The Bolivian Death Road and El Choro Trek

It runs in the dry season, May to September, which gives the safest, driest surface on the Death Road, the best footing on the Choro high pass, and the clearest weather in the Yungas. The cloud forest stays humid year round, but these months are the most reliable. Dates are set with you when you book, and the trip can also run privately.

The headline rate of $1,080 per person is the best-value price at the full group of ten. The per-person cost is higher for smaller parties, since the bikes, guides, rafts, and vehicle are shared across fewer people; the full scale of rates from two to ten travelers is shown on the page.

A deposit of $270 per person, twenty-five percent of the ten-guest rate, secures your place, with the balance due before departure. You can pay by whichever method suits you, whether card, bank transfer, or wire.

The trip is capped at ten guests. The bikes, the trek support, and the rafts all work best with small numbers, which also keeps the riding safer and the pace flexible.

The old North Yungas Road earned its name when it carried two-way truck and bus traffic on a narrow cliff edge. Since the bypass highway opened in 2006 it is almost entirely closed to vehicles and reserved for cyclists, so the real risk now is your own riding rather than traffic. It is a long gravel descent with exposed drops that demands respect and attention, but it is ridden safely by large numbers of cyclists every year with a good operator.

You ride quality mountain bikes checked before departure, with helmet and protective gear, a thorough safety briefing, an experienced lead guide, and a support vehicle following the whole way. You ride at your own pace with regular regrouping stops, and you can put the bike on the support vehicle for any section you would rather not ride.

No expert skills are needed, but you should be comfortable on a mountain bike and confident braking on a long gravel descent. It is downhill rather than a fitness test, but it requires concentration for several hours.

The ride drops from La Cumbre at around 4,650 meters to Yolosa at roughly 1,200 meters, about 60 kilometers, a descent of some 3,500 meters that carries you from cold high paramo into the warm, green Yungas in a single day.

It rates as moderate to demanding. Within seven days you ride a full mountain descent, complete a three-day trek with a drop of more than 3,500 meters, and raft a river. The Choro trek is the hardest part. You should be fit and comfortable with consecutive active days, though nothing is technical.

The first day in La Paz at around 3,600 meters is for acclimatization. The Death Road starts at 4,650 meters and the Choro pass tops out at 4,859 meters, both early in the trip, after which everything descends to the warm Yungas. Take the high sections steady, and consult your doctor about altitude medication if you have any heart or respiratory condition.

Days three to five are a supported three-day trek on the pre-Inca Choro trail, starting at Apacheta Chukura at 4,859 meters and descending more than 3,500 meters on stone paving to Chairo. A mule team carries the gear, but the long descent is hard on the knees, so trekking poles and broken-in boots make a real difference.

Comprehensive travel insurance is mandatory and must specifically cover mountain biking on the Death Road, trekking to around 4,860 meters, and white-water rafting, along with remote medical evacuation. Many standard policies exclude these activities, so check the wording carefully before you travel.

Day six is about twelve kilometers of Class II and III water on the Coroico River through the Yungas canyon, fed by the same mountains you have descended by bike and on foot. No rafting experience is needed; you go in guided rafts with a safety briefing and all the gear.

The river afternoon closes at La Senda Verde near Yolosa, a Bolivian-run sanctuary caring for hundreds of animals rescued from the illegal wildlife trade, including spectacled bears and monkeys. It is a visit that supports a working refuge rather than a zoo, so the animals are residents being cared for, not wildlife on display.

A comfortable hotel in La Paz, two supported tent camps on the Choro trail with tents and bedding provided, and two nights at UMA Experience, an architect-designed lodge of cabins with an infinity pool above Coroico. The camps are simple by design; UMA is a comfortable end to the trip.

Pack for two climates: warm layers, a hat and gloves, and a waterproof for the high cold of the bike start and the Choro pass, and light, quick-dry clothing and sun protection for the warm Yungas. Add well broken-in boots, trekking poles, and a daypack. The mule team carries your main trek gear, and quality bikes and rafting equipment are provided.