I don't know exactly when, but I watched a video on Youtube and added it to my "must see" list. Bolivian Death Road its route. In the video I watched, a motorcyclist was driving on the rough road that descends from the mountain, with waterfalls descending on top of it, and suddenly a truck came from the opposite side of the narrow dirt road and they were nose to nose. That day, I said that one day I must pass that road. Time passed, I learned that an alternative main road to the Death Road was built and the road was opened to bicycle tours as the number of vehicles using that road decreased.
About Bolivian Death Road
When I decided to go to South America, I removed Death Road from the dusty pages of my “must see places” list. The reason why it is called the Road of Death is that many vehicles fly down a curve they call the Devil's Corner. According to the rumor, the drivers there would see the hallucination that the road was continuing and they would fly down the cliff in a few seconds.
Death Road Trip
I had taken Death Road on the first day of my Bolivia itinerary. I had come to La Paz at night and made my plan to leave early the next morning.
Since there were many tours in my Bolivia program, I bought all of them from the same company and made a very economical program. The type of bike for the Road of Death determines your tour group based on your riding experience.
In the morning, the program starts at 40 meters, 4800 minutes from La Paz. We are in the snow because of the height. As you know, the season I go to in Bolivia is winter. For the first 30-40 minutes, you go on the asphalt road to warm up. There is a sandwich break at the end of the asphalt and since this is a national park, after paying the park entrance fee, the real road begins. We proceed on a dirt, stony, narrow road in the forest, taking frequent breaks. Our group is 10-12 people, we have 2 vehicles and 4 guides. Security measures are pretty strict. It is strictly forbidden to ride a bicycle without wearing protective clothing. You can't stop on your way, you can't leave the group. Most of the road is downhill. So it's somewhat easy. However, the road is very stony and constantly curved and the hands are on the brakes as there is still traffic flow. After a while, your fingers start to go numb. The views are magnificent. After a while, we even entered the rain forest. If we do not count the tiny waterfalls that cut the road and the cliff, it is a wonderful road that winds down through the endless forest. Also, since the road is very stony, neither cellulite remains nor kidney stones 🙂
The total road we took is 67 km. We take the road in 4-5 hours with plenty of photo breaks. At the end of the road, first a cold drink break and then a lunch break in a village in the rainforest. Depending on the tour package you buy, swimming in the pool where you eat is among the options. There was only a hot shower as I prefer a more economical package. But it was dust, mud and the shower at the end of the road was also very good. We use the newly built main road for the return. But it takes 4 hours to get back to La Paz. Of course, the evening traffic of La Paz is the main reason for this.
On the way back, we get our Death Road t-shirts with a CD of our photos and videos.
If you happen to go to Bolivia and you don't have this experience, you will regret it very much! Of course, being able to ride a bicycle is the main condition. J My group consisted entirely of Europeans and they were all very good mountain bikers. There was an 8-year-old child and a woman in her 60s on the tour, so anyone with a little courage can do it.
Come on, have some courage!