National_Geographic_Traveller_India-May_2018

MAY 2018 | NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TRAVELLER INDIA 85

BOLIVIA

ANTONIO SALINAS L./MOMENT/GETTY IMAGES

MY BIG FAT

BOLIVIAN

ADVENTURE

I

n Bolivia, the adventure starts as my aircraft begins its

descent. At 13,300 feet, El Alto International Airport,

which services capital La Paz, is the world’s highest

international airport. Landing here was quite exciting for

me—one moment I was flying over mountains and emerald

lakes, and the next, above an array of short, flat, brown houses.

Suddenly, I spied the tiniest runway one can imagine. As the

airplane lost height, I held my breath.

To make the best of La Paz’s breathtaking views, I realised,

one can turn to the host of adventure activities, from climbing

mountains to biking or cycling down one of the world’s

most dangerous roads; from camping by the beautiful Lake

Titicaca—the world’s highest navigable body of water—to

exploring rainforests.

My initiation was a downhill biking trail on the Death Road

(also Yungas Road) that snakes down from La Paz to Coroico.

It gets its name from statistics that emerged in the 1990s,

which showed around 300 deaths on the route anually since

its construction in the 1930s. When a new road connecting La

Paz and Coroico opened in 2006, regular traffic was diverted.

It was around that time that thrill-seeking backpackers took

over Death Road, making downhill biking the most sought-

after activity in Bolivia.

After spending some time getting a grip of the special

downhill bike on a smooth, paved practice-stretch, a short car

ride took me to the starting point of the trail—a loose gravel-

and-mud affair with an ominous signboard announcing the

name. Dressed in protective gear, I listened to the instructor’s

cautionary speech about the dangers lurking ahead, how

to avoid them, and instances of fatal accidents that occur

nonetheless. More psyched than dissuaded, I set out, tailing the

Close to the Bolivia-Chile border,
Salar of Uyuni, the world’s
largest salt desert, is a magnet
for shutterbugs looking for an
illusionary photo op. Water on
the 10,000-square-kilometre
blinding white flat creates
surreal reflections of the sky.