After the visit of the Cotapata National Park, we return to the Cumbre pass and start a long descent towards Coroico. Along the way the road descents more then 3500 m (11482 f), thus there is a drastic change in scenery and vegetation; starting surrounded by snow-capped Cordillera Real mountains with barely any vegetation at all we end up at a humid tropical valley with tropical flora and fauna. The first 25 (15.7 mi) km is paved and the road is fairly wide and generally in a good condition, however after arriving to a village of Cotapata, the road narrows and is unpaved. Before we start our exciting descent, we have to pass through a military police checkpoint at Unduavi, where the vehicles and passengers are checked for controlled substances. The next section of the road, so called “Death Road” has the infamous reputation of being the “most dangerous road in the world”. I do not agree with this, but nevertheless it is a spectacular road, it is actually the most scenic road around La Paz, if not in the whole of Bolivia. It hugs cliff walls on one side and on the other side it is cut off by a sheer cliff. At several points, waterfalls fall directly on to the road. Road here passes through cloud forest, which is very often covered by fog. As the road looses altitude, the cloud forest is replaced by mountain jungle. The road reaches its lowest point at
Coroico is one of the most picturesque towns in Bolivia. It has a pleasant climate due to its location and altitude of 1700 m (5577 f). We will drive up to the Hotel Esmeralda and check in and have our diner here with magnificent views of the valley of the river Huarinilla with snow-capped mountains as a backdrop.
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