From Pampas Green to Andean Blue: Crossing the Roof of the World via Paso de Jama

Picking up my truck at the Port of Montevideo felt like the true starting gun for this South American adventure. But the first leg wasn\’t about drama; it was about patience, distance, and green—so much green.

For hundreds of miles, the journey through Uruguay and Argentina was defined by the pampa. It’s an almost featureless expanse, an ocean of grass where the fence lines are longer than any road, and the vast herds of cattle are the true monarchs. It was a meditative drive, where days blended into long, flat stretches, preparing the mind for the vertical shock to come.

The Tilt: Reaching the Andes

The world truly tilted once we reached Jujuy. Suddenly, the smooth, flat horizon was replaced by colossal, multi-colored mountain walls. We’d reached the start of the Andes. My base for the night was Tilcara (2600 m), a beautiful pre-Andean town and home to the essential last gas station before the real climbing began.

The next morning, I was determined to get an early start to avoid the congestion of the trucker crowd on Ruta 52. This was the main event.

The climb was relentless and breathtaking. In about an hour, the truck chewed through the altitude, pushing us past the thin air barrier and up toward 4500 m. The landscape shifted from scrubland to an alien world of ochre mountains and stark white salares (salt flats). We passed through high-altitude settlements like Susques, places that feel like they defy gravity and civilization.

The Roof of the World

After about two and a half hours of climbing, we arrived at the massive, isolated border station of Paso de Jama. Once the customs check was complete, I crossed over into Chile and onto the legendary Ruta 27.

The Chilean side was even more demanding, immediately taking the elevation up to nearly 5000 m. The air was thin, the winds were high, and the only other inhabitants were the stoic Andean foxes, hunting for whatever tough life the altiplano offered. It truly felt like driving on the roof of the world.

The descent was spectacular. By early afternoon, the high desert plateau dropped into the red, arid expanse of the Atacama Desert. I passed the oasis town of San Pedro de Atacama, a magnet for travelers, and finally pulled into Calama, concluding a dramatic, single-day transition from the Argentine lowlands to the highest navigable passes in the Andes. What a drive!

Paso de Jama Crossing Youtube

Description: Youtube

Join me for the most dramatic single-day drive of my South American truck trip! We start on the vast, cattle-dotted pampas of Uruguay and Argentina, but the landscape changes violently when we hit the Andes in Jujuy. Follow along as I leave Tilcara (2600m) and climb Ruta 52, crossing stunning salares (salt flats) and passing through high-altitude towns like Susques. The final ascent takes us over Paso de Jama and onto Chile’s Ruta 27, where we peak near 5000m in high winds, surrounded by Andean foxes. See the full transition from green lowlands to the arid, Martian beauty of the Atacama Desert on the way to Calama. Hit like and subscribe for more overlanding adventures!