Montane forest vegetation and Death Road Yungas Bolivia
by James Brunker
Title
Montane forest vegetation and Death Road Yungas Bolivia
Artist
James Brunker
Medium
Photograph - Photograph
Description
The view from Chuspipata looking down the upper part of the infamous old road from La Paz to Coroico in Bolivia's Yungas region on an completely cloud-free day (quite unusual in this region). Commonly known as the "Death Road" / "Camino de la Muerte", it was described in the 1990s by an Inter-American Development Bank official as "the world's most dangerous road" due to the large numbers of fatal accidents. It was built by Paraguayan prisoners of war in the 1930s (after the Chaco War) and drops around 3500m / 11,500ft in 65km / 40 miles as it descends from a high pass over the Andes Mountains to the tropical lowlands. Cut out of jungle clad cliffs with large sheer drops, it is single track in many places. Unlike most roads in the Americas you drive on the left rather than the right so drivers going down have better visibility (fog and cloud permitting) to see vehicles coming up and choose an area for them to pass as uphill vehicles have right of way.
The road was once the main highway from La Paz to the North Yungas region and the lowlands of northern Bolivia. Nowadays it sees very little traffic as there is a new, wider paved road which opened at the end of 2006, though you can still drive it if you want. It is a popular trip with mountain bikers, makes for a nice hike with great views and its cloud forests are excellent for birdwatching. The vegetation in the foreground is typical of the high montane forests, small trees and shrubs (many of which are only found within a limited altitude range), ferns, mosses and lichens.
Photograph © James Brunker. Reproduction, transmission or publication in any form without prior written permission strictly prohibited.
Uploaded
June 25th, 2022
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