North Yungas Road, Bolivia
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Plummeting down one of the world’s most dangerous roads on a bike may not be everyone’s idea of fun but North Yungas Road, which winds through the Cordillera Oriental mountain chain just near La Paz, has become one of the world’s most thrilling mountain bike rides. There's good reason it's known starkly as Death Road.
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Thankfully a new road allows larger vehicles to bypass some of the notoriously narrow route's most dangerous sections – but cyclists can still risk their lives on them should they wish. Riders are in for an exhilarating but bumpy 40-mile (64km) descent with sheer cliff drops just inches away and vertiginous views of the Amazon rainforest to distract them. While there are no decisive figures, it’s been reported that 18 cyclists have died in recent times on the deadly road.