Death Road

A main attraction of Bolivia was the world famous death road that, even in modern history, was the only road that connects the south of the country to the north. Although still active, its traffic has been heavily reduced due to the much newer and modern highway that connects Bolivia together. As such, it is mostly used to connect remote towns along the road and for tourism. As such, today we would be waking up early, meeting at a cafe for a free breakfast, and beginning our journey to almost 5000m where we would begin the 31km downhill journey along one of the deadliest roads in the world. It is estimated that 200 to 300 people died on the road each year while it was heavily trafficked. Given its considerable use for the better part of 3 decades, and much before that, one can expect the death total to be close to 10,000. The beginning of the journey however, gave us a chance to get use to the bikes, and no doubt for the guides to evaluate our capacity to ride a bike, as it was mostly contained to the newer main road. This did allow us to gain some considerable speed down the road and through the morning mist that had formed along the road. It was quite surreal and scary experience given the very limited visibility, and we hadn't even hit the main event. Eventually, we arrived to the top of the proper dangerous part of the journey and we began to understand its reputation. We hadn't even started and in the distance we saw the vague outline of a gravel road carved into the side of a mountain that simply fell off into a seeming endless abyss of the forest. But looking at the bigger picture you saw the other extreme we were faced with today, the extreme and pristine beauty that lay throughout the whole valley and way over into the horizon. The thick vegetation only lends to mind how a road was ever conceived in such an abstract area. But, this is Bolivia, and much of their forestry is thick and difficult to traverse, whichever direction you choose to go. The start also appeared to be the bumpiest, and although allowing us to go in short bursts to get use to it, we knew we were in for an exciting, yet tense day. As we travelled, we got to understand the history of the road and Bolivia as a whole. Quite symbolically, this was the place in which many important social and political events occurred. Firstly, we approached the most stomach turning section of the ride, a sheer vertical drop that conquered even the cloud and fogs. It caused significant unease looking down the cliff and not even being able to see the forest below. As the fog cleared and you tried to peep over the edge, your legs shook as the 100m drop down to the rocky valley at the bottom stood before you. The significance of this spot is that it lay claim to the creation of martyrs fighting for the right to democracy in the country. After they grew powerful in the social sphere, the then dictator, Guido Vildoso, brought them to this exact spot and threw the three of them over the edge to their deaths. Although a sad story, the light at the end of the tunnel lay in the fact that their sacrifice wasn't in vain. In response, the people of Bolivia decided this was the last straw and stormed the palace, threw the dictator out the window with the intention to kill him and bring about democracy. His surprising survival did not deter the protestors' fury as they then decided to attach him to a car and lynch him through the streets. Once again, his surprising survival led to his hanging and definitive death. The next spot where we stopped was the site of Bolivia's deadliest road accident in history. A truck full of young men going to work, flipped down the side of one of the highest points, sending all 107 men into the cavern to their deaths. A tragic event, that eventually led to the hurrying of the new road being built. We then continued down getting to about kilometre 15 of bumpy and unforgiving rocks and stones before we stopped for lunch. This was well needed and even provided a great viewpoint where we could see a vertical cliff position opposite with a gravel road somehow etched out of the bottom. Of course this would be the next part of our journey to accompany a nice waterfall and photo opportunity shortly after. After this we began to approach the 31 kilometre mark and it began to level out considerably. There were less cliffs and deadly precipices. Although meaning it was much safer, it also freed me up to go a bit faster and really do some proper mountain biking. This meant, although painful on the wrists, we could really knock out some kms. Finally, at 1100m we arrived at the animal sanctuary. This was the main reason we chose this tour. They support a rehabilitation for Bolivian wildlife taken from hunting traps, illegal trades, road incidents, and family rejection. They do great work and we were happy to support them with a tour that showed off some of the beautiful animals you would likely not want to see in the wild. Jaguar, pumas, bears, all those that you're happy to see from behind cages. They were beautiful creatures and so amazing to see. These were the only animals that had restricted movement (for obvious reasons), and the rest were allowed to wander freely and instead we saw them from inside caged walkways and viewing areas. We saw spider Monkeys, capybara, deer things, turtles, agoutis, and much, much more. Eventually it was time for us to head off and begin the long reverse trip on the new road. Through the thick Bolivian jungle it is a monument to engineering, and you understand why the old road was used for so long. Along mountain ranges, through valleys, avoiding rock falls, rivers and cliffs, it somehow manages to stand unaffected. It was a long drive and incredibly beautiful. The forest was so dense and green, and eventually prevailed to a mountain range mostly only capable of maintaining a grassland environment. This made it feel like Scotland the way the mountain and rocks cascaded I to the valley below. Unfortunately, I was asleep for most of the return drive but still got to witness the beauty between naps.En savoir plus