23‑DAY THE NEW WORLD RIDE – Colombia to Peru

Very few motorcycle routes on Earth compress this much geography into a single trip. The New World Ride links the Caribbean coast, Andean cloud-forests, equatorial volcano belts, Pacific deserts and the Inca heartland — an ever-changing backdrop that keeps every one of the 23 days fresh. You start at humid sea level in Cartagena, where temperatures sit around 32 °C, and within two weeks you are breathing crisp 5 °C mountain air above 4,000 m near Huascarán. Three countries, two border crossings — and we handle the authorisation to cross borders with the rental motorcycle, which is included in the expedition price, along with the shipping of the bikes to Cartagena.

The route reads like a highlight reel of the continent: the Walled City of Cartagena, the tropical lowlands of the Caribbean–Sinú, Medellín — the "City of Eternal Spring" — the UNESCO-listed Coffee Cultural Landscape and the wax-palm valleys of Salento, white-washed Popayán, the Andean highlands down to Pasto and Laguna de la Cocha, the Otavalo indigenous market in Ecuador, the Avenue of the Volcanoes, the waterfalls of Baños and its famous "Swing at the End of the World", colonial Cuenca, Peru's Pacific beaches, the pre-Columbian ruins of Chan Chan and Huaca del Sol y la Luna at Trujillo, the Cordillera Blanca and Huascarán National Park, Lima's world-class gastronomy, the Huacachina desert oasis, an over-flight of the Nazca Lines, the Apurímac canyon roads, the Inca capital Cusco and, to finish it all, Machu Picchu itself.

We were the first tour operator in Colombia, and 17+ years of running motorcycles through these countries — more than 4,000 riders to date — is exactly what an expedition of this scale demands. This is not a loop; it is a true south-bound crossing of the New World, and every ferry, toll and piece of border paperwork is pre-arranged so you can focus on the ride.

We publish a terrain profile for every tour so you can match the route to your skills before you book. The New World Ride rates 5% off-road, 75% comfort and 100% fun. In plain words: road conditions are about 70% quality asphalt — including long sections of the famed Panamericana — and 30% twisty high-altitude back-roads. No off-road skills are required, but confident cornering and comfort with elevation changes are essential. This is an expedition for street riders who love mountains, not an enduro test.

Daily distances average 250–350 km. The longest days are the 459 km desert run from Cuenca's side of the border down the Peruvian coast to Chiclayo and the 459 km climb from Nazca to Abancay — the day the itinerary honestly describes as tackling "thousands of mountain curves". Between them sit shorter, denser days like the 146 km hop from Huacachina to Nazca or the 195 km final leg into Cusco. And the expedition breathes: non-riding exploration days are built in at Medellín, Baños, Lima and Cusco, so you recharge in the four cities most worth lingering in.

The character of the riding keeps shifting with the map. Colombia opens with tropical lowlands from Cartagena to Caucasia, then Andean hills through Antioquia, coffee-country curves to Salento and mountain roads south to Pasto. Ecuador is highland riding past volcanoes and lush valleys — Otavalo, Baños, Cuenca. Peru begins with the tranquil beaches of Zorritos, runs the Pan-American Highway through coastal desert to Chiclayo and Trujillo, climbs from the Pacific into the high Andes at Huaraz, drops down switchbacks into Lima, crosses the Ica desert to Huacachina and Nazca, and finishes with the great Andean climb through Abancay to Cusco.

You never ride it alone. A professional multilingual tour leader heads the group, a support team and vehicle travel with you the whole way carrying luggage and a spare bike, and fuel and road tolls are covered. All 22 nights are in accommodation — a hand-picked mix of boutique colonial hotels, eco-lodges set amid coffee fields and modern city properties, always with private bath — so a 23-day expedition never means roughing it. That is the 75% comfort score doing its job, with the remaining margin simply acknowledging that this is a long, high-altitude adventure rather than a resort tour.

Three countries means three distinct cultures, and the itinerary builds in time to actually experience them. These are the anchors of the expedition, roughly in riding order:

• Cartagena (day 1). The expedition opens in the colourful colonial city on the Caribbean coast — the Walled City is the classic first-evening walk before the bikes roll out.
• Medellín (days 3–4). A full exploration day in the City of Eternal Spring: cable cars, museums and nightlife in the most transformed city in South America.
• The Coffee Triangle and Salento (day 5). Sinuous mountain roads weave through Colombia's UNESCO-listed Coffee Cultural Landscape, where Arabica plantations give way to 60-metre wax palms — the tallest palms on Earth. We stop for a farm-to-cup espresso in a traditional finca before rolling into colourful Salento.
• Popayán and Pasto (days 6–7). White-washed colonial Popayán, then the Andean highlands south past Laguna de la Cocha to the Ecuadorian border.
• Otavalo (day 8). Your first day in Ecuador lands you at South America's most famous craft market: naturally dyed textiles, hand-woven ponchos and Andean pan-pipes across Plaza de los Ponchos, framed by the volcanic peaks of Imbabura and Cotacachi.
• Baños (days 9–10). After riding the Avenue of the Volcanoes, a full free day for waterfalls, hot springs, adventure sports and the "Swing at the End of the World".
• Cuenca and Zorritos (days 11–12). A beautiful colonial city in the Ecuadorian Andes, then across the border to Peru's tranquil Pacific beaches.
• Trujillo (day 14). The colonial city and its mud ruins — Chan Chan and the Huaca del Sol y la Luna — reached along the Pan-American Highway.
• Huaraz and the Cordillera Blanca (day 15). The climb from the Pacific coast into the heart of the high Andes, under the peaks of Huascarán National Park.
• Lima (days 16–17). An exploration day in the City of Kings: the historic centre and a world-class culinary scene that riders plan whole evenings around.
• Huacachina and Nazca (days 18–19). A natural desert oasis ringed by massive dunes, then the Nazca Lines — from a small Cessna you trace gigantic monkeys, hummingbirds and the famed astronaut figure, geoglyphs etched into the desert floor more than 1,500 years ago. The fly-over is included.
• Cusco and Machu Picchu (days 21–23). The Inca capital's markets and ruins, with a rest day to explore — and the included day trip to Machu Picchu as the expedition's crowning finale before the transfer to the airport.

Group activities and entry fees are included in the expedition price — the Machu Picchu day trip and the Nazca Lines fly-over among them — so there is no ticket-counter arithmetic along the way.

The motorcycles. The base bike is the Honda NX500, included in the expedition price. If you prefer more displacement, two upgrades are available: the Honda Transalp XL750 for +$999 or the Honda Africa Twin CRF1100 for +$1,499. All bikes are professionally maintained, mandatory third-party liability insurance is included, and the motorcycle damage and theft liability reduction insurance is available as a +$575 option. A refundable security deposit on your credit card is required to take the bike out, sized according to the rental bike you choose.

The group. We keep the expedition small: minimum 6 riders, maximum 12, led by a professional multilingual tour leader with a support team and vehicle alongside. Riding two-up? The Add Pillion/Passenger option (+$5,999) covers your co-rider. Accommodation is in shared rooms by default, with a single-room upgrade available for +$1,599.

What the price covers. The expedition starts at $11,999 per rider on the Honda NX500 in a shared room. That includes the rental motorcycle and all costs involved, the shipping of the bikes to Cartagena, border-crossing authorisation for the motorcycle, 22 nights of accommodation, all breakfasts, fuel and road tolls, group activities and entry fees (including the Machu Picchu day trip and the Nazca Lines fly-over), airport transfers at Cartagena (CTG) and Cusco (CUZ) on official arrival and departure days, a pre-tour preparation guide and briefing, a MotoDreamer apparel gift, up to 25% discount on riding gear from our partners Klim, Giant Loop and Mosko Moto, and all taxes. Airfare, lunches, dinners and drinks, visas and travel insurance are not included — for travel and evacuation cover with cancellation protection we point riders to Global Rescue.

Booking and payment. Hit Book Now, pick your date and pay the deposit; we accept bank transfer, Visa, Mastercard, American Express, PayPal and Bitcoin, and you can split the balance into monthly payments with no interest. Booking as a group is rewarded: when 5 riders pay, rider number 6 travels free. Every booking is backed by our price match and departure guarantees. The next departure runs October 15 to November 6, 2026 — with a single spot left at the time of writing — and the expedition returns October 15 to November 6, 2028. Private or customized group dates are available on request.

Who can join. You need to be 20 or older with at least one year of experience on a 500cc-or-bigger motorcycle, hold a valid driver's license with motorcycle endorsement, and carry a passport with at least six months' validity at tour start. No off-road experience is required — if you corner confidently at home and are comfortable with altitude, this route is within your reach.

Seventeen-plus years of operating in South America and more than 4,000 riders have shaped every kilometre of this route. From the Caribbean to Machu Picchu, the New World Ride is our continent-crossing expedition — and the reason we were the first operator in Colombia is the same reason we still run it best.