You can build a modern mountain road with guardrails, signage, and sensible engineering—but you can’t stop a tourist from seeking an adrenaline rush. Bolivia’s infamous “Death Road” was once the country’s only route from La Paz to Yungas. Today, locals avoid it. But thanks to Instagram, thrill-seekers are still lining up—and sometimes dropping off.

Bolivia is a large, landlocked country in South America. It became an independent republic in 1825, but with territory spanning both the snow-capped Andes and the Amazon, the fledgling country struggled to organize. Namely, there was no good route from the city of La Paz—the seat of Bolivia’s government—to the northern Yungas region in the Amazon rainforest.

The birth of “Death Road”

In the 1930s, Bolivia carved the Yungas Road out of the mountains. The winding road descends 11,500 feet to the Amazon in just 40 miles. In multiple places, it is less than 10 feet wide. Unlike the rest of the country, cars drive the Yungas Road on the left-hand side so drivers can see how close their wheels are to the cliffs they must avoid.

Yungas Road suffers periods of rainfall, fog, and erosion. It is easily one of the deadliest roads on the planet. It’s earned the nickname “Death Road.”

 In a 1983 crash, a bus plummeted to the valley below, killing more than 100 passengers. Some sources say the road has averaged 96 deaths per year, while the Universal Traveller website once claimed that by the mid-1990s, 200 to 300 drivers fell to their deaths each year. It doesn’t appear Bolivia ever published official fatality numbers. In 1995, the Inter-American Development Bank dubbed it the world’s most dangerous road. It became clear Bolivia needed to do something about the road’s safety.

It took Bolivia 20 years, but by 2006 the country had achieved a feat of modern engineering. It carved a modern, two-lane, paved road across the tops of the mountains. This new connection between La Paz and the Yungas region made Death Road obsolete overnight—for sensible locals.

Death Road becomes a tourist destination

Today, upper Death Road almost never sees car traffic. Instead, it’s open to hikers, bicyclists, and the occasional motorcyclist. But that hasn’t stopped 25,000 tourists from attempting to navigate it each year. Many of these adventure tourists are mountain bikers seeking a thrill. Even the Barracuda Biking expedition outfit admits at least 18 cyclists have died on the road since 1998. But the La Razón news website claimed deaths are on the rise, with 114 accidents killing 42 people in 2011 alone.

One one hand, bicycling down a steep gravel road should be safe for an experienced mountain biker. On the other hand, the route is literally called “Death Road.” So would you take a trip on Yungas Road?