Hurtling Down The World’s Most Dangerous Road

We had heard great things about cycling down the world’s most dangerous road so of course we had to do it. At the top of the pass, all kitted out in our safety gear, we had to drink 94% alcohol as a way of paying mother earth to ensure good luck. Tasted worse than Meths (much to Graeme´s evident digust) but warmed the insides. We were warned to watch out for vehicles in the mist and dark tunnels along the pass as the local drivers believe that using lights uses more petrol!! At this point I did wonder what I let myself in for.

We started at 4800m in clouds and icy rain (and ended at 1100 metres!). It was freezing at the top!!! When we hit the dirt track we were told that the sheer cliff drops off the side of the narrow track were a death defying 400m – higher than the empire state building. The road was curvy and very narrow with cliffs towering above us on the right and the sheer drop on the left. Every time a vehicle passed we had to make our way to a wider section of the road so that we did not fall over the edge.

As this pass is so narrow and there are accidents all the time (this truck we came across was one of the lucky ones - it fell off the unsteep side), it was here that the human robot system was invented. In the 1940’s, a man lost his wife and his children due to a truck going over the edge. So he started a system of volunteers waving red or green flags around the most dangerous bends. The same system is still being used today and the only payment they receive are tips from grateful drivers.

But I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed the ride down. There was no need to pedal and we went straight through waterfalls (see photo) and watched the green mountains unfold as we zoomed passed. Some of the corners were a little scary (as long as you did not look down or think too much you were OK). But the scenery was so gorgeous.

We ended at 1100m (a drop of 3700m!) and it was very hot. Our last task was to ride through a river and I wiped out spectacularly. The water nearly washed my bike away but my knight in shinning amour (the G man) rescued me. I now have a series of splendid bruises. It was one of the best days I have had on our trip.
And just to prove how sheer the cliffs were, check out this photo!

Coroico

The village we landed up in (Coroico) was perched on top of a hill and we could see the whole valley from our hotel balcony. It was pure heaven. We got to swim in the pool and lounge in the sauna during a badly needed rest day. The view from our hotel room was idyllic.