Most dangerous road in the world - part 2 :-)

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As I travelled last year through one of the most difficult and dangerous roads (Leh-Manali, India) I said to myself... I gotta see the "supposedly" THE most dangerous road in the world - in Bolivia, between La Paz and Coroico - officially called Yungas road. If India the road was special due to its lenghth (over 500km) and the fact that it goes over 5 high mountain passes this one is something completely different. Road starts in La Paz Bolivia, and goes from altiplano to the Bolivian lowlands. From the highest point (around 4700m of altitude at La Cumbre pass) to Coroico it is around 70km and around 3500m of altitude... and part of it its unpaved. The road is legendary for its extreme danger and eventually the Inter-American Development Bank christened it as the "world's most dangerous road". Before the new road was opened in 2006, an estimate of 200-300 travelers were killed yearly along the road. Nowadays you can still see many crosses alongside the road marking many of the spots where vehicles have fallen.

So, lets do one of the most touristy things around La Paz. A MTB descent. Even bicycling down the road isn't without danger. Since 1998 there were some 13 deaths among cyclist. However, unofficial record is 1 hour 30 :-) And at least one person has died trying to break this record.

When you arrive to La Paz, you have to choose wisely your agency to take you on the road. If you come during the rainy season, your selection should be even wiser. The most recommended agency is Gravity, but, i just didn't feel like paying a hefty surcharge over other agencies. I chose Madness http://www.madness-bolivia.com/ . Still, it is one of the most expensive day trips that you will do in Bolivia (it was around 75 USD).

What you need to go down? A bicycle with brakes and some rain gear. Better and more expensive agencies give you a quality full-suspension bikes (Madness gave us a really good Rocky Mountain bikes), while the cheapes ones only rear suspension. Honestly, full-suspension is a bit of overkill for this road, but its a good feeling to have a comfortable and sturdy downhill machine. You get the rest of the gear, and off you go early in the morning.

The ride begins at 4700m at La Cumbre pass. First 30-40km are paved, just pure speed and interesting scenery (while overtaking trucks). It was not only cold, but it also started to rain... At the speed of 50kmh+ its not fun when its raining and cold. Believe me. Fortunately, it starts and end raining quickly as you move down. And there was something i didn't expect. Uphill... i love going uphill, but on a heavy downhill bike?!? It was a challenge...

And soon after it started... paved road to the right and to the left unpaved "estrada de la muerte". I can only say that road is really spectacular. Actually, photos don't do justice. And as the traffic moved to the new road, this one felt empty, and thats why i didn't get any spectacular shots (those photos are history, and its good that traffic is now on a safer road, a friend of my survived the road when it was full of traffic http://www.pbase.com/marko_p/coroico). Honestly, the descent was a bit boring. Maybe I was expecting more thrill, but that was also the problem of the group. We were such a diverse group, from advanced riders to almost beginners (one lady actually quit already on the top at 4700m, as she was too scared to descent). We stopped every few minutes, and we waited and waited for the people who were just "pushing" the breaks. Yes, road is dangerous, but please, some people overdid it. I wanted to get as many photos but it was difficult, as it was raining really hard. And on most dangerous places you can see many crosses - casualties always remind you that you are in a dangerous places.

After 5 hours and something we were finally at the bottom. It was a nice trip, a spectacular scenery. And I would love to do it again. Alone, without stopping and without the group. And someday even the other way around. Up. It would probably take many hours, but its a spectacular trip. And Coroico at the bottom looks faboulous and when you look back to the road the curves are spectacular.

Oh well... and then the trip back to La Paz begins... Funny, but our driver chose the same road also to go up... apparently its a shorter way... now i actually started to admire the road and only when i saw the road from a different perspective i could give it a full credit.

In any case. This is one of the "must-do" in Bolivia. Its not what it has been. Its much safer, but the scenery is still incredible.

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