Northeast of La Paz is a 43 mile road, the North Yungas Road, which has been christened (by the Inter-American Development Bank) as the “World’s Most Dangerous Road” or “Death Road” due to the number of deaths along the road annually.
The road is dangerous because of the sharp turns and the fact that it winds along the mountainside with sheer cliffs (nearly 2000 feet!) on one side.
An average of 26 vehicles per year have gone over the edge in the past 30 years. The worst road accident in Bolivia occurred here when a bus with more than 100 passengers went over the edge in 1983. The road, in parts, is only 10 feet wide so these accidents often happen as vehicles (going in opposite directions) pass.
The scenery along the road is unbelievable. The ride starts at nearly 15,500 feet and descends to 3,500 feet in less than 40 miles. At the top, waterfalls are frozen, by the bottom, it’s hot and humid as you progress from a mountain environment to the rainforest where the road ends.
The Death Road was recently featured on MSN as one of the 12 craziest drives in the world: http://www.bing.com/travel/content/search?q=Crazy+Drives%3a+North+Yungas+Road%2c+Bolivia&FORM=TRSSPG.
In 1990, this road was opened for tourists who wanted to ride mountain bikes down Death Road. In the last 21 years, 33 tourists have died on this bike ride – the most recent incident was in early June 2011.
In March 2007, a new (wider and paved) road was built connecting the northern jungle to La Paz. Since that time, the number of accidents has decreased dramatically! But the old, narrow, gravel road remains and is now primarily used for those tourists who want to bike down the Road of Death! To my great surprise, I am one of those tourists!
It was a bit scary in parts – the loose gravel always makes me a bit nervous. But the views were amazing! And, I try to always live by the policy of Eleanor Roosevelt: Do One Thing Each Day that Scares You. For today, I sure did!
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