After being in Bolivia for a day we found out about the worlds most dengerous road -
Starting high in the rarefied air of the Bolivian Andes at 4,700 metres, the steep and bumpy La Paz-to-Coroico road plunges down almost 3,600 meters on its spectacular 64-km path to the lush, sub-tropical Yungas and the sleepy town of Coroico. The narrow -- occasionally very narrow -- track hugs the walls of the sheer valley as it snakes its way beneath waterfalls and rocky overhangs. A fatal accident every fortnight is not uncommon on the Coroico road. The July disaster brought the death toll during the previous eight months to 55. In 1995 the Inter-American Development Bank dubbed the La Paz-to-Coroico route "the world's most dangerous road.
Out of interest we decided to mountain bike down this road, just to see what the fuss was all about! Here is the story of that day:
As something a bit different we decided to cycle down the official ´Worlds most dangerous road´ in La Paz, Bolivia where on average 26 vehicles per year disappear over the edge - a 64km track just 3.2 metres wide with 600 metre drops. 14 of us piled into a mini bus and drove up to the ´practice road´ which was a proper road. Here we were kitted out with our bikes and clothing. The last time I was on a bike I was about 12, apart from the Grant Thornton 3 person bike! We set off around 9.30am on the practice road. We couldn´t see very far in front of us or beside us as it was so misty up there - 4700 metres high.
We cycled for about 40 minutes until we reached the ´real road´. This is when I started to worry, mainly due to the horror stories our guide was telling us about people going over the edge and being extremely lucky to be alive..... or worse! The track was loose gravel and pretty easy to skid on. Apparently even experienced mountain bikers had ended up with serious injuries. A few months ago one rider ended up with a new name - Toothless Wonder, after colliding with the cliff side.
After all the horror stories and instructions on how not to go over the edge we were ready to go. Lots of downhill and hairpin bends from the very beginning, along with the sheer drop beside us. Apparently the views were amazing, I tried to catch a glimpse now and then but my bike tended to veer in the direction I was looking, so I thought better of it and kept my eyes glued to the track. At times we ended up soaked as we cycled through streams and under waterfalls which had eroded the narrow road.
One of the riders crashed into the cliff side as she turned a corner and messed up her elbow, luckily that was the only injury of the day!
The ride lasted 4.5 hours and was very rocky and at times pretty scary. I don´t think my heart rate reached normal until I was safely at the bottom. The feeling of relief when we reached the bottom was immense, and the cold beers waiting for us were the perfect reward!
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