Bolivia’s Death Road was built in the 1930s by the government as a means of conveniently connecting the capital city of La Paz to the remote Amazon Rain Forest region of Yungas. First and foremost, this new thoroughfare would be the only direct route for trading and transporting food, coffee, coca, and people from different parts of the country. The vast majority of the road was built using nothing more than basic picks, shovels, and dynamite that was actually undertaken by POWs from Paraguay captured during the Chaco War. Spanning 64 kilometers (or 40 miles), the route is full of sheer vertical cliffs and drops of up to 1,000 meters (or 3,300 feet), as well as narrow widths under 3 meters (or 10 feet), and not a single guardrail to shield vehicles from falling over the edges. This particular region has unpredictable weather and paths that are not fully paved, if at all, once leading to hundreds of fatalities annually, including a horrific bus crash in 1983 that killed roughly 100 people alone. However, traffic patterns eased significantly after a safer and more modern paved highway opened in 2007, essentially making the original route a popular destination for adventure mountain biking. As with most places that have seen tragedy and death, the road is considered to be haunted. Phantom hitchhikers are often seen lurking alongside in foggy conditions. Locals who live in the canyons below tend to hear disembodied voices and cries emanating from within the vicinity, as the road has many hairpin twists and turns that are difficult to navigate. Dark energy and witchcraft are even thought to exist in these tricky sections, where offerings are placed to keep drivers safe and alive. For those who may be acrophobic, the road is also the highest continuous highway in the world.
Scariest Highway in the World
I would want to avoid this road at all costs!