.

I spent 3 months in this country. Honestly, this has been one of the best countries I have explored. I saw glaciers, mountains, deserts, plains, beaches, fog, and rain—everything here.

Chile is long like Kerala in shape but about 4500 km in length. I had many sweet and challenging experiences. Many friends supported me on this journey, especially Karan, who was the first person I met here.

From there, I kept meeting people and moving forward, and today I reached the end of Chile.

These 90 days have been amazing.

My cycle “Dhanno” is standing outside. This is Chile immigration. From here, the road becomes rough, and Bolivia border is about 5–6 km ahead.

So friends, I will end this video here. See you in the next video from Bolivia.

Till then—stay happy, stay busy, stay positive, stay healthy.

Jai Hind, Jai Bharat 🇮🇳