Routes, highway information, travel advisories, trip reports and related data about traveling by land in South America.
Pros and cons of the Trans Oceanic highway to "connect the Atlantic and Pacific oceans with a 2,500-mile highway that passes deep through the Amazon rain forest."
In the late 1980s, Colombia had three main highways. The Pan American began at the border with Ecuador and passed near Cali on its way north through Medellín to Cartagena. The eastern highway ran north from Bogotá to Cúcuta and the Venezuelan border. It also linked up with the Pan American Highway west of Bogotá. The third major highway ran east to west through the northern Caribbean lowlands.
Information about the Central American countries, border information, road tips and experiences on the Pan American highway.
A Complete Guide for Do-It-Yourself Planning and Driving Through Mexico and Central America (Paperback) by Raymond Pritchard, Audrey Pritchard
"Highway E-35 "Troncal de la Sierra" (Highland's Road), but commonly known to Ecuadorians as "La Panamericana". It connects all the cities and towns from the Sierra region, from Tulcán at the north (border with Colombia), passing through Quito, the country's capital, to the south border with Peru."
Pros and cons of closing the Darien Gap to make the Pan American Highway complete.
"The Andean Passes Program, involving the analysis of potential improvements to 13 existing highway connections across the Andes Mountains along the 5,200-kilometer Argentina-Chile border, is part of an ambitious effort to encourage increased economic integration between Argentina and Chile."
"The Pan American Highway system connects North and South America, from Alaska to Argentina. In Latin America, a 10,000-mile portion of the highway stretches from the U.S. / Mexican border to the southern tip of Patagonia. Hit the road with Aurora Photographer Melissa Farlow as she travels through Mexico, Peru and Chile along the Pan Am Highway."
"The Pan-American Highway begins its path in South America in Venezuela. Most travelers on the highway coming from Panama will probably skip traveling the Venezuela section and take a boat from Balboa to Ecuador to avoid the Darién Gap and Colombia. Nonetheless, the Venezuela stretch of the highway is an important connector between Caracas and Bogotá, the capital of Colombia."
"Here, where Central and South America come together, lies a rain forest containing one of the richest ecological regions on Earth. It's also an obstacle to the completion of the Pan-American Highway, more than 16,000 miles of continuous road from Alaska to the tip of South America."
"The scenery is often spectacular, and the highway crosses many picturesque localities. The system is far from uniform; some stretches are passable only during the dry season, and in several regions driving is occasionally hazardous. In the late 1960s, much of the highway was improved."
"In South America the highway follows the western coast of the continent to Santiago, Chile, turning east across the Andes to Buenos Aires, Argentina." Other branches, too.
Scroll down to the middle of the page for the South American portions of the highway, beginning in Colombia and branching out into various countries.
"Since the Conference of American States in 1923 there have been plans to build a Pan-American Highway - a continuous roadway running the full 25,800km (16,000 mi) from Alaska to the bottom of Chile. Now, all but 88km (54mi) are complete, so aside from a time-consuming detour, it's possible to drive from above the Arctic Circle down to Puerto Montt, nearly 1000km (600mi) south of Santiago, Chile."
Account and photos of a "a 72-hour trip atop this truck, on a narrow dirt road that curves like an earthworm held by the tail over a 15,585-foot (4,750-meter) pass and then down, down into the humid rain forest," and the east-west Carretera Transoceanica.
"Officials say the main purpose of the 711-mile Transoceanic Highway is to enable farmers in the Brazilian Amazon to efficiently bring agricultural products (like soybeans and cattle) to international markets, but environmentalists fear the road will result in increased destruction of the Amazon rainforest."
