Road of Death
Feb 20th, 2008 by admin
Sometimes our journeys may require us to take the road less traveled, but some passengers may be better off left behind. They may never forgive you for the harrowing experience that you put them though. Commonly referred to as “Death Road”, the only route western route into La Paz, Bolivia, the road gets its name from its extreme nature. Narrowing to only five or six feet in certain areas with a total elevation drop of 3000m in only 80km, Death Road has certainly earned its reputation. Fatalities can exceed over 100 annually. The road is frighteningly tight, slippery and extremely bumpy thanks to a scattering of rocks on its surface. Despite all of the danger, the scenery is breathtaking. The beautiful waterfalls easily draw the driver’s attention away from the 400m drops over the edge. Surprisingly, the majority of the traffic fatalities are a result of head-on collisions rather than falls. At the height of its infamy, Death Road averaged 400 deaths per year.
Death Road has some very interesting history to its credit, with ties to the Nazi regime. The ride starts in snow capped mountains over 3600m high and traverses 65km, ending up at the humid jungle at Coroico. An animal refuge is located at the end of the road with a wide variety of animals to see and relax with. Interaction with the animals is encouraged, as long as you are willing to let a monkey crawl on your lap, birds to perch on your shoulder and Coatis to climb all over you!
The road is a haven for mountain biking enthusiasts, although their presence contributes heavily to the death toll. Most bikers succumb to falls down the near-vertical slopes. Some accidents are marked with tragedy. A young girl lost her life after choosing to get off her bike as a car approached. She stepped too far back to let the car by and tumbled to her death. One man was far luckier though, escaping his fall with only a concussion and short term memory loss.
Some of the challenges that face bikers on Death Road are the loose gravel, large rocks, waterfalls, jagged cliffs and the tantalizing desire to inch towards the each for a better view down. Those wishing to tour the road by bike would do well to seek a guide and travel in a group. Numerous checkpoints exist along the route to check for narcotics such as cocaine as well as equipment that may be used in the manufacturing of various drugs. A list of banned ingredients and equipment is proudly displayed on a billboard as you pass through the checkpoint. One wonders whether displaying the necessary components of cocaine is a smart move.
One section of Death Road involves a difficult 20km uphill climb. If you have spent your life around sea level and are not in peak cardiovascular health, you may quickly wear out from the thin air. To add another level of psychological strain, local guides will often pause the trip to explain exactly where and how a biker fell from the road to their death. With a name like Death Road, it seems almost unnecessary to remind the group to keep a slow pace and remain cautious. Unfortunately, the only alternate route that was built and paid for by the local government has been closed after only a year due to poor construction.
It can be fun to challenge yourself and leave your comfort zone once in a while. However, calling Death Road a challenge is a severe understatement. When battling the slippery road, through rain and fog, the trip can be anything but comfortable. As you ride down Death Road, the rush of adrenaline is intense. You may not be able to describe the thrilling experience until you have safely reached your destination. Some even go so far as to call riding it a death wish. However, with a careful approach and a little bit of luck, one can enjoy what it has to offer and end up with an amazing life experience.
It is definitely a trip that stands out amongst the typical adventure vacation and is an incredible escape from everyday life. The intense physical challenge, though brutal and sometimes miserable, often has people clamoring for more. Just don’t get too cocky, as an overestimation of your skills and an underestimation of the mountains’ power is a recipe for disaster.
Very interesting blog. I had to call my grandson away from his computer game several times to look at articles on your blog.
now we knows why dynamite is so so useful in situations
The first pic is hilarious, extremely dangerous, even if the road used for some kind of extreme sports.
I rode the death road in April of last year and it was great fun and spectacular. The new modern road is now open so almost all traffic uses that, leaving the old trail pretty much free for bikes. I felt pretty safe the whole way down - you just have to make sure your brakes are in good order
Anyway, great photos
Thanks for sharing
The first pic is a Jeep truck, and the picture is well known to us owners. We always assumed it was a promotional picture by Jeep for an advertisement of the winch on the front shot in the mountains of Colorado, USA. Can (the author) tell us where you got this picture from, and is it really from The Road Of Death or did you just use it for visual impact?
Mainly a rippoff from above blog,
last picture is not from this road, it’s the guoliang Tunnel
[…] Bolivia’s Road of Death […]
[…] at it’s worst it used to average 400 deaths per year). Here is a link to the article on a web site called Sawse. There are several very cool pictures in the article of vehicles on this dangerous roadway (after […]
What kind of truckers drove this route on a regular basis? There is room for both directions of traffic? Incredible. Glad to hear there is now an alternate route.
Those are not pictures of Death Road. This is false.
[…] Sawse - Stir it Up! » Blog Archive » Road of Death (tags: travel, Bolivia) […]
[…] Sawse - Stir it Up! » Blog Archive » Road of Death To visit or not to visit, the views seem breaktaking, but seems really dangerous. (tags: Bolivia cool LA Paz adventure) […]
[…] Sawse - Stir it Up! » Blog Archive » Road of Death […]
[…] link […]
Wow this Road of Death is very dangerous. These Truckers live very dangerous
I was born in La Paz, Bolivia. and I am almost certain that the Jeep pic & the last pic of the tunnels were not taken in Bolivia. The others definitely are.
The new rural road (Cotapata-Santa Barbara highway) is now open to the public and it is wider and safer. Most traffic uses this road now.
Nevertheless, bike aficionados have the sinuous road almost for themselves in local guided tours and it is one of the most-sought tourist attraction-adventure and considered on the top-10 extreme thrills by some Int’l travel magazines. Search in google for Coroico which is the destination town that has wonderful 4-star-to-B&B’s hotels. The area is called Yungas (High valleys bet. 12000-Ft Andes mountains and the rain-amazon forests) or “Eyebrow of jungle”.
Enjoy!
E
Me and my b/f banged on that road and I almost fell off over the edge. OMG it was funny but scary.
[…] “Death Road” ลองดูรูปแรกในบล็อกนี้ […]
I´ve just got back from a Death Road biking trip today, and unfortunately the route lived up to its name.
A jeep containing a Bolivian family of 6 suffered a tyre blowout when overtaking our group and careered off the cliff. 5 out of 6 were killed. On its way down the jeep hit one of our cyclists killing him instantly. He was 23.
I´ll spare you details - needless to say, it wasn´t pretty.
This is the third death of a cyclist on Death Road in a week.
We had good bikes, and a good guide. These do not mitigate the risks of traffic, bad drivers, difficult roads & unroad-worthy vehicles.
Food for thought when considering whether this particular adrenaline rush is worth it.
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The TrackBack specification was created by Six Apart, who first implemented it in their Movable Type blogging software in August…
Post #19 “Guy” is an idiot. No where in any Bolivian press, much less the specificity of La Paz, Bolivian press makes mention of ANY deaths during that time from the “Road of Death”. Get a life “guy”. You probably haven’t even left your home in faggotsville Calgary Canada.
It wasn’t in the paper because it happens all the time…
Hi! Ive just watched BBC’s TopGear TV program they had a challenge to drive the road of death…..Madness!.. they had truckers and coach loads of people overtaking them at at least twice the speed the presenters were going!!
also they showed the masses of home made crosses that littered the sides of the road
INSANE! the only thing that springs to mind!!
can be found on youTube and possibly BBC Topgear website and BBC Player Well worth a look as they cover the road from start to finish and 1 of the men was SOOO close to going over in a range rover!