The road most people mean when they say "Death Road" is the old North Yungas Road, a 64 km (40 mile) route linking La Paz with the Yungas region of Bolivia. The single most important fact about it is that it is no longer the main road. A modern two-lane asphalt route with guardrails and drainage — now part of Route 3 — was completed over a twenty-year programme ending in 2006, bypassing the worst sections between Chusquipata and Yolosa. The old road is today used mainly by bicycles, motorcycles and people on foot, and it draws around 25,000 tourists a year, most of them on organised downhill cycling trips. This guide sets out what the old road actually is now, why the historic casualty figures do not describe today's traffic, and what riding it involves.
The ride in one paragraph
The Yungas Road was built in the 1930s to connect La Paz with the Amazon basin in the north of the country, much of the work done by Paraguayan prisoners captured during the Chaco War. It is a shelf road cut into steep terrain, several sections of it less than 3 m (9.8 ft) wide, with a total descent of about 3,500 m (11,500 ft) from the high ground above La Paz to the subtropical valleys below. Unusually for Bolivia it runs on the left, a deliberate choice so that drivers could see how close their wheels were to the edge. Rain, fog, landslides, waterfalls that run across the carriageway and steep drops without guardrails are all normal features of it. Since 2006 almost all through traffic has used the new asphalt road, and the old one has become a tourism route.
Route at a glance
| Road | Old North Yungas Road (Camino a los Yungas), La Paz towards Coroico |
| Length | 64 km (40 miles) |
| Total descent | About 3,500 m (11,500 ft) |
| Width | Several sections under 3 m (9.8 ft); no guardrails |
| Traffic rule | Left-hand traffic, unlike the rest of Bolivia |
| Current status | Superseded in 2006 by a two-lane asphalt road with guardrails; old road used mainly by bicycles, motorcycles and walkers |
| Visitor numbers | Around 25,000 tourists a year, predominantly mountain bikers |
Open the La Paz to Coroico route in Google Maps — note that mapping will normally route you along the modern asphalt road rather than the old one, which is the sensible default.
What the casualty figures do and do not tell you
The road's reputation rests on real numbers from a specific era. Before the mid-1990s the crash rate was between 200 and 300 deaths a year, averaging around 209 crashes and 96 deaths annually. In July 1983 a bus fell from the road into a canyon, killing more than a hundred people in one of the worst road crashes in Bolivian history. In 1995 the Inter-American Development Bank called it the most dangerous road in the world. By 2011, after the bypass opened, the total number of crashes was around 114, of which 42 were fatal.
Those figures describe a road that was the only link between Coroico and La Paz, carrying buses, freight trucks and everyday traffic in both directions on a single-lane shelf. That road no longer exists in that form. Since 2006 the through traffic runs on the new asphalt route, and in 2009 the government built a further road along the adjacent mountain range. Quoting 1990s death tolls to describe a ride you might do today is not accurate.
What has not gone away is the terrain. At least 18 cyclists have died on the road since 1998, which is the more relevant statistic for anyone using it as a tourism route. The road is still narrow, still unsurfaced, still without barriers, and the weather still produces the fog, rain and loose material that caused the original problem. The difference is that you are no longer sharing it with a bus coming the other way.
Riding it, honestly
On a motorcycle the old road is a slow, technical, unsurfaced descent rather than a thrilling one. The surface is compacted dirt and loose stone that turns greasy in the wet; several sections are narrow enough that passing anything requires one party to stop; and waterfalls run directly across the road in places, keeping stretches permanently damp under overhanging rock. Visibility drops without warning when cloud moves up the valley.
The main hazard today is not the drop but the traffic mix. Downhill cycling groups descend in loose formation, often several groups at once, frequently with riders looking at the scenery rather than up the road, and a support vehicle somewhere behind them. A motorcycle coming the other way — or overtaking — is the element none of them expects. Riding early, before the tour groups start their descents, avoids most of this. So does keeping your speed to a level where you can stop within the distance you can see, which on this road is often very short.
The left-hand traffic convention still applies on the old road and it is not a formality: it exists so that the vehicle on the outside can see its own wheels relative to the edge. Following it also means you are where oncoming traffic expects you to be.
If you decide the old road is not for you, that is a reasonable conclusion rather than a failure. The modern Route 3 descent from the high ground above La Paz into the Yungas is itself an excellent ride — a long, well-surfaced drop through cloud forest with a huge elevation change — and it is what the through traffic uses for good reason.
Altitude, season and the practical details
Altitude. This route is unusual in that the altitude problem is at the top, not the destination. You start high above La Paz and descend around 3,500 m over 64 km. Riders who fly into La Paz and set off the next morning are working at altitude before they have adapted. Give yourself at least a couple of days in La Paz first, drink far more water than feels necessary, and treat headache, nausea, breathlessness at rest or clumsiness as a signal to rest rather than ride. The descent itself brings rapid relief, which is pleasant but also means the return climb is where you will feel it.
Season. Bolivia is in the southern hemisphere and the Yungas has a wet season running through the southern summer, roughly November to March. Rain on this road produces exactly the conditions that made it dangerous — reduced visibility, mud, loose stones and active landslides. The drier southern-winter months, roughly May to September, are the more sensible window. Verified in August 2026; conditions on an unmaintained mountain road change constantly, so ask locally in La Paz or Coroico on the day rather than relying on any published season.
Fuel. Fill up in La Paz. There is no fuel on the old road, and stations in the Yungas villages are small, intermittently supplied, and sell lower-grade fuel than a modern high-compression engine would prefer. Bolivia is also a country where fuel supply to rural stations is genuinely variable, so a full tank leaving the city and a reserve for the return is the right approach.
Paperwork. For Bolivia in general, carry your passport, home licence with an International Driving Permit, vehicle registration or title, the temporary import permit issued at the border, and insurance valid in the country. Hired bikes need written permission from the rental company for any border crossing. Bolivian police checkpoints on rural roads are routine and paperwork is checked.
Gear notes for the Yungas
The specific difficulty here is that you are making judgement calls at low speed in poor visibility, having descended three and a half vertical kilometres in a morning. Mapping apps will route you onto the modern asphalt road by default, so if you intend to ride the old alignment you need it stored deliberately — our guide to route planning tools covers building a track rather than trusting a live search, and there is no usable signal on most of the descent. Our notes on why phone navigation fails on a bike apply squarely to a road this wet. Descending 3,500 m in one go swings tyre temperature and pressure more than almost any other ride, and on loose surfaces the difference is felt immediately: read our tyre pressure guide and consider a TPMS sensor so a stone-cut sidewall announces itself before the next corner. A working pre-ride check matters more than usual on a road where brakes do all the work for an hour straight. If you are carrying a camera to record the descent, a bi-directional fast charger keeps it alive through a full day away from power. For the wider region, see our Salar de Uyuni guide and the best motorcycle roads in South America overview.
FAQ
Is Death Road still dangerous?
It is a narrow, unsurfaced mountain road without guardrails, with sections under 3 m wide, and it still gets fog, rain and landslides. But the traffic that produced its historic casualty figures — buses and freight on a single-lane shelf — moved to the new asphalt road when that opened in 2006. At least 18 cyclists have died on the old road since 1998, which is the figure that describes its current use.
Can you ride a motorcycle on the old Yungas Road?
Yes. Since the bypass opened, the old North Yungas Road has been used mainly by bicycles, motorcycles and walkers. Expect to share it with organised downhill cycling groups, which are the main thing to plan around, and remember it runs on the left unlike the rest of Bolivia.
How long is it and how much does it drop?
64 km (40 miles), with a total descent of about 3,500 m (11,500 ft) from the high ground above La Paz into the subtropical Yungas.
When is the best time to ride it?
The drier southern-winter months, roughly May to September. The wet season runs through the southern summer from about November to March and produces the mud, poor visibility and landslides that make the road genuinely hazardous. Ask locally on the day.
Is there an alternative if you would rather not ride the old road?
Yes, and it is a good one. The modern Route 3 descent from above La Paz into the Yungas is a long, well-surfaced ride with the same enormous elevation change through cloud forest, and it carries the through traffic for a reason.
