Which Bolivian road is known as the "Death Road"?

Which Bolivian road is known as the “Death Road”? The answer is the North Yungas Road.

Also called Camino de la Muerte, the road links La Paz with Bolivia’s Yungas region. It was built in the 1930s, partly by Paraguayan prisoners captured during the Chaco War, to connect the highland capital with the Amazonian lowlands. Its narrow, cliff-hugging route became notorious for rain, fog, landslides, waterfalls and the absence of protective barriers.

The original road descends roughly 3,500 metres and includes sections less than 3 metres wide. In 1995, the Inter-American Development Bank called it the world’s most dangerous road. A notorious 1983 bus crash killed more than 100 people, reinforcing its deadly reputation.

A modern alternative, now part of Bolivia’s Route 3, opened in stages through 2006 with two lanes, paving, bridges, drainage and guardrails. That safer route diverted most traffic, while the North Yungas Road became mainly a mountain-biking and adventure-tourism destination. “Yungas Road” is also accepted as a shorter name, but North Yungas Road identifies the famous original route more precisely.