With different companies offering different prices, we decided to go for one of the more expensive tours as they seemed more organized and the bikes appeared to be of a higher standard. All prices where actually very reasonable once converted back to dollars (around $60) and this isn’t an area to pinch the pennies; you don’t want any technical issues with the bikes when you are speeding down a mountain road, flanked on one side by a 1000ft drop into cloud forest.
Bolivia and the Road of Death
The start of the road is actually quite smooth and it’s plane sailing at the beginning, and with 23 of the 24 gears on the bikes not being used we manage to get up some quite high speeds, and wonder what all the fuss is about. We pass only 2 or 3 vehicles coming up the other way, and they are heavy lorries, all showing respect for the road by crawling up not much faster than walking pace. After dropping around 1500m in altitude there are a couple of short climbs to tackle, which we hadn’t really considered. We drop down through the gears on the bike and slow right down, as what looks like a fairly moderate gradient, is sapping the energy and air out of me. We are still at a very high altitude and the air is very thin, making a gentle slope seem like an Alpine leg of the Tour De France. Before too long it is downhill again and a few hundred metres off the altimeter, and it is time for a pit stop.
There was a scheduled lunch stop half way down at a great little shack / restaurant. We were 1600 metres lower in altitude than at the start, and it was also noticeably warmer. A hearty traditional meal hit the spot and replenished our energy for the afternoon and we were back on the bikes.
There was a scheduled lunch stop half way down at a great little shack / restaurant. We were 1600 metres lower in altitude than at the start, and it was also noticeably warmer. A hearty traditional meal hit the spot and replenished our energy for the afternoon and we were back on the bikes.
4700m Above Sea Level
The ride starts high in the Andes at the top of a Mountain pass. Behind us the road led back to La Paz, and in front the road wound down, clinging to the mountains all the way down through the cloud forest. If you continued on the road a lot further than the bike ride takes you, you would end up right down in the Bolivian Rainforest. The ride would take most of the day and starting at an altitude of 4700m we had around 3500 metres to drop along a 64km route. 64km in a day would normally be a fairly serious ride, but with only fairly short uphill sections (although exhausting due to the altitude), your arms get more of a workout than your legs. It gets particularly uneven towards the bottom, so if you’re going quite fast your arms get battered as if you were operating a pneumatic drill.
The ride starts high in the Andes at the top of a Mountain pass. Behind us the road led back to La Paz, and in front the road wound down, clinging to the mountains all the way down through the cloud forest. If you continued on the road a lot further than the bike ride takes you, you would end up right down in the Bolivian Rainforest. The ride would take most of the day and starting at an altitude of 4700m we had around 3500 metres to drop along a 64km route. 64km in a day would normally be a fairly serious ride, but with only fairly short uphill sections (although exhausting due to the altitude), your arms get more of a workout than your legs. It gets particularly uneven towards the bottom, so if you’re going quite fast your arms get battered as if you were operating a pneumatic drill.
I would say the overall danger level is actually quite low despite the name. The real danger on the road is for the heavy goods vehicles that rumble up and down it as the width and road surface isn’t suitable for them. When you are on a mountain bike you are in control, and you don’t need to be a pro rider to keep yourself on the road. Although do keep to a speed that is good for you as you can get carried away with the constant steep down hill sections. A quick note on when to make this trip as the wet season in Bolivia can make this overly treacherous and in extreme conditions the road may actually be closed. The wet season in Bolivia (as well as the larger area, including Peru) is December through to March, so it is probably best to go outside of these times if you can.
The ride down Bolivia’s Road of Death is a must for visitors to Bolivia and goes some way to summing up the country as a whole. It is a country of natural contrast clearly visible on the ride as you go from the barren high mountain pass to the lush green cloud forest. Like the road, Bolivia as a whole offers wonderful natural and diverse scenery, but it is for the more rough and ready traveller. The only way to really get around Bolivia is by bus, and although not all the roads are like this one, they are rarely paved and it won’t be to smooth a ride. Bolivia is a fantastic country to visit, and after the ride, we went on to Uyuni to the salt-flats, which again left me in awe of the natural beauty of the landscape. (more photos of the Road of Death)
James Roberts 17th July 2006
The ride down Bolivia’s Road of Death is a must for visitors to Bolivia and goes some way to summing up the country as a whole. It is a country of natural contrast clearly visible on the ride as you go from the barren high mountain pass to the lush green cloud forest. Like the road, Bolivia as a whole offers wonderful natural and diverse scenery, but it is for the more rough and ready traveller. The only way to really get around Bolivia is by bus, and although not all the roads are like this one, they are rarely paved and it won’t be to smooth a ride. Bolivia is a fantastic country to visit, and after the ride, we went on to Uyuni to the salt-flats, which again left me in awe of the natural beauty of the landscape. (more photos of the Road of Death)
James Roberts 17th July 2006
The mist in the cloud forest beneath means you can’t actually see the bottom of the valley, which makes the thought of going over the edge in a bus all the more terrifying. The road becomes more and more uneven and in parts the road seems to be cut into the mountain as you pass under the over-hanging cliffs. This is the more dangerous part of the road, as it is unpaved and the air is damp due to the surrounding cloud forest. The reminders of the road’s victims increases in regularity with a number of graves and memorials visible at the edge of the road as you pass. It is certainly worth stopping occasionally to admire the breath-taking views as you can see the road wide down for miles into the distance. The end of the course is lush green cloud forest and we wait in a small community there for everyone on our tour to finish and relax for a second. The mini bus then takes us back up the road as it’s the only way back to La Paz.
The 64km stretch of road that winds down the Bolivian Andes from a high pass outside La Paz to Corico, some 3600 metres below, was in 1995 declared the world’s most dangerous road by the Inter-American Development Bank. Since then it has become known as the infamous ‘Road of Death’ and is one of the most popular excursions to do for travellers to La Paz. (photos of the Road of Death)
We had heard a few stories about the ‘Road of Death’ mountain bike trip and it was the first thing on our mind as we rumbled across the high Bolivian Altiplano, having just entered Bolivia from Peru. We had just spent a couple of days relaxing with trips out on to Lake Titicaca, which is on the Peru / Bolivia border, and were ready to get on the bikes. We booked the trip on our first full day in La Paz, and it was for the following day.
We had heard a few stories about the ‘Road of Death’ mountain bike trip and it was the first thing on our mind as we rumbled across the high Bolivian Altiplano, having just entered Bolivia from Peru. We had just spent a couple of days relaxing with trips out on to Lake Titicaca, which is on the Peru / Bolivia border, and were ready to get on the bikes. We booked the trip on our first full day in La Paz, and it was for the following day.
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