Yungas Road

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This article is about the road in Bolivia. For the Highway of Death between Kuwait and Basra, see Highway of Death. For other similarly named roads, see Slaughter alley.

The North Yungas Road (also Grove's Road, Coroico Road, Camino de las Yungas, El Camino de la Muerte, Road of Death, and Death Road) is a 61 to 69 km road (depending on source) leading from La Paz to Coroico, 56 km (35 miles) northeast of La Paz in the Yungas region of Bolivia. It is legendary for its extreme danger and in 1995 the Inter-American Development Bank christened it as the "world's most dangerous road".^[1] One estimate is that 200-300 travelers were killed yearly along the road.^[1] The road includes crosses marking many of the spots where vehicles have fallen.

A South Yungas Road (also Chulumani Road) exists that connects La Paz to Chulumani, 64 km (40 miles) east of La Paz, and is considered to be nearly as dangerous as the north road.

Yungas Road at San Pedro waterfall

Photographs of China's Guoliang Tunnel are often incorrectly identified as showing the Yungas Road.^[2]

[edit] Description

The road was built in the 1930s during the Chaco War by Paraguayan prisoners. It is one of the few routes that connects the Amazon rainforest region of northern Bolivia, or Yungas, to its capital city. Upon leaving La Paz, the road first ascends to around 5 km^{[dubious – discuss]}, before descending to 330 m (1079 ft)^{[dubious – discuss]}, transiting quickly from cool Altiplano terrain to rainforest as it winds through very steep hillsides and atop cliffs.

The Yungas Road, as it descends into the rain-forest

Because of the extreme dropoffs of at least 600 meters (1,969 ft), single-lane width — most of the road no wider than 3.2 meters (10.5 ft) — and lack of guard rails, the road is extremely dangerous. Further still, rain and fog can make visibility precarious, and the road surface muddy, and can loosen rocks from the hillsides above.^[3]

One of the local road rules specifies 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 negotiated safely. Also, vehicles drive on the left, as opposed to the right like the rest of Bolivia. This gives the driver in a left-hand-drive vehicle a better view over their outside wheel, making passing safer.

On July 24, 1983, a bus veered off the Yungas Road and into a canyon, killing more than 100 passengers in what is said to be Bolivia's worst road accident.

[edit] Mountain biking

The danger of the road ironically made it a popular tourist destination starting in the 1990s, drawing some 25,000 thrillseekers.^[4] Mountain biking enthusiasts, in particular, have made it a favorite destination for downhill biking, since there is a 64 kilometers (40 mi) stretch of continuous downhill riding. There are now several tour operators catering to this activity, providing information, guides, transportation, and equipment.^[3]

Nevertheless, the Yungas Road remains dangerous. At least 13 of these cyclists died on the ride since 1998.^[4]

[edit] Replacement route

The new Yungas Road, as seen from Coroico

The La Paz - Coroico highroad was modernized during a 20 years period ended in 2006. The modernization included the enlargement of the carriageway from one to two lanes, construction of asphalt pavement, and building of a new section between Chusquipata and Yolosa, by-passing to the north one of the most dangerous sections of the old "Death Road".

This new route features modern construction (bridges, drainage, etc.), multiple lanes, pavement, guardrails and many other elements that make it considerably safer than the original route. As a result, the original North Yungas Road is currently much less used by traffic, although an increasing number of adventure travelers bike it for the thrills.