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  #1  
Old 21 Sep 2009
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Highway Of Death, Bolivia
Does anybody know if the "highway to death" in Bolivia is open to motorized vehicles any more, or just bicycles and pedestrians?
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  #2  
Old 22 Sep 2009
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Its called the 'Road of Death' or something similar, not the 'Highway to Death' as it goes to Coroico instead which is actually very pleasant.


Nothing to stop you riding it on a moto, we didn't see anyone else when we did it apart from one guy on a push bike. Mostly just mountain bike hire groups now though some of them still manage to fall off the edge with disturbing regularity. The cyclists get a t-shirt at the end saying 'I survived the Road of Death' but only if they didn't cycle off the edge.

It's essentially just a gravel road but do try and stay away from the edge...



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Old 22 Sep 2009
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it s just a road with a few big drop offs,there are plenty similiar in the area or in peru ,but i did see a mountain bike that just went over the edge ,very ugly scene ,but you can ride it ,it was shitty weather the day i did it ,and that was a bit over a week ago
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Old 22 Sep 2009
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i got about a third of the way down nearly two weeks ago, yes its open to traffic but you must be wary of the weather. It was a really deep fog and actually snowed when i was on my way down hence reason for turning around.

If you want to do it aim for very early in the morning.

Have to agree there are better off road scenic routes in bolivia though
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Old 22 Sep 2009
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Hi, is this the road in question YouTube - Bolivia's Death Road - The World's most dangerous road
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Old 22 Sep 2009
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keep going after coroico
that's my advice if you want a bit more of a challenge. from coroico it's the real road, heaps of trucks, mud and/or bulldust, and slow, slow. real bolivia, leaving the mountain bikers behind.

plus it's very worthwhile for both the trip and destination of rurrenabaque.

take care where the direction of travel changes, from 'keep right' to 'keep left'. and don't rely on truck drivers taking notice of the change... have a read of this:

Out for a spin: Rurrenabaque by road, thoughts on poverty, and a big, blue Volvo.

cheers,
andy.
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Old 23 Sep 2009
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We decided to go to Coroico first and figure out what the go was from there. We took the wrong turn which is the only signed turn up to Coroico which is up on the hill. The new Hwy is down in the valley. It was pitch black and it zig zagged up as a one way track with heaps of wash outs. The next morning we went back to see how it was, and let's just say that it was dodgy.

The old Hwy is unpaved so treacherous going down. There are hundreds of cyclist going down it and they fly around the corners. So keep an eye out for them. Not really any local traffic. Why would you. The cyclists are followed by vans with 100m ropers in them just in case. And apparently they get used frequently.
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Old 23 Sep 2009
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We were pretty lucky when we were there as all the companies running the mountain bike tours were on strike that week because of some 15p tax being proposed to use the road. So basically we saw only one other person the whole way down to Coroico!


Quote:
Originally Posted by tmotten View Post
The old Hwy is unpaved so treacherous going down. There are hundreds of cyclist going down it and they fly around the corners. So keep an eye out for them.
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Old 23 Sep 2009
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get the worm
you only have to get up early to beat the mountain bikers.
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Old 23 Sep 2009
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Thanks for the tips. I have been getting conflicting info from travelers here in Peru, but this seems to clear it up.

I plan on spending 3-4 weeks in Bolivia, so Highway of Death (which is pretty similar to Road of Death) is just one "item" on the list.

Thanks again,
Mike

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Old 30 Sep 2009
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dave ede View Post

Okay I though I was pretty brave...but there is no way I going there! Check out this vid too:
World's most Dangerous road - Bolivia-(HORRIBLE ACCIDENT)

Makes me look forward to something a little more sane....like jumping the Grand Canyon in a rocket powered moto or something
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Old 3 Oct 2009
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Doubledown View Post
I plan on spending 3-4 weeks in Bolivia, so Highway of Death (which is pretty similar to Road of Death) is just one "item" on the list.

Thanks again,
Mike

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Have fun, as above it is a good day ride but by no means a 'must do'.

If you do want an adventure, you can go to Rurrenabaque from there but we went across to Sorata, took us 3-4 days.

Josh
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Old 3 Oct 2009
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I mean from Coroico - Sorata, not Rurre to Sorata.
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