Yungas Road

16°17′25″S 67°49′38″W / 16.290253°S 67.827126°W / -16.290253; -67.827126 (Southern end of the Yungas Road)

In red the cycling section, in green the Bolivian National Route 3

The Yungas Road, popularly known as The Death Road, is a 64-kilometre (40 mi) long cycle route linking the city of La Paz with the Yungas region of Bolivia. It was conceived in the 1930's by the Bolivian government to connect the main city of La Paz with parts of the Amazon forest in the north part of the country. Large parts of it were built by Paraguayan prisoners during the Chaco War. Several sections of the road are less than 3 meters or 10 feet wide, and due to presence of rain, fog, landslides, cascades, steep slopes and cliffs that drop more than 2000 feet or 610 meters, it is largely considered the most dangerous road in the world.[1][2][3] Since 1994, nearly 300 drivers and passengers are reported to have died there annually.

Unlike in the rest of the country, The Yungas Road is a left-hand traffic road, which allowed drivers to better gauge the distance between their vehicles and the edge of the road.[4] It has since been replaced by a newer, two-lane asphalt road featuring guardrails and drainage systems.[5]

Known for its extreme danger with 3,500 metres (11,500 ft) of descent, the Death Road draws about 25,000 tourists per year and has become a popular destination for adventure tourism, particularly mountain biking.[6][7] At least 18 cyclists have died on the road since 1998.[8]

  1. ^ Browne, Jenny (2005). "The World's Most Dangerous Road (A Bolivian Detour)". Fourth Genre: Explorations in Nonfiction. 7 (2): 9–19. ISSN 1522-3868.
  2. ^ Whitaker, Mark (11 November 2006). "The world's most dangerous road". BBC News. Retrieved 7 July 2012.
  3. ^ Dufraigne, Annabelle (8 June 2024). "The 9 Most Dangerous Roads in the World". Architectural Digest. Retrieved 19 September 2024.
  4. ^ Oishimaya Sen Nag (25 April 2017). "North Yungas Road - Bolivia's Most Treacherous Road". worldatlas.com. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  5. ^ Villa, Micaela. "Se reducen los accidentes en las carreteras paceñas". La Razón (in Spanish). Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  6. ^ Geoghegan, Tom (16 May 2010). "Cycling the world's most dangerous road". BBC News Online. Retrieved 16 May 2010.
  7. ^ "Death Road Tours". Bolivia Hop. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  8. ^ "Death Road / Itinerary". Barracuda Biking. Retrieved 4 April 2019.