The Andes Cross – Vergara Pass, from Argentina to Chile

Hi Mariano,
Once again thank you for a wonderful time over Christmas and New Year. I enjoyed every minute of my stay in Argentina and Chile. I can’t wait to return to South America!

Dear Mariano,
After months of emails going back and forth it was finally a pleasure to meet you in person. You turned out to be just as accomplished and accommodating as your emails were.
Thank you very much for organizing such a wonderful trip. I am sitting in my office looking at the pictures and wondering if I was really there. You and your staff did an excellent job providing the riders with exceptional support. I know how much work goes into setting these trips up and running them. Thanks again for organizing and hope to see you in another trip in the near future.
Regards to your family….

MTB Tours, with whom we booked a tour, deserves a very high rating in all categories. The tour operator, Mariano, is extremely knowledgable about the route and all aspects of this exciting bicycle tour. He and his competent staff attended to every customer request no matter how small or seemingly trivial. Every detail in this complex operation was well thought out and expertly executed. The tour, crossing the Andes on mountain bicycles, was rigerous and demanding, but at the same time a memorable and worthwhile adventure. It was, in short, the experience of a lifetime and we wholeheartedly praise the operator for such a reasonably priced and expertly executed a tour.

Hi Andes bikers,
Thank you again to all of you for the good comradeship that we shared during the trip. I am very pleased to meet
you and maybe we get-together on further tour with Mariano.
Best regards
Klaus

Thank you for the best part of my holiday so far! I had so much fun and I can{t believe that I am back in civilisation y without a bike. It is very sad. Thank you once again, I hope we see each other soon!

I think that I told you most of these in the car on the way back to Santiago but I thought I would just write you an email. I had a really excellent time on your trip, it is the hilight of my holiday so far which is very big as I have done some stuff I have thought is amazing. Crossing the border by bike though and making my way from Argentina to Chile is such a great experience. I have been thinking hard and speaking with Jenni, Claudino and Luciana in Santiago about the trip over the last couple of days and we can´t really find any way to fault your service, the food was much more than I expected and my clothes are definitely tighter than when I left. I slept outside and loved that but everyone was happy with the tents and was really happy to be camping and riding, the route was excellent with some incredible scenery and all of us felt like we could ask anything (well maybe not anything) of your boys and it would be done in happiness and without any complaining. I think the service you guys have provided is excellent and I really hope that I am able to make another trip with you in the future.

I just wanted to say again, thank you for everything you did to make this trip so special. Riding together that last day, was something I will remember for a long time.
As we discussed, I really did have a magical time in the Andes. The memories I have from that trip, will truly last me a lifetime. I liked the way you summarized it after the last dinner we shared together. “You leave part of your heart in the Andes” How very true! I was talking with Wagner afterwards, and we both felt the same way. We agreed that having to ride into the wind for four days, and climb every metre along the way, somehow “earns” you the privilege to appreciate the whole experience.
As for my expectations, I really think you delivered a lot more than I truly expected. I really would not change a single thing about the trip. I think you have found that perfect balance…
– The days are tough, but certainly not too tough
– The accommodations are first class (given the areas we are travelling in)
– The food was exceptional (again, considering where we are, and the resources you have at your disposal)
– You support team are fantastic and never appeared to stop working (when do they sleep? 🙂
– The price you charge is VERY reasonable, given what you deliver.

Many, Many Thanks,
Sorry its taken so long to email, returning to England the weather has been a dramatic change snow, dark skies, cold winter temperatures, very different to the perfect blue skies and high summer temperatures of the Andes, I am back to work and missing the rides,the camaraderie and not forgetting the stunning scenery.
This MTB tour of Los Andes was superb ( not a picnic in the park) but tough, but so well organized,the perfect mountain bike challenge, a brilliant and exciting adventure and a memory to cherish. Thanks to you Mariano the perfect tour host, guide, chef — man of all guises, thanks to the support team, thanks to my fellow riders unknown at the start but friends at the finish.
This was a holiday beyond all holidays
Hope your well and enjoying a well earned rest, if i can ever be of any assistance for work or personally or if you ever find yourself in England please do not hesitate to contact me .

Dear Mariano,
This is Sid (…”El camion”…) from Santiago and I would like to thank you and your team again for the fantastic and perfect organisation of the Desafío Andes in February! This has been one of my greatest bike tours, and it was good to meet so nice people from South America. I’m sure that I will find an opportunity to travel with your agency again. Again, thank you and take care!

Dear Mariano,
the tour with You was really a special and a ever lasting experience. I have to complement You on the professional way You guided us. My experience in Europe was that they can learn a lot from You. I definitely want to join again an Andes experience. I have spoken as well to Paulinho. I would like very much to ride around the Patagonian Andes close to the world famous, beautiful mountaind Fiz Roy etc.

Dear Mariano,
Although facing constant head wind, steady climbs (at least for the first three days), dust clouds, heat and cold, this was the most amazing bike ride I have ever experienced. The Andes mountain range is one of the most compelling and fascinating places on this planet. Every group member could travel each section at his or her own speed, providing you very often with the feeling, that you were crossing the Andes on your own, as no one seemed to be in front or behind you. It is also worth mentioning that the organization of the trip and the service provided during the ride was excellent. Finally the camaraderie among each team member was overwhelming. This experience wants me to explore more of South America.

Ich (m/58) bin den Andencross im Februar 2019 gefahren, angereichert um einige Tourismustage in Buenos Aires und Santiago de Chile. Die Tour wurde absolut professionell von einem argentinischen biketeam Partner, welcher seit 1994 erfolgreich in diesem Geschäft tätig ist, persönlich geleitet. Im Folgenden eine kurze Zusammenfassung:
• Sportlicher Anspruch: Der Weg ist ein für SUVs geeigneter Pass über die Anden, welcher nur im Sommer geöffnet ist. Die ersten Tage bestehen im Wesentlich aus Anstiegen von ca. 50 KM bei 1000 Hm. Die Gruppe war zwar sportlich sehr heterogen und lag manchmal 1h auseinander, aber jeder konnte problemlos sein individuelles Tempo fahren. Danach ging es mit streckenweise etwas technischem Anspruch abwärts, aber wer sicher Fahrrad fährt kommt unfallfrei runter, ausgiebige Trailerfahrung ist nicht erforderlich.
• Unterkunft: In Zelten und mit vielfältiger, schmackhafter Versorgung, eine Teilnehmerin bekam sogar in Argentinien vegetarische Verpflegung. Ausgiebiges Duschen ist in der Wildnis natürlich schwierig, aber wir waren immer in der Nähe von Bergbächen und einen Abend sogar in einer Berghütte beim Gaucho zum Warmduschen eingeladen. In der kältesten Nacht habe ich +3 Grad im Zelt gemessen.
• Landschaft und Natur: unbeschreiblich schön, pur ohne Zivilisation und das bei durchgängigem, intensivem Sonnenschein
Meine Erwartungshaltung, ein bisschen Südamerika kennen zu lernen, durch naturbelassene, herrliche Landschaften zu radeln und ein Abenteuer zu erleben haben sich in vollem Umfang erfüllt. Hildesheim, im März 2019

Hi Mariano and Team,
what a beautiful bike route over the Vergara Pass in February 2020 with impressive landscape and nature.
The experience of you and your team was visible every day.
Hard work for you all from the beginning of the day until late in the evening.
It was a great experience for me – first of all the dessert wind !
Many thanks for the impressive days in the Andes !

These guys put a lot of passion into what they do! MTBTours was the perfect company to make our dream come true! We checked in BOLD, one of our Bucket-List projects! We did on February 2023 “The Andes Crossing – Paso Vergara” from Malargue(ARG) to Curico(CHILE), and it was a fantastic experience where every detail was planned ahead. They take care of everything, and you only focus on pedaling and enjoying landscapes and the whole experience. Hands down, the best company super recommended for international tourists!

What an amazing trip, crossing the Andes through the Paso Vergara. Mariano and his team are amazing! Definitely a Must trip!