Road Jungas - the road of death in Bolivia. The most dangerous road through the eyes of the Russian.
La Paz is the highest situated capital in the world. It is located on the bank of the river of the same name, at an altitude of 3600 m above sea level, in Bolivia. In 56 kilometers from the city is located the administrative center of the Northern Yungas province, the city of Koroiko. The distance between the cities is small, however the path connecting the two settlements is world-famous for the constant sad incidents. Because of the evil glory, the road got its secret name - the Road of Death.
The official name of the route is the road of Northern Yungas. It passes through the foothills of the Andes, in extremely dangerous conditions for life. In this connection, in 1995 the Inter-American Development Bank appropriated it as "the most dangerous road in the world". In the world, she got the name Death Road. In 1983, a bus accident killed more than 100 passengers, and in 1994 about 25 vehicles fell into a cliff.
Only by official data, about 300 people die each year here. Among them, drivers, passengers and fans of extreme bicycling, which do not have time to slow down at the corners, and break into the abyss. If you go on the road, you can see a lot of places marked, where the car broke down or the athlete-extreme. Nevertheless, despite the unfortunate glory, the road of death does not become deserted, on the contrary, every year the flow of tourists who want to walk or ride along the road increases.
Camino de las Yungas, or the Road of Death, one of the few roads connecting the Amazon forest region with the capital, La Paz. Departing from the capital, the road rises to a height of 4650 meters. Before descending to an altitude of 3600 meters, in Koroiko, the path runs through mountains, rain forests and steep cliffs.
The road of death is mostly single-lane. It does not have fencing, and part of it passes along the edge of cliffs with a height of 600 meters. The width is calculated for one vehicle, and reaches 3.2 meters.
During the rainy season, strong fogs limit visibility. Water flows from the mountains drastically blur the road, it turns into a mash of mud. In the summer, rock falls often occur here, thus blocking the already narrow road. Among the local drivers there was an unspoken rule: the driver, descending has no right of way, and the outer edge of the road, near the cliff, should be occupied. This both speeds up the descent of the vehicle, and provides safety to the driver riding the top.
By coincidence of sad circumstances The road to death has become a popular tourist attraction of Bolivia, since the 90s, this place was officially visited by about 25 thousand fans of extreme sports, mostly cyclists. For fans of mountain biking, the road has become a favorite place. After all, most of the road does not need to pedal, but only rolls down by inertia. Many tour operators have made this place one of the main points in the travel itinerary for Bolivia.
The road of death was built in the 1930s, during the Chak War, between Paraguay and Bolivia. Until 2006, for 20 years, part of the road was gradually upgraded. Part of the road was expanded from one to two lanes, and also made asphalt pavement. The new route has several tracks, sidewalks, rails, and many elements that make it much safer than the original route.
Currently, the road has become less used for traffic, but the number of travelers and fans tickle the nerves on it is becoming more. The road of death did not ignore the television programs. One of the series History Channel, dedicated to the road - "The most dangerous roads of the world." Here was filmed commercials Mitsubishi Outlander. Also there was a shot of the famous program Top Gear from the BBC. In the episode about the car journey from Bolivia to the Pacific Ocean the way lay through the most dangerous road of the world - the road of Northern Yungas.