Yungas Road - Death Road

Travel high into the Andes Mountains in Bolivia through the Yungas Road or also known as Death Road and World's Most Dangerous Road. The road earned those nicknames because it has more deaths per mile than any other road in the world.

This steep and bumpy road plunges almost 2 miles in the four hours it takes to drive it or if you like adventure, try extreme mountain biking down the road.

The bike ride starts out even higher than La Paz, Bolivia at about 16,000 feet (4876m) above sea level and descends to 4,000 feet (1220m) in about 40 miles (65km). The bike ride takes nearly 7 hours, as the road snakes its way through the high mountains of the Andes to the subtropical jungles that lead to the Amazon basin in Corocio, Bolivia.

There are many tour companies that offer this bike ride. The best and most reliable tour company is Gravity Assisted Tours. They take a group of people and provide them with a bike and other equipment needed.

The price of a bike ride down Death Road ranges from $55-$75, depending on the bike you rent and other equipment that you decide to rent.

If you are really courages risk the ride on your own, take a motorcycle or another vehicle and navigate this dangerous road without a guide.

Whatever way you choose to make the journey, you will often come across narrow sections of the road that cling to the mountainside as it winds through dramatic, breathtaking scenery and twisting between waterfalls and rocky overhangs.

About Death Road

The Yungas road was built by prisoners during Bolivia's 1932-1935 war with Paraguay and continued many years after. It has been the only route linking northern Bolivia and the Yungas Valley to La Paz. The road is carved into the sides of the mountainside and it can have vertical drops of more than 1,500 (457m) feet just off the road and it has no guardrails.

The two-way road often times no wider than a single car, has blind corners and hairpin turns. It has been the only route from the farmlands of the Yungas Valley up to the capital in La Paz. There has been a staggering death toll: in one year 300 people died in cars, bus loads of people and trucks have plunged over the sheer cliff sides.

Locals refer the road as El Camino de la Muerte (Death Road). One of the local road rules is that the downhill driver never has the right of way and must move to the outer edge of the road. This forces fast vehicles to stop so that passing can be done safely.

Also, vehicles drive on the left, as opposed to the right like the rest of Bolivia. The reason vehicles drive on the left side is because all of the vehicles have their steering wheel on the left-hand side. The road is so narrow that the driver has to be able to stick his head out the window to make sure the wheels are on the road, making passing safer.

Though the road is highly dangerous no matter which section your in, a brand new section of road opened in 2006, giving vehicles a safer bypass around the most dangerous section of the road. However, many drivers continue to take the old section of road thinking it is much faster.

The bike ride down the road is highly recommended for extreme mountain biking enthusiasts seeking thrill. During the ride down the road, bikers must maneuver by tractor trailers, buses and cars. Frequent rain and fog reduce visibility. Thousands of bikers from around the world come to "Death Road" each year for a ride of their life.

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