Death Road Bolivia – But Nobody Died …. The North Yungas Road is a section of the route that connects the Amazon rainforest region of Bolivia (where all the legally grown coca comes from) to the capital La Paz. It was built in the 1930s by prisoners of war during a war with Paraguay and became legendary when the Inter-American Development Bank rated it as the “the world’s most dangerous road”; with clear ustification as the core part is a single track perched above an abyss into the rainforest into which many vehicles per year have plunged.

Today the most dangerous section, that we rode, has been replaced by a more modern set of viaducts and tunnels. But this original part is a road that still demands 100% of your attention. We started in dense fog at 13,000 feet and dropped to 3,000 feet in about 20 miles of tortuous, narrow, wet turns over terrifying drops.

An absolute blast from start to finish.

Along the way, I stopped to take a breather in some shade and met Samuel who strolled up to chat and wanted to know about the BMW R1200GS that I am riding; a much more imposing machine than the Pegasus that Samuel uses to transport him, his wife, and kid. In his Spanish and my pidgin, we discussed a few things. Finally he asked me what the BMW cost and I told him that he’d have to pay about $35,000 to get one in Bolivia. To which Samuel whistled loudly and said “Aye, es un camion” (That’s the price of a big truck)

Yes you could buy a big truck but it would not be as fun on the Death Road.