--- title: "El Camino De La Muerte: Bolivia's Road of Death" description: "Roads. The seemingly banal paths for vehicles that we interact with every day. Whether it's a dirt track or a six-lane concrete all-American highway, we all know a road when we see one. There's never much more to it: some concrete, some lines, maybe a few lights. Except on one road there is a whole lot more…and paradoxically, also a whole lot less.\n\nStranded almost four kilometres up in the mountains, one road stands alone for the unique fear it instils in drivers. The rate of white knuckling it here is 100 percent. In a remote part of Bolivia, near the Amazon rainforest and the capital city of La Paz, lies one of South America's most deadly killers. An unforgiving stretch of road that has claimed countless lives during the decades it's been in operation.\n\nToday we're going to learn about a highway with a body count in the thousands. We're going to talk about its legacy, its history and most importantly, its fatalities. It exists purely as an outsider, a pariah to all road-kind. We're going to lay out for you why that status is fully deserved and why that, despite things being slightly different today, people still risk life and limb every year to travel on it. This is a place where death is literally around every corner. This is a place where mother nature rejected humanity's advances. It's a place that shouldn't exist, but it does anyway.\n\nBetter buckle your seatbelts tightly for this one as we peer into the void below. Traction control? Off. Engine? Revved. Will? Signed.\n\nThis is La Carretera de los Yungas, AKA El Camino de Muerte. The most dangerous road in the world.\n\n## What Makes This Road So Dangerous?\n\nSo, you can probably see from the pictures, sure it's pretty perilous. But what led the Inter American Development Bank to christen it \"the most dangerous road in the world\" in 1995? Well, I think its right to start with a few numbers, and a bit of history. The North Yungas Road was first built by Paraguayan prisoners of war during the Chaco War in the early 1930s and has continued to be ever since. In what would become a sign of things to come, the BBC reported that many of the Paraguayan prisoners perished even just whilst building the road. It was built as a strategic military route, used to transport troops and supplies between the Yungas region in the Amazon to the capital city of La Paz, a route critical to Bolivian military strategists. High in the mountains and overwatching the capital, it provided a strong vantage point within the area that any military force would find beneficial.\n\nThis thin stretch of pure anxiety stretches from La Paz, the worlds highest capital at 3,660 metres in altitude, towards the town of Coroico in the Nor Yungas Province. The road doesn't mess around in getting there either. At its highest point, the road climbs to 4,650 metres above sea level at La Cumbre Pass, before making an eye-wateringly steep descent around 3,500 metres to Coroico, sitting at an altitude of only 1,200 metres. There are conflicting reports, depending on where you measure from and to about exactly how long the road is, but the commonly accepted number is 56 kilometres. This makes El Camino de Muerte one of longest stretches of continuous downhill roadway in the world. It is therefore simultaneously somewhat understandable and horrific when we learn that between 200 and 300 people died on this road every year for decades. The BBC reported that in one year alone, although they didn't specify which one, 25 vehicles careened off the steep banks of the road into the ravine below. That is one almost certainly fatal accident every two weeks, for an entire year. The same article asserts that the North Yungas Road contains drops over sheer cliffs of more than a kilometre, whilst the road itself is mostly only 3.5 metres wide, narrowing to only 3.2 metres some areas. What's wrong with that you ask? The average car is a little under two metres wide, any car would comfortably fit on it, and you're right. However, this road has two-way traffic. Bit more a tight squeeze now, isn't it? What's more, there are very few crash barriers on the road's edge to stop you tumbling to your demise. Larger vehicles that are even wider have used the road extensively in the past and still do in part today. The thought of meeting a large vehicle at a particularly narrow point and taking the outside lane with a kilometre fall to the death mere inches away is enough to make anyone's hair stand on end.\n\nThose numbers are enough to make anybody dizzy from altitude sickness. Although the sheer height is impressive and the number of fatalities truly shocking, it is the multitude of other factors and events that can occur on this road that is the reason so many have deemed it the most dangerous road in the world. For starters, the weather and general road conditions certainly contribute to the sheer number of accidents and deaths. It's as if the land itself rejects the concept of having a road in such a perilous place. It is dry for a fair portion of the year, though the further the road extends away from La Paz and towards the Amazon rainforest, the more it resembles a dirt track. However, even in the dry weather, the dust from the road is kicked up by vehicles, lowering visibility for anyone unfortunate enough to be caught in it. Heavier vehicles only make this problem worse. What's more is that the dust and gravelly road, particularly around Chuspipata, provide an ever-present danger. If you hit a patch of gravel on the edge or your breaks aren't 100 percent functional, you'll start to skid. What would be a minor incident on any other road has life and death stakes here. Skidding doesn't just mean loss of control of the car; it means a potential fall for hundreds of metres and certain death. And that's in the dry.\n\nThe rainy season, which comes between December and February in this part of the world, makes the road even more dangerous. The dusty dirt track develops a thin layer of slick slime on the surface of the road – essentially mud saturated with water. As you can imagine, this makes the previous things we've said about skidding and sliding on the dry gravel is made 100 times worse. So much so that some tour guides only recommend travelling on the road during the rainy season if you have a lot of experience. But here, the road does not respect its travellers and the weather has even more in store for the average driver. Depending on the altitude, you can expect to see mist and fog, which dramatically reduces visibility and given the road is extra windy with many perilous hairpin bends, there are many things that could lead to loss of control and death. That is, if being so high up, a cloud does not block your view first. The road even passes through a region of the Andes known as the Andean Cloud Forest. A unique ecosystem found in the high-altitude regions characterised by near constant fog. Winds can be harsh up here, with powerful gusts ready to send an unsuspecting cyclist plummeting to their doom. There can even be snow on the peaks. All these weather events have an effect on the road and the land that it's built into. When it is wet, rockfalls and mudslides are highly common, often completely blocking the road. Without maintenance workers on the scene quickly, it could well lead to disaster. There are stories told here of truckers who stopped for the night, too tired or simply too frightened to continue, but as they slept in their cabs the landscape was washed away around them by the rain.\n\nAs you can tell, the level of death and danger on the North Yungas Road makes it a very suspicious place. Even the most ardent atheist may find themselves paying for a blessing to the goddess Pachamama, or pouring beer into the earth as an offering to her to ensure safe passage. At night, the unlit road is even more perilous and, in a land where vehicles are not all that well maintained but are kept for many years (the average vehicle in Bolivia is 19-years-old), something as simple as working headlights could be the difference between life and death. But what is one to do if their headlights fail mid-journey here? You can't stop. You'd be a goner for sure, so you must keep venturing forth into the void, regardless of the imminent danger.\n\nEven worse still, it's the only road in all of South America where traditional road customs don't apply. In South America, everyone drives on the right, except the North Yungas Road. Here, vehicles drive on the left. Vehicles climbing up from Coroico hug the mountain and have right of way, whilst vehicles descending from La Paz take the outside path. This is in order to stop drivers coming down the road at high speeds, as it presents a real danger of death. With the threat of death looming so close, with one wrong move ready to end your life, would you fly down in a vehicle at speed? I wouldn't either. Is that all? No, it is not. Regardless of weather, conditions, the road itself, the landscape and the different driving custom, there are waterfalls on the road that fall all year round from on high. And where does that water, sometimes dropping 100 metres or more land? That's right, squarely on the road. Not only does this create that slick slime for these portions of the road all year round, but the water falling onto a vehicle or a person on a bicycle, is a particularly unwanted distraction at best and could cause you physical harm at worst.\n\nOverall, it is easy to understand why all these factors combined make this a really dangerous place to travel. Don't just take it from me though, even a cursory look at pictures and videos of the \"El Camino de la Muerte\" confirms it is absolutely covered in memorials for those who have lost their lives on this perilous stretch of dirt. On the 24th of July 1983, a bus veered off the North Yungas Road in an area known as \"Devil's Curse\" and into the canyon below. 100 passengers on board the overcrowded vehicle lost their lives, making it the deadliest documented accident to date. It is said to be Bolivia's worst ever road accident, according to DangerousRoads.org, a semi-open-source encyclopaedia for the most dangerous roads in the world. The death does not stop there…how could it on such a perilous road? In December of 1999, eight Israeli tourists were killed in a jeep accident on the road. Whilst in 2019, a bus with 25 passengers careened off the cliff side, killing almost everyone on board. Incredibly the driver, who was found to be carelessly ignoring the signs, was only injured in the crash.\n\nNo matter the era or the technology, the sheer cliffs are the great equaliser here. There are countless other examples of people losing their lives on this road, as we mentioned, for a long time between 200-300 people lost their lives here every single year. This number equates to anywhere between a quarter and a half of the number of total homicides in all of the rest of Bolivia every year. This makes this one 56-kilometre stretch of road Bolivia's most successful serial killer. This level of sheer danger is what led to the road ultimately being labelled \"the most dangerous road in the world\" by the Inter-America Development Bank in 1995.\n\nThe locals agree with how dangerous it is too. Nik Berg, a travel journalist for the BBC, travelled along the road in the early 2000s and spoke to Captain Henard Romero of Police Rescue. In eight years of service, he personally attended 30 rescues involving approximately 250 people, yet was only able to rescue around 100. His reasoning at the time for the road being so deadly was clear, quoting here: \"The reason that the death toll is so high, is that the trucks and buses that travel the road are overloaded with people. In 2002 we had four buses that went over the edge.\" When asked what he thought of the road's moniker, he said, \"I do not like that term. It is just a road.\" Nik Berg also spoke to Timoteo, a 52-year-old man who has acted as a human traffic light on the road in particularly dangerous areas for at least a decade, warning drivers of other vehicles around perilous bends. At this time, he scratched out a living from tips given by grateful drivers and lived right there on the roadside. When asked why he undertook this task of trying to keep people safe, he stated that in 1978 he had lost his family over the edge of the cliff face and wanted to prevent other families from experiencing the pain he felt. A truly human story juxtaposed by the sheer level of death that has become ubiquitous to the road.\n\nOver the years there have been several high-profile media pieces about the road. There was a documentary on the road on Channel 4 in the UK. Top Gear, a UK-based car programme, famously went there in 2009 during one of Clarkson, Hammond and May's many adventures together. There is a famous scene from The Bolivia Special on \"Death Road\" itself, as Clarkson creeps forward in a four-by-four on the outside of a big SUV, he hangs his arm out the window, looking down at his wheels to ensure they stay on the edge of the road and not an inch further over. It is hair-raising viewing even if you've watched it multiple times. You can also digitally visit part of the North Yungas Road itself. You can take the intrepid, winding roads up some of the way to La Paz on Google Earth. It must be said, I feel particularly bad for the Google employee whose task that was. Thank you, mystery Google employee for risking your life so we can all enjoy a part of El Camino de Muerte from the comfort and safety of our homes.\n\n## Is it Still the Most Dangerous Road in the World Today?\n\nSo, given its extraordinarily dangerous legacy, you would assume that it's still the most dangerous road in the world today. Right? Well, yes and no. Like so many things in this world, it's complicated. Now, nobody is suggesting this road isn't dangerous. The circumstances, statistics and countless memorials ensure the North Yungas Road will retain its legacy as the El Camino de Muerte for many years to come. However, whilst the hazards of the North Yungas Road prevail, the extent to which they still pose a risk to its users has been somewhat reduced. The road has seen several changes over the years. Some guardrails have been installed that have no doubt saved countless lives from plummeting to their dooms. What's more, is that particularly dangerous parts of the road were altered during a construction project that ended in 2006. Certain parts of the road were made wider by digging a little further into the cliffside to allow a little more room on those narrow passes.\n\nNow the Top Gear guys went on the road in 2009 and it still looked pretty hairy there, so whilst these changes likely have helped the road actually become a little less dangerous over time, it wasn't by much. The most notable safety feature that was ever implemented for the North Yungas Road actually had nothing to do with the road itself. In 2006, following a 20-year construction period, a totally separate highway, Ruta Nacional 3, was opened to the public and acts as a bypass between Coroico and La Paz to this day. With bridges, guardrails, drainage, a paved surface, multiple lanes, road markings and a pavement for pedestrians, why would anyone else ever use the North Yungas Road again? Why risk your life when there is a perfectly safe, modern alternative where you are far less likely to fall hundreds of metres to your death? A lot of the locals agree, most use the newer road. But whilst most settlements are accessible using the new Ruta Nacional 3, a few areas continue to only be accessible via the North Yungas Road. There is a lot less traffic on the road today than there was in the past. Less traffic means fewer collisions, fewer hair-raising narrow passes and less chance of large vehicles careening off the side housing many passengers. However, even still, every year people die on this road. Inexplicably, people still use it and as a result there are still highly fatal accidents, like the bus example from 2019. The bypass had been in service for 13 years at that point and yet still people chanced it. There's also something to be said about the effect of the road's reputation on people who want to travel on it. Less traffic is safer, but there is a danger of people thinking that it was all hype and not taking this incredibly dangerous road seriously. Even for an experienced extreme cyclist or motorist, one slip, one false move or one mistake could easily see you falling to your death.\n\nThe road is still used today. However, it has quite a different clientele. Starting in the 1990s; hobbyists, enthusiasts, adrenaline junkies and nutcases alike all fly from across the world to risk their lives cycling on the road. Yes, it has now become something of an extreme sports tourist attraction and has drawn some 25,000 thrill-seekers over the years. It has developed into a cottage industry where people will pay their hard-earned money to try and not die here, but people still do. Is running tours on parts of the road dangerous? Certainly, in the 1990s it would have been extremely so. I for one would love to meet one of the smooth-brained organisms that decided that this road was a good idea to travel down in the decade that it received its infamous label.\n\nUndoubtedly the danger is what draws people in, but there are a few things that make the road safer for tourism today, at least safer than it used to be. Large portions of the road were officially closed to regular traffic when the bypass was built but some more remote rural areas still need the road to reach places that the bypass cannot. This leads to the limited use of the roads by some motorists. It's a heartening thought nevertheless to imagine that Timoteo, who acted as a human traffic light for so long out of passion and grief, was able to honour the memory of his family by being a small part of the North Yungas Road becoming safer. This means that for the most part, it is safe to cycle the death road if you are experienced, have good equipment, the weather isn't too bad and you have a solid guide alongside mechanics, with medical and rescue staff on standby. In the peak season 250 bikes head down from La Paz every day. You too can take a trip on a bike or in a four-by-four on the death road, risking life and limb for as little as $80. You can rent guides, transport, equipment, everything you would need. But you are relying on equipment maintained by the same country that didn't put guardrails on the whole road in the first place. In tour advertisements, some warn that certain companies (who helpfully remain unnamed on the pages) do not keep their bikes and vehicles well maintained. So, if you get the wrong bike, in the wrong weather on the wrong day, what began as a safe tour through one of the world's most perilous roadways can quickly become fatal. Although it's worth noting that according to DangerousRoads.org, at least 20 cyclists have been killed on the road since 1998. So, whilst clearly still very dangerous, the road does not incur the number of casualties every year it once did.\n\nThe Municipality of Coroico, which oversees the upkeep of the North Yungas Road, introduced a fee of 50 Bolivianos, or about $7.23 for cyclists that goes towards the continued upkeep of the road's infrastructure. The money from the fees is used for everything from cleaning the public toilets en route, which is useful if you hadn't defecated yourself already by merely existing there. But it also helps pay for more crucial services like maintenance, security, emergency and rescue. The way in which you pay this fee however must be some kind of macabre joke by the Coroico Municipality that is perfectly on brand for the road itself. You pay 25 Bolivianos at the start of the road and 25 at the end. Meaning, if you didn't make it, at least you got a discount! Every cloud and all that.\n\nSo, what then? Is this really the most dangerous road in the world today? Well, kinda. Does it have the same number of accidents and fatalities that gave it that label in the 90s? No, nobody is disputing that, on every metric the road is safer today statistically than it used to be. But you also have to remember it was effectively closing most of the road that, alongside the building of Ruta Nacional 3, has made it that way. Put another way, this was a road so dangerous they had to close it and open an entirely new one. And people still die on it every single year. That is a legacy, a dark and macabre one sure, but definitely a legacy.\n\nIt's important to note there are likely other roads on earth as dangerous and potentially even more dangerous than this one, in nations like India, Pakistan, Ukraine, Turkey and Afghanistan. The label of the \"most dangerous road in the world\" given to the North Yungas Road by the Inter-America Development Bank is a useful shorthand to describe to other people just how dangerous the road is, but it's hard to actually factually ascertain which road on earth is the most dangerous. What yardstick do you use for such an experiment? Is it deaths? Deaths per mile? Is it the layout of the road itself? What about the quality of the road? Then you've got to ask how busy is it? Do local traffic laws apply? Have things changed over time? There are a lot of factors that could affect how dangerous a road is deemed to be. These things will be weighted differently by the context of the areas they exist in. A good example is a few of the ones above. A particularly dangerous road in one country could be considered even more dangerous in Afghanistan, where Taliban militants run the country, or in Ukraine actively under siege. That's certainly one thing other roads may have over the North Yungas Road, there is no conflict there today. However, that also makes it remarkable. This is a road that was deemed the most dangerous in the entire world and it isn't in an active warzone. It says a lot about the danger of the road itself, rather than the circumstances around it. For all the point-scoring, as roads go, it would be a real task to get much more dangerous than the North Yungas Road. It's as simple as that…\n\nExcept if you travel due South a little, where you can find the South Yungas Road, whilst not quite as dangerous than its Northern counterpart, the road (also known as Chulumani Road) also reaches over 3.5 kilometres at its highest. It also has tight roads with narrow crossings and hairpin turns, with similar dastardly deep drops. In actuality, it may be that the most dangerous road in the world isn't that special after all. There's an identical one exactly like it just due South of it to very little fanfare. The dangerous thing here isn't the roads, it's the landscape. It's the harsh terrain. It's the hubris of people to have built and travelled on this road in the first place. It's like an afront to mother nature, and mother nature wanted her revenge. However, despite whether it is actually the most dangerous road in the world or not (and statistically it would take some beating) something about the North Yungas Road has always drawn people to it. Whether out of military necessity, a commute to work, or someone just searching for adrenaline, the famed \"most dangerous road in the world\" has captivated audiences for decades now. It serves today as a reminder that just because you can do something, doesn't mean you should. It remains as a memorial for the countless lives that have been lost over its steep edges. It remains as a road that gave itself a legacy, regardless of human efforts to make it safer and without a shot being fired. That's pretty rare, it's reserved for the likes of much beloved roads like the German Autobahn or much maligned ones like the British M25. This a dirt track, almost four kilometres in the sky. Maybe we're reading too poetically into it. Maybe at the end of the day, it is just a road. However, that doesn't mean people shouldn't treat it with the respect and reverence that it deserves. After all, if you found yourself on the most dangerous road in the world and you didn't, that would be a surefire way of ending up careening over the edge at high speed.\n\nI wouldn't worry though, it isn't the fall that kills you, it's the sudden stop at the end.\n\n## Key Takeaways\n\n- La Carretera de los Yungas, known as El Camino de Muerte, is infamous for its high fatality rate.\n- The road's extreme danger is due to its narrow width, steep drops, and challenging weather conditions.\n- Historically, 200-300 people died annually on the road, earning it the title of the world's most dangerous.\n- Safety improvements and a bypass have reduced fatalities, but the road remains perilous.\n- Despite risks, the road attracts thrill-seekers and tourists, contributing to its enduring notoriety.\n\n## Frequently Asked Questions\n\n### What is the El Camino de la Muerte?\n\nEl Camino de la Muerte, also known as La Carretera de los Yungas, is a road in Bolivia near the Amazon rainforest and the capital city of La Paz. It is infamous for being one of the most dangerous roads in the world due to its high fatality rate and treacherous conditions.\n\n### Why is the El Camino de la Muerte considered the most dangerous road in the world?\n\nThe road is considered the most dangerous due to its narrow width, steep drops, lack of guardrails, and challenging weather conditions. It has claimed thousands of lives over the decades, with reports of 200 to 300 fatalities per year in the past.\n\n### What are the key features of the El Camino de la Muerte?\n\nThe road stretches from La Paz to Coroico, with a length of about 56 kilometers. It climbs to 4,650 meters at La Cumbre Pass and descends to 1,200 meters at Coroico. It is known for its narrow width, steep drops, and challenging weather conditions, including fog, mist, and mudslides.\n\n### What historical events contributed to the road's dangerous reputation?\n\nThe road was built by Paraguayan prisoners of war during the Chaco War in the 1930s. Many prisoners died during its construction. The road has seen numerous fatal accidents, including a bus crash in 1983 that killed 100 people, making it Bolivia's worst road accident.\n\n### How has the road's safety improved over the years?\n\nSome guardrails have been installed, and certain parts of the road were widened during a construction project that ended in 2006. Additionally, a new highway, Ruta Nacional 3, was opened in 2006, providing a safer alternative for most travelers.\n\n### Who uses the El Camino de la Muerte today?\n\nToday, the road is primarily used by extreme sports tourists, including cyclists and motorists seeking an adrenaline rush. It has become a popular destination for thrill-seekers from around the world, with tours available for as little as $80.\n\n### What are the current safety measures in place for tourists?\n\nLarge portions of the road are closed to regular traffic, and tours are conducted with experienced guides, mechanics, and medical and rescue staff on standby. The Municipality of Coroico charges a fee for cyclists to fund the upkeep of the road's infrastructure and safety services.\n\n### Are there any other roads as dangerous as the El Camino de la Muerte?\n\nThere are likely other roads as dangerous or even more dangerous in countries like India, Pakistan, Ukraine, Turkey, and Afghanistan. The South Yungas Road, also known as Chulumani Road, is similarly dangerous and located just south of the North Yungas Road.\n\n### What is the legacy of the El Camino de la Muerte?\n\nThe road serves as a reminder of the dangers of human hubris in challenging natural landscapes. It remains a memorial for the countless lives lost and a testament to the enduring fascination with extreme experiences.\n\n### What is the driving custom on the El Camino de la Muerte?\n\nUnlike the rest of South America, vehicles on the El Camino de la Muerte drive on the left. Vehicles climbing from Coroico have the right of way and hug the mountain, while vehicles descending from La Paz take the outside path.\n\n## Sources\n\n- [Original Places video: El Camino De La Muerte: Bolivia's Road of Death](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nf0Pl62QIqk)\n- [Hero image source](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/55/Oblique_aerial_landscape_view_%28AM_82169-1%29.jpg) by Collins, Tudor Washington, 1898-1970, photographer / openverse, by.\n\n## Related Coverage" url: https://places.site/article/el-camino-de-la-muerte-bolivias-road-of-death.md canonical: https://places.site/article/el-camino-de-la-muerte-bolivias-road-of-death datePublished: 2026-07-01 dateModified: 2026-07-01 author: - name: Simon Whistler url: https://places.site/author/simon-whistler publisher: Places image: "https://media.places.site/cdn-cgi/image/width=1600,height=900,fit=cover,quality=80,format=auto/articles/Nf0Pl62QIqk/hero.jpg" type: NewsArticle contentHash: b554f61f316e6ad206464aaa3ec50a3cd6a21be3f6c56c426fac183f99f35cec tokens: 7094 summaryUrl: https://places.site/article/el-camino-de-la-muerte-bolivias-road-of-death.md.summary.md --- Roads. The seemingly banal paths for vehicles that we interact with every day. Whether it's a dirt track or a six-lane concrete all-American highway, we all know a road when we see one. There's never much more to it: some concrete, some lines, maybe a few lights. Except on one road there is a whole lot more…and paradoxically, also a whole lot less. Stranded almost four kilometres up in the mountains, one road stands alone for the unique fear it instils in drivers. The rate of white knuckling it here is 100 percent. In a remote part of Bolivia, near the Amazon rainforest and the capital city of La Paz, lies one of South America's most deadly killers. An unforgiving stretch of road that has claimed countless lives during the decades it's been in operation. Today we're going to learn about a highway with a body count in the thousands. We're going to talk about its legacy, its history and most importantly, its fatalities. It exists purely as an outsider, a pariah to all road-kind. We're going to lay out for you why that status is fully deserved and why that, despite things being slightly different today, people still risk life and limb every year to travel on it. This is a place where death is literally around every corner. This is a place where mother nature rejected humanity's advances. It's a place that shouldn't exist, but it does anyway. Better buckle your seatbelts tightly for this one as we peer into the void below. Traction control? Off. Engine? Revved. Will? Signed. This is La Carretera de los Yungas, AKA El Camino de Muerte. The most dangerous road in the world. ## What Makes This Road So Dangerous? So, you can probably see from the pictures, sure it's pretty perilous. But what led the Inter American Development Bank to christen it "the most dangerous road in the world" in 1995? Well, I think its right to start with a few numbers, and a bit of history. The North Yungas Road was first built by Paraguayan prisoners of war during the Chaco War in the early 1930s and has continued to be ever since. In what would become a sign of things to come, the BBC reported that many of the Paraguayan prisoners perished even just whilst building the road. It was built as a strategic military route, used to transport troops and supplies between the Yungas region in the Amazon to the capital city of La Paz, a route critical to Bolivian military strategists. High in the mountains and overwatching the capital, it provided a strong vantage point within the area that any military force would find beneficial. This thin stretch of pure anxiety stretches from La Paz, the worlds highest capital at 3,660 metres in altitude, towards the town of Coroico in the Nor Yungas Province. The road doesn't mess around in getting there either. At its highest point, the road climbs to 4,650 metres above sea level at La Cumbre Pass, before making an eye-wateringly steep descent around 3,500 metres to Coroico, sitting at an altitude of only 1,200 metres. There are conflicting reports, depending on where you measure from and to about exactly how long the road is, but the commonly accepted number is 56 kilometres. This makes El Camino de Muerte one of longest stretches of continuous downhill roadway in the world. It is therefore simultaneously somewhat understandable and horrific when we learn that between 200 and 300 people died on this road every year for decades. The BBC reported that in one year alone, although they didn't specify which one, 25 vehicles careened off the steep banks of the road into the ravine below. That is one almost certainly fatal accident every two weeks, for an entire year. The same article asserts that the North Yungas Road contains drops over sheer cliffs of more than a kilometre, whilst the road itself is mostly only 3.5 metres wide, narrowing to only 3.2 metres some areas. What's wrong with that you ask? The average car is a little under two metres wide, any car would comfortably fit on it, and you're right. However, this road has two-way traffic. Bit more a tight squeeze now, isn't it? What's more, there are very few crash barriers on the road's edge to stop you tumbling to your demise. Larger vehicles that are even wider have used the road extensively in the past and still do in part today. The thought of meeting a large vehicle at a particularly narrow point and taking the outside lane with a kilometre fall to the death mere inches away is enough to make anyone's hair stand on end. Those numbers are enough to make anybody dizzy from altitude sickness. Although the sheer height is impressive and the number of fatalities truly shocking, it is the multitude of other factors and events that can occur on this road that is the reason so many have deemed it the most dangerous road in the world. For starters, the weather and general road conditions certainly contribute to the sheer number of accidents and deaths. It's as if the land itself rejects the concept of having a road in such a perilous place. It is dry for a fair portion of the year, though the further the road extends away from La Paz and towards the Amazon rainforest, the more it resembles a dirt track. However, even in the dry weather, the dust from the road is kicked up by vehicles, lowering visibility for anyone unfortunate enough to be caught in it. Heavier vehicles only make this problem worse. What's more is that the dust and gravelly road, particularly around Chuspipata, provide an ever-present danger. If you hit a patch of gravel on the edge or your breaks aren't 100 percent functional, you'll start to skid. What would be a minor incident on any other road has life and death stakes here. Skidding doesn't just mean loss of control of the car; it means a potential fall for hundreds of metres and certain death. And that's in the dry. The rainy season, which comes between December and February in this part of the world, makes the road even more dangerous. The dusty dirt track develops a thin layer of slick slime on the surface of the road – essentially mud saturated with water. As you can imagine, this makes the previous things we've said about skidding and sliding on the dry gravel is made 100 times worse. So much so that some tour guides only recommend travelling on the road during the rainy season if you have a lot of experience. But here, the road does not respect its travellers and the weather has even more in store for the average driver. Depending on the altitude, you can expect to see mist and fog, which dramatically reduces visibility and given the road is extra windy with many perilous hairpin bends, there are many things that could lead to loss of control and death. That is, if being so high up, a cloud does not block your view first. The road even passes through a region of the Andes known as the Andean Cloud Forest. A unique ecosystem found in the high-altitude regions characterised by near constant fog. Winds can be harsh up here, with powerful gusts ready to send an unsuspecting cyclist plummeting to their doom. There can even be snow on the peaks. All these weather events have an effect on the road and the land that it's built into. When it is wet, rockfalls and mudslides are highly common, often completely blocking the road. Without maintenance workers on the scene quickly, it could well lead to disaster. There are stories told here of truckers who stopped for the night, too tired or simply too frightened to continue, but as they slept in their cabs the landscape was washed away around them by the rain. As you can tell, the level of death and danger on the North Yungas Road makes it a very suspicious place. Even the most ardent atheist may find themselves paying for a blessing to the goddess Pachamama, or pouring beer into the earth as an offering to her to ensure safe passage. At night, the unlit road is even more perilous and, in a land where vehicles are not all that well maintained but are kept for many years (the average vehicle in Bolivia is 19-years-old), something as simple as working headlights could be the difference between life and death. But what is one to do if their headlights fail mid-journey here? You can't stop. You'd be a goner for sure, so you must keep venturing forth into the void, regardless of the imminent danger. Even worse still, it's the only road in all of South America where traditional road customs don't apply. In South America, everyone drives on the right, except the North Yungas Road. Here, vehicles drive on the left. Vehicles climbing up from Coroico hug the mountain and have right of way, whilst vehicles descending from La Paz take the outside path. This is in order to stop drivers coming down the road at high speeds, as it presents a real danger of death. With the threat of death looming so close, with one wrong move ready to end your life, would you fly down in a vehicle at speed? I wouldn't either. Is that all? No, it is not. Regardless of weather, conditions, the road itself, the landscape and the different driving custom, there are waterfalls on the road that fall all year round from on high. And where does that water, sometimes dropping 100 metres or more land? That's right, squarely on the road. Not only does this create that slick slime for these portions of the road all year round, but the water falling onto a vehicle or a person on a bicycle, is a particularly unwanted distraction at best and could cause you physical harm at worst. Overall, it is easy to understand why all these factors combined make this a really dangerous place to travel. Don't just take it from me though, even a cursory look at pictures and videos of the "El Camino de la Muerte" confirms it is absolutely covered in memorials for those who have lost their lives on this perilous stretch of dirt. On the 24th of July 1983, a bus veered off the North Yungas Road in an area known as "Devil's Curse" and into the canyon below. 100 passengers on board the overcrowded vehicle lost their lives, making it the deadliest documented accident to date. It is said to be Bolivia's worst ever road accident, according to DangerousRoads.org, a semi-open-source encyclopaedia for the most dangerous roads in the world. The death does not stop there…how could it on such a perilous road? In December of 1999, eight Israeli tourists were killed in a jeep accident on the road. Whilst in 2019, a bus with 25 passengers careened off the cliff side, killing almost everyone on board. Incredibly the driver, who was found to be carelessly ignoring the signs, was only injured in the crash. No matter the era or the technology, the sheer cliffs are the great equaliser here. There are countless other examples of people losing their lives on this road, as we mentioned, for a long time between 200-300 people lost their lives here every single year. This number equates to anywhere between a quarter and a half of the number of total homicides in all of the rest of Bolivia every year. This makes this one 56-kilometre stretch of road Bolivia's most successful serial killer. This level of sheer danger is what led to the road ultimately being labelled "the most dangerous road in the world" by the Inter-America Development Bank in 1995. The locals agree with how dangerous it is too. Nik Berg, a travel journalist for the BBC, travelled along the road in the early 2000s and spoke to Captain Henard Romero of Police Rescue. In eight years of service, he personally attended 30 rescues involving approximately 250 people, yet was only able to rescue around 100. His reasoning at the time for the road being so deadly was clear, quoting here: "The reason that the death toll is so high, is that the trucks and buses that travel the road are overloaded with people. In 2002 we had four buses that went over the edge." When asked what he thought of the road's moniker, he said, "I do not like that term. It is just a road." Nik Berg also spoke to Timoteo, a 52-year-old man who has acted as a human traffic light on the road in particularly dangerous areas for at least a decade, warning drivers of other vehicles around perilous bends. At this time, he scratched out a living from tips given by grateful drivers and lived right there on the roadside. When asked why he undertook this task of trying to keep people safe, he stated that in 1978 he had lost his family over the edge of the cliff face and wanted to prevent other families from experiencing the pain he felt. A truly human story juxtaposed by the sheer level of death that has become ubiquitous to the road. Over the years there have been several high-profile media pieces about the road. There was a documentary on the road on Channel 4 in the UK. Top Gear, a UK-based car programme, famously went there in 2009 during one of Clarkson, Hammond and May's many adventures together. There is a famous scene from The Bolivia Special on "Death Road" itself, as Clarkson creeps forward in a four-by-four on the outside of a big SUV, he hangs his arm out the window, looking down at his wheels to ensure they stay on the edge of the road and not an inch further over. It is hair-raising viewing even if you've watched it multiple times. You can also digitally visit part of the North Yungas Road itself. You can take the intrepid, winding roads up some of the way to La Paz on Google Earth. It must be said, I feel particularly bad for the Google employee whose task that was. Thank you, mystery Google employee for risking your life so we can all enjoy a part of El Camino de Muerte from the comfort and safety of our homes. ## Is it Still the Most Dangerous Road in the World Today? So, given its extraordinarily dangerous legacy, you would assume that it's still the most dangerous road in the world today. Right? Well, yes and no. Like so many things in this world, it's complicated. Now, nobody is suggesting this road isn't dangerous. The circumstances, statistics and countless memorials ensure the North Yungas Road will retain its legacy as the El Camino de Muerte for many years to come. However, whilst the hazards of the North Yungas Road prevail, the extent to which they still pose a risk to its users has been somewhat reduced. The road has seen several changes over the years. Some guardrails have been installed that have no doubt saved countless lives from plummeting to their dooms. What's more, is that particularly dangerous parts of the road were altered during a construction project that ended in 2006. Certain parts of the road were made wider by digging a little further into the cliffside to allow a little more room on those narrow passes. Now the Top Gear guys went on the road in 2009 and it still looked pretty hairy there, so whilst these changes likely have helped the road actually become a little less dangerous over time, it wasn't by much. The most notable safety feature that was ever implemented for the North Yungas Road actually had nothing to do with the road itself. In 2006, following a 20-year construction period, a totally separate highway, Ruta Nacional 3, was opened to the public and acts as a bypass between Coroico and La Paz to this day. With bridges, guardrails, drainage, a paved surface, multiple lanes, road markings and a pavement for pedestrians, why would anyone else ever use the North Yungas Road again? Why risk your life when there is a perfectly safe, modern alternative where you are far less likely to fall hundreds of metres to your death? A lot of the locals agree, most use the newer road. But whilst most settlements are accessible using the new Ruta Nacional 3, a few areas continue to only be accessible via the North Yungas Road. There is a lot less traffic on the road today than there was in the past. Less traffic means fewer collisions, fewer hair-raising narrow passes and less chance of large vehicles careening off the side housing many passengers. However, even still, every year people die on this road. Inexplicably, people still use it and as a result there are still highly fatal accidents, like the bus example from 2019. The bypass had been in service for 13 years at that point and yet still people chanced it. There's also something to be said about the effect of the road's reputation on people who want to travel on it. Less traffic is safer, but there is a danger of people thinking that it was all hype and not taking this incredibly dangerous road seriously. Even for an experienced extreme cyclist or motorist, one slip, one false move or one mistake could easily see you falling to your death. The road is still used today. However, it has quite a different clientele. Starting in the 1990s; hobbyists, enthusiasts, adrenaline junkies and nutcases alike all fly from across the world to risk their lives cycling on the road. Yes, it has now become something of an extreme sports tourist attraction and has drawn some 25,000 thrill-seekers over the years. It has developed into a cottage industry where people will pay their hard-earned money to try and not die here, but people still do. Is running tours on parts of the road dangerous? Certainly, in the 1990s it would have been extremely so. I for one would love to meet one of the smooth-brained organisms that decided that this road was a good idea to travel down in the decade that it received its infamous label. Undoubtedly the danger is what draws people in, but there are a few things that make the road safer for tourism today, at least safer than it used to be. Large portions of the road were officially closed to regular traffic when the bypass was built but some more remote rural areas still need the road to reach places that the bypass cannot. This leads to the limited use of the roads by some motorists. It's a heartening thought nevertheless to imagine that Timoteo, who acted as a human traffic light for so long out of passion and grief, was able to honour the memory of his family by being a small part of the North Yungas Road becoming safer. This means that for the most part, it is safe to cycle the death road if you are experienced, have good equipment, the weather isn't too bad and you have a solid guide alongside mechanics, with medical and rescue staff on standby. In the peak season 250 bikes head down from La Paz every day. You too can take a trip on a bike or in a four-by-four on the death road, risking life and limb for as little as $80. You can rent guides, transport, equipment, everything you would need. But you are relying on equipment maintained by the same country that didn't put guardrails on the whole road in the first place. In tour advertisements, some warn that certain companies (who helpfully remain unnamed on the pages) do not keep their bikes and vehicles well maintained. So, if you get the wrong bike, in the wrong weather on the wrong day, what began as a safe tour through one of the world's most perilous roadways can quickly become fatal. Although it's worth noting that according to DangerousRoads.org, at least 20 cyclists have been killed on the road since 1998. So, whilst clearly still very dangerous, the road does not incur the number of casualties every year it once did. The Municipality of Coroico, which oversees the upkeep of the North Yungas Road, introduced a fee of 50 Bolivianos, or about $7.23 for cyclists that goes towards the continued upkeep of the road's infrastructure. The money from the fees is used for everything from cleaning the public toilets en route, which is useful if you hadn't defecated yourself already by merely existing there. But it also helps pay for more crucial services like maintenance, security, emergency and rescue. The way in which you pay this fee however must be some kind of macabre joke by the Coroico Municipality that is perfectly on brand for the road itself. You pay 25 Bolivianos at the start of the road and 25 at the end. Meaning, if you didn't make it, at least you got a discount! Every cloud and all that. So, what then? Is this really the most dangerous road in the world today? Well, kinda. Does it have the same number of accidents and fatalities that gave it that label in the 90s? No, nobody is disputing that, on every metric the road is safer today statistically than it used to be. But you also have to remember it was effectively closing most of the road that, alongside the building of Ruta Nacional 3, has made it that way. Put another way, this was a road so dangerous they had to close it and open an entirely new one. And people still die on it every single year. That is a legacy, a dark and macabre one sure, but definitely a legacy. It's important to note there are likely other roads on earth as dangerous and potentially even more dangerous than this one, in nations like India, Pakistan, Ukraine, Turkey and Afghanistan. The label of the "most dangerous road in the world" given to the North Yungas Road by the Inter-America Development Bank is a useful shorthand to describe to other people just how dangerous the road is, but it's hard to actually factually ascertain which road on earth is the most dangerous. What yardstick do you use for such an experiment? Is it deaths? Deaths per mile? Is it the layout of the road itself? What about the quality of the road? Then you've got to ask how busy is it? Do local traffic laws apply? Have things changed over time? There are a lot of factors that could affect how dangerous a road is deemed to be. These things will be weighted differently by the context of the areas they exist in. A good example is a few of the ones above. A particularly dangerous road in one country could be considered even more dangerous in Afghanistan, where Taliban militants run the country, or in Ukraine actively under siege. That's certainly one thing other roads may have over the North Yungas Road, there is no conflict there today. However, that also makes it remarkable. This is a road that was deemed the most dangerous in the entire world and it isn't in an active warzone. It says a lot about the danger of the road itself, rather than the circumstances around it. For all the point-scoring, as roads go, it would be a real task to get much more dangerous than the North Yungas Road. It's as simple as that… Except if you travel due South a little, where you can find the South Yungas Road, whilst not quite as dangerous than its Northern counterpart, the road (also known as Chulumani Road) also reaches over 3.5 kilometres at its highest. It also has tight roads with narrow crossings and hairpin turns, with similar dastardly deep drops. In actuality, it may be that the most dangerous road in the world isn't that special after all. There's an identical one exactly like it just due South of it to very little fanfare. The dangerous thing here isn't the roads, it's the landscape. It's the harsh terrain. It's the hubris of people to have built and travelled on this road in the first place. It's like an afront to mother nature, and mother nature wanted her revenge. However, despite whether it is actually the most dangerous road in the world or not (and statistically it would take some beating) something about the North Yungas Road has always drawn people to it. Whether out of military necessity, a commute to work, or someone just searching for adrenaline, the famed "most dangerous road in the world" has captivated audiences for decades now. It serves today as a reminder that just because you can do something, doesn't mean you should. It remains as a memorial for the countless lives that have been lost over its steep edges. It remains as a road that gave itself a legacy, regardless of human efforts to make it safer and without a shot being fired. That's pretty rare, it's reserved for the likes of much beloved roads like the German Autobahn or much maligned ones like the British M25. This a dirt track, almost four kilometres in the sky. Maybe we're reading too poetically into it. Maybe at the end of the day, it is just a road. However, that doesn't mean people shouldn't treat it with the respect and reverence that it deserves. After all, if you found yourself on the most dangerous road in the world and you didn't, that would be a surefire way of ending up careening over the edge at high speed. I wouldn't worry though, it isn't the fall that kills you, it's the sudden stop at the end. ## Key Takeaways - La Carretera de los Yungas, known as El Camino de Muerte, is infamous for its high fatality rate. - The road's extreme danger is due to its narrow width, steep drops, and challenging weather conditions. - Historically, 200-300 people died annually on the road, earning it the title of the world's most dangerous. - Safety improvements and a bypass have reduced fatalities, but the road remains perilous. - Despite risks, the road attracts thrill-seekers and tourists, contributing to its enduring notoriety. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is the El Camino de la Muerte? El Camino de la Muerte, also known as La Carretera de los Yungas, is a road in Bolivia near the Amazon rainforest and the capital city of La Paz. It is infamous for being one of the most dangerous roads in the world due to its high fatality rate and treacherous conditions. ### Why is the El Camino de la Muerte considered the most dangerous road in the world? The road is considered the most dangerous due to its narrow width, steep drops, lack of guardrails, and challenging weather conditions. It has claimed thousands of lives over the decades, with reports of 200 to 300 fatalities per year in the past. ### What are the key features of the El Camino de la Muerte? The road stretches from La Paz to Coroico, with a length of about 56 kilometers. It climbs to 4,650 meters at La Cumbre Pass and descends to 1,200 meters at Coroico. It is known for its narrow width, steep drops, and challenging weather conditions, including fog, mist, and mudslides. ### What historical events contributed to the road's dangerous reputation? The road was built by Paraguayan prisoners of war during the Chaco War in the 1930s. Many prisoners died during its construction. The road has seen numerous fatal accidents, including a bus crash in 1983 that killed 100 people, making it Bolivia's worst road accident. ### How has the road's safety improved over the years? Some guardrails have been installed, and certain parts of the road were widened during a construction project that ended in 2006. Additionally, a new highway, Ruta Nacional 3, was opened in 2006, providing a safer alternative for most travelers. ### Who uses the El Camino de la Muerte today? Today, the road is primarily used by extreme sports tourists, including cyclists and motorists seeking an adrenaline rush. It has become a popular destination for thrill-seekers from around the world, with tours available for as little as $80. ### What are the current safety measures in place for tourists? Large portions of the road are closed to regular traffic, and tours are conducted with experienced guides, mechanics, and medical and rescue staff on standby. The Municipality of Coroico charges a fee for cyclists to fund the upkeep of the road's infrastructure and safety services. ### Are there any other roads as dangerous as the El Camino de la Muerte? There are likely other roads as dangerous or even more dangerous in countries like India, Pakistan, Ukraine, Turkey, and Afghanistan. The South Yungas Road, also known as Chulumani Road, is similarly dangerous and located just south of the North Yungas Road. ### What is the legacy of the El Camino de la Muerte? The road serves as a reminder of the dangers of human hubris in challenging natural landscapes. It remains a memorial for the countless lives lost and a testament to the enduring fascination with extreme experiences. ### What is the driving custom on the El Camino de la Muerte? Unlike the rest of South America, vehicles on the El Camino de la Muerte drive on the left. Vehicles climbing from Coroico have the right of way and hug the mountain, while vehicles descending from La Paz take the outside path. ## Sources - [Original Places video: El Camino De La Muerte: Bolivia's Road of Death](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nf0Pl62QIqk) - [Hero image source](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/55/Oblique_aerial_landscape_view_%28AM_82169-1%29.jpg) by Collins, Tudor Washington, 1898-1970, photographer / openverse, by. ## Related Coverage