00:00Planning your next trip? You need to find accommodation, book airline tickets, and what else?
00:06Make sure you're safe on the road, of course!
00:09Some tourists actively seek dangerous destinations, though.
00:12The Yungas region in western Bolivia is the perfect place to find adventure.
00:17It's home to one of the most perilous tourist destinations on the planet,
00:22Carretera de la Muerte, the Death Road.
00:27The Yungas Road is around 43 miles long.
00:32It connects the capital city of La Paz to a town in the Amazon basin of Bolivia.
00:37The local bus covers the distance in some three to four hours.
00:41But why so long? The road from San Francisco to San Jose is roughly the same length.
00:47You can cover this distance in under an hour by car.
00:51So what's stopping drivers from doing the same on the Yungas?
00:55It's more than one thing.
00:59If you want to drive to the Bolivian capital, you'll set off at an elevation of 5,000 feet.
01:05But when you reach your destination, you'll be at a staggering 12,000 feet above sea level.
01:11After all, La Paz is the highest capital city in the world.
01:16If these figures are making you dizzy, you might want to sit down before you hear the next number.
01:21The highest peak on the whole road, La Cumbre, sits at more than 15,000 feet.
01:28That's the height people go skydiving from.
01:33Such high mountains aren't the best place to build a road.
01:37But the engineers didn't place the road here for no reason.
01:40It's an important trade route.
01:42Trucks transport everything from coffee to tropical fruit along the Yungas Road.
01:48It's nearly a century old, constructed in the 1930s.
01:52In most places, the road is unpaved.
01:55Its main surface is a mix of dirt and gravel.
01:58The workers carved it out of an almost vertical mountainside.
02:02Look down, and you'll feel vertigo.
02:05There's a drop of some 2,000 feet.
02:08It's impossible not to think about this while driving.
02:13But there are at least two lanes, right?
02:16Not quite.
02:17Because of the terrain, there's only one lane, if you can call it that.
02:22The road is rarely wider than 10 feet.
02:25By comparison, a Tesla Model S is 6.5 feet wide.
02:30And that's without the mirrors sticking out on each side.
02:33That would be one tight squeeze.
02:35But believe it or not, even large trucks go up and down this path.
02:40For the most part, there are no guardrails to prevent the vehicles from dropping into the abyss.
02:47And then there's the weather.
02:49In summer, the dust from the vehicles decreases visibility.
02:54And fog often appears, making the drivers feel as if they were driving blindfolded.
02:59In winter, it's no better.
03:01Heavy rains make the road muddy and slippery.
03:05Torrents can wash away whole sections of the roadway.
03:08Landslides occur frequently.
03:10A boulder can fall on an unsuspecting driver at any moment.
03:14Sounds more like an obstacle course than a roadway.
03:17The only good side is that you shower on the go.
03:21There are natural waterfalls along the way that travelers use to wash themselves.
03:28Until 2006, this mountain highway was the only way to reach the capital from the Yungas region.
03:35That's why buses and trucks of all sizes had to squeeze along cliff edges.
03:40Sadly, some of them never made it to their destination.
03:44On average, 26 vehicles plummet over the edge each year.
03:49The total cost in human life?
03:51200 to 300 people lose their lives each year on the Yungas Road.
03:56That's really sad.
04:00The Bolivian authorities were determined to change something.
04:03It took them a full 20 years, but they finally constructed an alternative road.
04:08It runs along a nearby mountain range.
04:11The new bypass has two paved lanes.
04:14It's secured with guardrails, and it even has drainage.
04:18This helped relieve pressure from the old and dangerous route.
04:22Today, there is significantly less traffic than in the 90s.
04:26At that time, the Inter-American Development Bank proclaimed the route as the most dangerous road in the world.
04:33In come the tourists.
04:36Yes, after the locals could finally travel safely across the region,
04:40travelers from all over the world took on the challenging road.
04:44Tens of thousands of them flocked to the road in search of adrenaline, mostly traveling by bike.
04:50But the path is still dangerous.
04:52Since 1998, at least 25 cyclists have lost their lives here.
04:57The road is so narrow that you don't have enough space to brake.
05:02The side of the road is lined with memorials to people who perished riding their bicycles here.
05:09But the Bolivian Highway isn't the only dangerous destination tourists like to visit.
05:15In Africa, there is a natural pool at the very edge of Victoria Falls.
05:20It becomes accessible only in the dry season.
05:24That's when the water level of the mighty Zambezi River drops enough to reveal the pool.
05:30People come here to take amazing photos, but they're just inches away from danger.
05:35A rock lift forms the edge of the pool.
05:38If a careless swimmer goes beyond it, there is a huge drop, well over 300 feet.
05:44The danger is very real.
05:46Tourists often forget they're in the middle of a powerful river.
05:50More than a million gallons of water cascade down Victoria Falls every minute.
05:55A complete lack of water can be dangerous as well.
05:59That is the case in one region of California, Death Valley.
06:03This is the hottest place on Earth.
06:06Temperatures here reach 130 degrees Fahrenheit.
06:10But tourists are attracted to these extreme conditions.
06:13In 2022 alone, more than one million people visited the area.
06:18Trekking in this desert landscape is highly dangerous.
06:22Even driving can cost people their lives.
06:25If you have a car accident here, the heat will soon get to you.
06:29Dehydration and heat stroke are real dangers.
06:32And if that wasn't enough, there are rattlesnakes.
06:36Seven species of snakes live in the Mojave Desert.
06:41Back in Europe, Ireland is a popular travel destination.
06:45In 2019, 19 million people visited the Emerald Isle.
06:50That's close to four times the population of the Republic of Ireland.
06:54Tourists first explore Dublin.
06:56But then they want to see the countryside.
06:58And the biggest attraction there is as dangerous as it is beautiful.
07:02The Cliffs of Moher.
07:04They stand on the island's rugged west side.
07:07Visitors who try to get close to their edge for a better photo are risking their lives.
07:12The drop is 700 feet.
07:16One wrong step and they can fall down from a height greater than the height of the Great Pyramid at Giza.
07:22Sadly, this has already happened several times in the past.
07:28In Florida, there is a place that looks like a dream to any American surfer.
07:33New Smyrna Beach.
07:35But there is a danger lurking beneath the waves.
07:38Sharks.
07:40New Smyrna is a hotspot for them.
07:42A surfer paddling on his board looks like a seal to the shark below.
07:46And seals are their main prey.
07:48Since 2010, there have been 32 reported shark attacks in the area.
07:53That's why people call this section of the coastline the most dangerous beach in America.
07:58Not your ideal summer destination, definitely.
08:04Maybe it's better to go to Hawaii.
08:06Or not.
08:08This atoll hides dangers of its own.
08:11The Hawaiian Islands were formed by volcanic activity.
08:14These volcanoes attract tourists from all over the world.
08:17But slow-flowing lava isn't what's going to get you.
08:21It's poisonous gases.
08:23Can you guess what VOG is?
08:26No, I'm not speaking about the fashion magazine.
08:29This is volcanic smog.
08:31A mixture of ash and sulfur dioxide.
08:34That's the toxic gas you smell when you light a match.
08:39And when the lava flow hits the saltwater in the ocean, you get lays.
08:43Or lava haze.
08:45These plumes can travel up to 15 miles downwind.
08:49And they're not pleasant to inhale.
08:51Your eyes become dry.
08:53And your throat starts to itch.
08:55And those are the less severe symptoms.
08:57In a span of just 20 years, five tourists passed away due to exposure to volcanic gases.
09:05That's it for today.
09:07If this video has pacified your curiosity, then give the video a like and share it with your friends.
09:11Or if you want more, just click on these videos and stay on the Bright Side!
Comments