THE DEATH ROAD INFO:

The North Yungas Road leads from La Paz to Coroico. It was named the “death road” or “world’s most dangerous road” in 1995. One reason is that on average 200 to 300 travellers were killed every year on it. It starts at an altitude of 15,260 ft at La Cumbre Pass and descends to 3,900 ft at the town of Coroico, transiting from very cold altiplano terrain to rainforest. Although it is now mostly abandoned to adventurer cyclists, it remains dangerous and at least one person dies every year still.

So, you wouldn’t be surprised to know that I have been thinking about this adventure for a while but wasn’t sure if I would take the risk especially as we are at the start of the rainy season in Bolivia. Yesterday (21st December), after having done a somewhat dissapointing trip to Tiwanaku, I decided to walk by the Gravity biking company to find out about the bike ride and whether it is safe etc.

Despite costing twice as much as their competitors, I decided to go with them and parted with USD 124 and, most importantly, all kind of legal claims against the them in the event of a death or injury. The event is risky and all you’re promised is a good bike with hydraulic breaks and good guides.

Having joined with the rest of the group and our guides at 7:30 in the morning, we started driving to Lake La Cumbra at 4650 m altitude which was the start point of our ride. There we were given our bikes, helmets and gloves.

The first section of the 57 km ride was the 20 km tarmac, towards the start of the death road. At one section is a 600 m tunnel which, after the death of a rider was considered too dangerous for bikers. Instead, we had to ride around the tunnel on a very narrow road full of gravel and rocks (which is even more dangerous than riding through tunnel!). It’s the most difficult section of the journey to the death road. I had to keep reminding myself not to use the brakes and just to let it go. I struggled but did manage without a fall.

The start of the death road is very clearly marked and I took a picture right under the sign.

The road is only maintained in the event of land slides which are bound to happen this time of the year. Although the road is still open to traffic, the new and safer road is used by majority of drivers. As far as I can see only our support vehicles and and vehicles coming from some of the villages use the death road and it is otherwise abandoned to adventure cyclists and the occasional hikers.

The 37 km journey is broken into sections of increasing length which gave us the chance to get used to it. The first section was rather short, 2 km, but certainly felt the longest. I was squeezing the brakes very tightly but not too much as they could very easily throw me off head first.

Then 4 k then 5 k more before we stopped for our first break. This was about 1 hour into the ride and my arms were burning from the vibration. At that point I thought it was a good time to check with our guides whether I could run the next section (which was 4 k according to one guide and 5 k according to the other). I hoped that it was 5 k so I could get my 5 k goal in. I skipped the snacks and got changed into my running shoes and got rid of the bike outfit for the time being.

The run was downhill, lots of gravel and rocks on narrow roads and going through small waterfalls. I was loving it even more in running shoes and glad that I was not negotiating this section of the road on the bike. As I hit 3 miles I started wondering if I had run too far but I knew I had not passed the described rock, so I kept running. Minutes later the front section of my group caught up me and our English guide told me that there should be about 2 more km to go.

I was delighted that I could run longer but my plan to be filmed whilst running by the other guide had clearly not worked because they were well behind. I even passed the first group and this time stopped at the described spot having marked exactly 7.2 k according to my Garmin.

The group arrived and I was cheered for running faster than all riders on the road but I knew that, for me, running is easier. As we were nearly 1500 m lower than when we started, I only picked up the bike jacket, helmet and left the big boots and bike trousers in the van. The next section was about 7 k and it was one of the most difficult sections because it was the steepest and had either lots of gravel or huge rocks. I was the slowest of the group but happy to be in full control of the bike despite the occasional near falls and slips.

We all had a break at our penaltimate stop for another quick snack, the next section was a combination of steep downhills but on relatively better surfaces and a 3 km section slightly uphill where I felt I was in my element and even overtook the chinese couple who had overtaken me at dangerous spots along the way.

The very final part was a combination of flat, down hill and slight uphill. We were told to look for a coca-cola sign from which point we had to significantly slow down as we had a sharp left coming up. The advice was that if we passed the coca-cola sign and saw the sign for an italian restaurant, we hadn’t managed to slow down enough and we’d be collected from the nearby ditch! Luckily I spotted the coca-cola sign just in time and managed to shout “coca cola!!!” for the bikes behind me. Our very last section was uphill and I was in the lowest gear and happy that I could overtake people.

Other than minor falls and scratches and one flat tyre, the whole group made it in one piece.We were all muddy, sweaty but happy, especially after being served cold beers. I chose to shower before having the buffet lunch/dinner and proudly wore my survivor tshirt. On the way back we stopped at a section of the new road and looked at the death road from afar. I cannot believe we made it!

The conclusion. I loved the whole journey and seeing the incredible cliffs covered with thick clouds. Despite rain, mud, gravel and painful arms I think that I would return; ideally with some more downhill mountain bike riding experience. As for running, that was my favorite part still and I would happily run the entire road in one go.

If you are in Bolivia and would like to do it, my recommendation is don’t hesitate; especially if you don’t mind being slow, it’s highly likely that you will enjoy it. Along the way I often found myself thinking how lucky I was to be doing the ride as a choice of adventure rather than a mandatory journey. My prayers and thoughts go to the thousands who died there whilst working or taking the dangerous journey which was the only way home or to loved ones.

With the last activity of my 5 day stay in Bolivia over, tomorrow morning I will make my way towards Copacabana which is the final destination in Bolivia before I must rush through Puno and Arequipa to meet my very good friend Steve in Quito. I am going to skip most of Peru but I plan to get back into the country after Steve leaves.