what a road!!

[JamieTee]

i was watching top gear this morning on dave. it was the onewhen they are driving in south america, and they are driving on the "death road" in bolivia. i seen this and wanted to drive it. just wondering if anyone has driven this road and wanted to know their thoughts.

[Gear Knob]

Clarkson and co really did have balls travelling down that piece of road especially with all those maniacal drivers and there cars not especially in good nick. Always wonder how the rest of the crew managed to get down so well.

If you are plaaning to drive on that road best to check up more about it on the internet. I think the best option will be a 4x4

[Chris71]

The point where Clarkson edges past the oncoming car on the high ledge is heart stopping. I wonder if that was contrived in any way, it looked pretty genuine, but it's convenient the camera crew happened to be positioned on an opposing ledge. Either way it made for pretty tense TV.

[AndySquare]

I rode down the Death Road on a mountain bike last year whilst I was in La Paz. It is VERY narrow at points, IIRC the guide said that it varies between only 3m and 6m wide. On a bike meeting a car or van coming the other way wasn't too much of a problem, in a car though, it would be pretty nerve wracking I guess. There are wider sections that can be used as passing points though.

The road is made up of gravel and rocks, with the odd stream passing over it - if not a 4x4 you would certainly want a car with good ground clearance! There is a brand new link road on the other side of the valley that most traffic now takes, the Death Road is only really used now to service the villages along it, and as a play road for mountain bikers, so there is a lot less traffic than there used to be.

If you do go out there but decide not to drive it, I would strongly recommend riding down it instead!