Coroico hangs on a green ridge in the Yungas, the steep, cloud-wrapped country where the Bolivian Andes fall away toward the Amazon basin. The town sits at about 1,700 metres, which is warm and humid after the thin air of La Paz, and the whole landscape smells of wet earth, coffee and citrus. For a rider arriving from the capital, it is the end of one of the most famous roads in the world, a place where you can finally breathe, sit in the shade and watch the clouds roll up the valley.
The North Yungas Road earned its reputation as the most dangerous in the world in the 1990s, when an international bank reported hundreds of deaths a year. The old road, begun in the 1930s with forced labour by Paraguayan prisoners captured in the Chaco War, drops from the pass at La Cumbre, near 4,650 metres, to the jungle in barely sixty kilometres. It is narrow, carved into a vertical cliff and often wet, and vehicles here drive on the left so that the driver can see the edge. Since a newer road opened in 2006, most trucks and buses use the alternative, and the old route is mainly ridden by cyclists and adventurous tourists. Fog, landslides and loose gravel remain real hazards, and there are no barriers on many bends.
Coroico itself is small, with just over two thousand people, and a charming plaza where families gather in the evening. Nearby, the Afro-Bolivian community of Tocaña keeps alive the saya, a rhythmic dance and song tradition descended from the slaves who once worked the plantations here. The valley also grows coca, which is legal and traditional for local use, as well as coffee, bananas and oranges.
Fuel is the thing to plan. Carry enough from La Paz to cover the descent and the return, and ask locally about supplies in Coroico and Yolosa below, as availability can change. Cash is essential, and cash machines are few.
The best season is the dry months from May to September. In the wet, rain can turn the road to mud within minutes, and in either season you should start early, because the afternoon cloud brings poor visibility. Ride slowly, stay on the correct side, and enjoy the sound of water everywhere.