Death Road descent mountain biking in La Paz

One can’t go to La Paz and not bike down the Death Road. It’s one of the main touristic attractions to do for outdoor and thrill seeking in the Bolivian Capital.

So naturally, I booked it – even though I have never done mountain biking in my life and as I grow old is developing a slight discomfort with heights. Let’s see if I am going to enjoy this better than bungee jumping ( I have still nightmare of this one ).

I chose Gravity for their excellent safety reputation and because they have the car that drives at the end, so that if you want to bail en-route, you can. 
We meet at Café Del mondo, where we have a good hour for a very nice breakfast that was included in the tour. During this time, we fill up the necessary disclaimer and Damian, our guide, gives us our first safety instructions. 

The drive to the starting point takes about 1h. There we are on flat grounds and test our bikes and equipment before the decent actually start.

Some numbers: The entire ride is 63 km downhill; we start at 4,500m and end at 1,100m. A third is asphalt road and then it’s mountain biking through an old road – called the Death Road. This road is still in use by the few farms and houses that are along it. 

It’s mountain biking for beginners, and Alexis who has more experience than me confirmed it. Nevertheless, we both enjoyed it.

Apart from the thrill of the speed and going down – there is also the landscape. The views of the valleys below and then the jungle was astonishing. I was the slowest of the group and frankly no regret, at times I slowed down to a crawl to be able to enjoy the scenery a little more. We even cycled through clouds for a moment. The weather was sunny, cloud & wet, then sunny again. We crossed through rivers, waterfalls and drastic viewpoints. 

Gravity team was excellent, full-on safety – no stress – you can go at your own pace. Plenty of snacks were provided. A really good day.

The tour ends at the wildlife sanctuary where we saw a lot of monkeys, armadillo, deer and other mammals. They have a nice restaurant and also showers. We were covered in mud at the end of the ride.

After the adrenaline gets low, that when the aches start. I couldn’t feel my forearms and part of my thigh. And after you had your late lunch and hot shower, it’s like a huge weight has been put on your eyelids. The ride back to la Paz is 3hrs and I think most of us just slept most of the way.

It took 2hrs to reach back the starting point, it’s incredible how fast we went down some section that the minibus is struggling to climb back up. 

Needless to say, between yesterday full day and today – we are dead on our feet and I am even more grateful for the apartment where we don’t have to go out again and find a restaurant for diner.

But sleep is for wicked. We still have to clean and pack our bags. Tomorrow, we leave La Paz for Copacabana and the bus picks us up at 6.45 am…