Pato Canyon Road, or Duck Canyon is one of those roads we’ve tried to explore twice before and were turned around. It has its own listing on dangerousroads.org that you can read all about in great detail HERE. Compared to what type of roads we were on to get there we thought the road was a difficult but not nearly as bad as the rocky ruts we had been riding.

During our first South America trip in 2013 Michael made an attempt to ride the canyon and was turned around. In 2017 Deby and I tried it from the other direction but the road was washed out because of flooding. The third time would be the charm if we could get there.

It was another long day, starting at over 10,000 feet in the thin and cool mountain air. We were on the road by 8:30 AM and it took 80 miles and 6 hours to get to the start of the famous Duck Canyon. The road was mostly gravel and loose rock, in the picture below they were “improving” the road for us as we waited.

We didn’t mind stopping there and admiring the scenery.

Or looking back at the road we just rode up.

Painted hills?? Tourist attractions? Nothing but normal around here. Not even a sign.

We were in awe around every corner.

Of course, here is the glamor shot with my motorcycle.

We worked and worked down the mountains to the start of Duck Canyon, here is just part of the route that took most of the day.

Finally we dropped down into the “paved” road where we were turned around in 2013. It had warmed up into the 80’s at the lower elevations. We stopped for lunch at a dusty lonely Truckstop and had some sort of soup and Coca Colas just to give us some energy. Here is a little more from Dangerous Roads.org:

 

 

Tucked away on the southeastern part of Huaylas Province, the road follows the canyon carved by the Rio Santa (Santa River) at the north end of the Callejón de Huaylas (Corridor of Huaylas) in north-central Peru.

The road through the canyon runs along a path hewn out of sheer rock, over a precipitous gorge and passes through 54 unlit tunnels, hand-cut through solid stone. The road is mostly paved. It’s called Ruta 3N. It is 52.2 km (32.43 miles) long, running south-north from Caraz (in the Caraz District) to Yuracmarca or Yuraq Marka (in the Yuracmarca District).

Soon we were hitting the first of the tunnels.

We were amazed by the road and scenery. It’s a little bit popular so there was traffic here and there.

I even made a couple of short videos to give you the idea.

It’s strange now that we didn’t take too many pictures but glad to have a few videos that give the idea.

We ended up in the city of Caraz and a nice hotel called Casona Lara Lodge and Distillery. It was sort of strange that they were on Google but absolutely no sign in front. I rang the doorbell and they admitted us and our muddy bikes. We walked around the town a bit as the sun was setting and caught this view of the sun still hitting the glaciers on the mountains above town.

That day felt like a turning point, we needed to turn towards the Pacific Ocean and the capital city of Lima where we had appointments to get oil changes and new tires. It was a two day ride to Lima with an overnight in Huacho at Hotel Terrazas del Mar. Probably the nicest spot in town. It was right on the beach and our room had a ocean view. At least we got to walk on the beach and see another great sunset.

We were trying to remember, and yes, this was our first stay along the ocean in South America on this trip.

Lima

The best thing about Lima was us reconnecting with our amigo Ivan from Touratech Peru and Motoviajeros Peru. We met Ivan and his wife 13 years ago when we travelled south with Keith, Dave, Michael and Jim on MotoraidII. I contacted him about getting the bikes serviced after not getting a response from the Lima BMW dealer.

I didn’t realize that since that time Ivan’s operation has grown into a touring, rental and motorcycle service business for travelers as well as being the dealer for Touratech products. Ivan responded to my WhatsApp request right away and soon he was helping us will all the arrangements to get the bikes ready for the next leg of the trip.

We had a great stay at the hotel he recommended in the posh Miraflores neighborhood of the city. While Ivan’s crew took care of the motorcycles Deby and I walked the city and had some great food overlooking the ocean.

We dropped off the bikes on Monday afternoon and by Tuesday evening they were ready. Wow, I couldn’t recognize my motorcycle all clean and shiny!

Deby’s was just as clean….

Now we were ready for action! Best of all, Ivan took the time to sit down with us and look at a map and plan the next few days riding. He recommended cities, routes and gave us a list of hotels he recommended that we mostly used.

Once again… thank you Ivan! And, if you are ever in Peru and need any type of motorcycle assistance look him up at https://motoviajerosperu.com/

Next we head towards Cusco and twice have to reroute making for some long and adventures days.

Thanks for following,

Donn and Deby