Daring Death Road — Someday Sherpa

Let's be fair, who hasn't heard of this road. Whether it's thanks to that one-punch wonder Clarkson and his Top Gear team, or some news article about mass deaths it reputation precedes it.

Since 2006 when the new road was finished (paved and all) it's become a tourist trap for adrenaline junkies - simply pick from the million and one agencies in town and you're in for one hell of a ride.

Starting at 4,700m and dropping 3,600m the initial 22km are a twisting and turning blast past towering Andean peaks down perfect tarmac roads. As we blew through a police checkpoint our California guide Mackinsey explained this is the best route to smuggle drugs; they hardly bother checking and between midnight - 4am it's not even manned! This section is part of Death Road but being a smooth, 2 lane road it's used as a warmup and to get familiar with your machine. Ours we're full-sus Kona bikes that worked like a treat.

A brief ride in the van to avoid any uphill pedaling takes you to the turnoff for the real deal. As you'd imagine a road with this moniker must carry a mighty punch and it delivers in spades. Staggering views, mind altering drops and a road surface out of a war zone make you pay special attention to your line and brakes - it's all about the brakes we're told!

No riding through tunnels thanks to past fatalities

Rules of the road:

Stay to the left (only road in Bolivia). Makes it easier for drivers to see the edge
Wait until rest stops to take in the scenery as where your eyes go so does your bike
Don't be a dickhead as most accidents are through being over not under confident

With this advice onboard we pointed our steeds downhill and let fly. At roughly 3hrs riding it's a long decent but you'll have ample opportunities to take pics, fuel up on chocolate and pause for quiet reflection beside the many roadside memorials. The ride may be exhilarating but it's sobering in equal measures. Despite a lack of traffic nowadays people still die each year, and with drops in excess of 800m very few ever reappear after disappearing over the edge. Our guides told us multiple stories which truly brought the danger of a 3m wide unpaved road with no barriers to the forefront of our minds. Here's a few examples:

A girl died after cycling off the edge while following a butterfly
Trying to take a picture of his girlfriend a guy fell off the edge and didn't return
A lorry carrying 48 people went over a 150m drop killing 28. One of our guides Cesar was part of the rescue crew rappelling down into the thick of it 😳

By far the worst disaster however is marked by a cross at the roads narrowest point. If you remember the Top Gear episode this is the section Clarkson started to lose his wheel. It's less than 3m wide and has numerous waterfalls landing on and running across it. At this point a lorry, trying to reverse in fog went over the edge killing the driver and all 💯 passengers!

All the gear...let's hope there's an idea as well!

Needless to say these stories play on your mind, but it's amazing how ripping downhill on a bike can clear your thoughts; you get lost in the rhythm of nailing turns and hitting little jumps. Oh and avoiding other idiots on the road. So many agencies don't give proper safety briefings or have enough guides so it's best to go with the best!

All good things must come to an end and after negotiating a couple of river crossings we coasted into a little village at the roads base for beers and a well deserved feed. Sadly the food poisoning which sidelined Lisa arrived with vengeance for me and I spent the next 5 hours hopping I'd make it back to La Paz. Not how to finish an adventure.

If you're in La Paz then Death Road is worth it, but make sure you know how to ride a bike - some of the tourists I saw shouldn't even be trusted with a knife and fork.

HOW TO DO IT:

I went with Gravity Assisted who started the Death Road experience. Quality outfit with top of the range gear and great guides. As usual paying more worked out well. AU$170pp.
If you can stay in Corioco afterwards as it's a peaceful village retreat near the end of the road