Border crossings are a tricky but essential part of road trip travel. These border crossing 101 travel tips will help you negotiate the border between Pisiga, Bolivia and Colchane, Chile smoothly with or without a vehicle.
Hello Chile.
From: Pisiga, Bolivia
To: Colchane, Chile
Date: October 7, 2017
Lay of the land: This border crossing is at 12,120 feet (3,695 meters) near the Salar de Coipasa. That’s low compared to other Bolivia to Chile border crossings like the Hito Cajón crossing near San Pedro de Atacama which is at 14,698 feet (4,480 meters). Both countries do immigration and customs formalities in the same building at this crossing.
Elapsed time: 2 hours (12:15 to 2:15). We arrived just after a bus full of student so we had to wait behind them in line for more than an hour to get our Bolivian entry and Temporary Importation Permit (TIP) canceled. Once we reached the window, that process was quick and free. After that it took just a few minutes to get our Chile entry stamp (also free). It took another 15 minutes to get our Chile TIP sorted out. Aduana (customs) agents had a golden retriever named Luke who sniffed our truck inside and out. Agents initially wanted us to remove everything from the truck and pass it through their x-ray machine, but they ultimately settled for x-raying a few bags and peaking inside some plastic bins.
The Chilean flag.
Number of days given: 90 days for us and for the truck
Fees: none
Vehicle insurance needed: You need to buy SOAT insurance to drive in Chile, however, there is no place to buy SOAT at this border. Luckily no one asked us for proof of SOAT at the border because The closest place we found to get SOAT was in Arica.
Where to fill up: There are gas stations on the Bolivian side where, presumably foreign plated cars can only fill with fuel at the official foreigner price of nearly US$5 per gallon (US$1.30 per liter). There are no gas stations in Colchane. We believe fuel is unavailable on the Chile side until you reach the Pan-American Highway.
Need to know: Posted signs said this border’s hours of operation are 8am to 8pm. There were money changers on the Bolivian side but not in Colchane. In fact, there’s not much at all in Colchane — no restaurants or stores and we only saw two hotels. Hotel Isluga is clean and has matrimonial rooms with private bathrooms for 36,000 CLP (about US$56) or for 25,000 CLP (about US$39) with shared bathrooms. Breakfast, hot water, TV with cable, parking, and Wi-Fi (when the electricity is working) are included. Our dinner of chicken, rice, and French fries (4,500 CLP, about US$7) at the hotel was fresh and tasty. Inca Hostal in Colchane has rooms with private bathrooms for 30,000 CLP (about US$47). Be aware that the time changes between Bolivia and Chile from mid August to mid May (we lost an hour when we crossed into Chile) because Chile is one of the few South American countries which observes Daylight Savings Time, so factor that in.
Duty free: nope
Overall border rating: Good. If we hadn’t gotten stuck behind the bus full of student we would have been in and our in around an hour with very little hassle regarding our truck.
The church in the town of Isluga which is not far off the main road and worth a quick stop as a side trip or as you’re driving across Isluga Volcano National Park toward Arica.
Here’s more about travel in Bolivia
Here’s more about travel in Chile
Closest fuel stations on Chile side are in Pozo Almonte, on Pan Am highway just south of junction for Iquique. In an emergency you might be able to get a few litres from someone in Colchane or Huara (junction with Pan Am, has police and customs checkpoint). Best to fill up on Bolivia side if possible.
Thanks for the helpful tips, James! We drove from Colchane to Arica through the parks, so we have no knowledge of the PanAm there.
Fuel stations are surprisingly few and far between away from main towns in northern Chile (unlike Bolivia). Pozo Almonte or Iquique would be the first ones you would come to if you were heading south from Arica. Always worth checking where the next one is so you don’t get caught out!
Thanks for uploading this kind of helpful tips.
hi all,rob here Ireland,I plan to arrive Iquique Chile ,stay for a few days then head to uyuni Bolivia for a desert endurance challenge some 50 days solo walk to be the first person the circumnavigate this desert with a guest called Sheila my bathtub,
not a hoax ,raising funds for a children surgery centre in Peru.
my concerns are customs with my bathtub flying in from Ireland,she is in Tanzania now after the Kilimanjaro challenge to the top on my back. hopefully arrives Dublin in two weeks.
any forseen problems do you think with customes as I believe its deemed not a house hold item by Bolivia customs and requires a inport licence.march mid is projected start date on this my third worlds wide challenge with Sheila my bathtub.
kind reg all, rob
Hi Rob,
We receive quite a few info requests but yours may be the most unique we’ve come across.
We can’t really tell you how Bolivian Aduana (customs) will deal with this, but in our experience, it hasn’t been the toughest border crossings we’ve encountered. I would think that this shouldn’t be a problem given your reason (if not quite normal) that can be backed up with proof based on your previous exploits. That said, I’d reach out to the nearest Bolivian Embassy and they could probably provide you with a letter to ease your way if you did encounter a problem.
When are you off on this adventure?
Good luck to you and Sheila!