Map of Bolivia’s Death Road Connecting La Paz with Coroico

I have always wanted to go to Bolivia. I was close to it in 2014, but I got sick in Puno, near the border, and decided to head on to Cuzco directly instead.The two things I am most interested in seeing in Bolivia are the Salar de Uyuni—giant salt flats in the southwest of the country—and the so-called World’s Most Dangerous Road, connecting La Cumbre (near La Paz) at 4,670 meters, or 15,260 feet, all the way down to Coroico in the Yungas Valley rain forest at 1,525 meters, or 5,003 feet. That’s a drop of almost two miles.

The “Death Road” portion, shown as a red dash line in the map above, is largely a single lane unpaved highway subject to frequent landslides. Vehicles traveling uphill have the right of way, which means that downhill vehicles must sidle within inches of a drop of potentially thousands of feet. During rainy season from November to March, rain and fog could be deadly. In the dry season, the problem is rock slides and dust. The highway is dotted with frequent crosses where vehicles have gone over the side, killing 200-300 travelers a year.

Passing on the Death Road

Now there is a paved road to Coroico that is much safer. The only problem is that the new road is frequently closed because of landslides. Today, the Death Road is mostly used by cyclists going downhill. Even then, eighteen have plunged to their deaths since 1998.

Eighteen-Wheeler on the Edge

Needless to say, I think that having any alcohol before venturing on this road is tantamount to suicide.

Why do I want to see the road? The key word here is “see.” There is no way I would drive the road. I wouldn’t mind just going to a good vantage point and then turning around. I’m not altogether sure I would even trust another driver to conduct me down this road. Besides, I’m not all that interested in going to Coroico. Rain forests mean mosquitoes, and that would scare me even more.