Some photos of the La Paz-Yungas road have been making the rounds around the web lately, with people commenting how incredibly dangerous it must be to travel in such conditions. I traveled the La Paz-Coroico road many times, once in the back of a big Volvo lorry truck driven by an insanely good driver, so I must tell you that the experience is exhilarating. So much so that there are several companies in La Paz whose main business is renting bikes to tourists and guiding them in a suicidal descent from 5000 meters above sea level to about 2500 meters in a matter of a couple of hours.
One more thing… the road is not named Stremnaya road, like some bloggers claim. I don’t know where Stremnaya is, but it’s definitely not in Bolivia. If you’re interested in the Yungas road, Google for Coroico, La Cumbre, Yungas, Cotapata, Unduavi, etc.
You are right on track, those photos that are being published are NOT the WMDR, I should know, I’ve guided it more than 500 times, a small correction to your note above, none of the agencies RENT bikes, they actually offer full tours… although I’ll warn you that you get what you pay for! If you want to see tonnes more photos of the WMDR (and people biking it check it out here: http://www.gravitybolivia.com/gallery/PhotohighlightsfromtheWorldsMostDangerousRoad)
Thanks for keeping it real!
mystery solved – “Stremnaya Roadâ€, Bolivia actually the Guoliang Tunnel in China
http://rickmccharles.com/?p=1230
Thanks a lot to this site and to Rick!
As you say Rick: Mistery Solved!
Guys, thank you for setting the record straight. Bolivia gets enough bad press. Los Yungas is a marvelous place that I was able to visit about 15 years ago.
I had a video camera with me and wanted to take a picture of the cliff from the road. The drop was about 3,000 ft. I could not video the side of the cliff unless I held the camera as far from me as I could and then move my toes to the side of the road (cliff).
It is breathtaking. I have a picture (someplace) from the jungle floor up shooting up through the trees and hills to the snow-capped Andean mountains in the background.
Thank you for coming to the defense of Bolivia.
Rick Jackson
Thanks for the clarification. I don’t know where is the WMDR, but it is not in Bolivia.
Thanks for your share. And I couldn’t believed that. It looks beautiful but really danger.