Deadliest Roads | Bolivia | Free Documentary

[Music] [Music] [Music] would you listen laser publicly thank you people say we spun spider's webs together across the valley but that's not true it may look like it but it's not if there is a quantity that I look for more and with a flying man of youngest on our ropes we're like the youngest region in Bolivia jungle and steep cliffs where people don't walk they fly [Music] [Music] [Music] these bird men are known as cocaleros coca harvesters they use ropes to swing across the narrow valleys suspended from ancient rusting pulleys just 30 seconds from one site to the other by foot it would have taken more than an hour then you sit down you do it in there no this must be about six or seven years old before that there was nothing nothing we had to walk down to the bottom across the river the other side very and renew Grandia used to be quite a hike yeah Hey usually we'll get home much more quickly this way [Music] this is not a horizontal country the Yungas valleys are like a sudden staircase between the towering cold the heiress of the Andes more than four thousand meters high and the green Amazon basin here in the dramatic vertical landscape the inhabitants have fashioned this unusual way to move around more quickly simple thin metal wires normally used for fencing stretching as far across as four hundred meters it's almost a form of public transport there are about 20 of these cables strung across the valley all day long people and goods fly across the river 200 metres below at each end homemade tethers that in theory provides stability and safety some of the wires have been in use for 20 years and have slackened dramatically the cocaleros have never bothered replacing them oh it doesn't break it's galvanized steel besides were four of them across here what to prevent the pulleys from becoming unfastened the cocaleros use string at each end as a kind of peg it's a safety measure so the knot doesn't get loose from the bow she knows her mother here okay the string helps keep it in place otherwise it might all collapse to hang on to the pulley the cocaleros simply attached themselves with bits of fabric and cloth this is how we do it is that enough to keep you from falling off a sister and after he dish oh of course it is it's enough for two people even even three pairs yes if I spread a free nod use the branches and leaves kind of break to stop ourselves so we don't crash into the other side okay I'm off now to the other side happy flying a plane [Music] even at age 72 Don Ignacio continues to fly across the valley every day to tend to his cocoa plantation on the other side of a mountain since the price of coffee collapsed coca has taken over as the main crop for the youngest it's been cultivated since the time of the Incas a form of narcotic chewed by the locals to overcome tiredness it's harvested three times a year and is worth approximately 30% more than coffee nowadays Don Ignacio was one of the first to settle in the valley and it was his idea to install the cable Skyway first came here in 1955 I was the one who founded the community and everything that you see here there's nothing to get across I used to carry everything on our backs just like packets when I thought about having the system of pulleys and ports Teale wires and I managed to stretch them across the valley using some rope Don Ignacio can neither read nor write and testing his wire cables was a hit-and-miss affair everything was guesswork well no one wanted to go on them at the beginning no one trusted it the first time we tried it out with a sack full of stones if it made it across then we knew we could too - Don ignacio's invention brought about a dramatic change in the lives of the cocaleros who are now able to easily send heavy loads across the valley even today though there are those who don't trust the flimsy wires that crisscross the valley Maria's husband was killed in an accident on the wires and she now refuses to use them well they'd already been my husband was killed here he fell often felt was deaf into the river okay he lost his balance somehow sir Lawrence he just fell off he fell out of his harness maybe at all I'm not really sure what happened he was on his own when he fell three people have fallen to their deaths in the past 20 years mostly as a result of negligence like Maria most of the women prefer to cross on foot that's the point there yes the bridge is for the women nothing there was too scared to cross on the cables so most of the Willing cross here yes I own book what do you read theater it's quite nice because we often stop to bathe in the river mirakl through the fall my husband fell all the way from up there down to the river to sleep are totally though his body was shattered his guts were splattered everywhere is horrible Oh get on me fast I face to be undone we can tell I'm really tired though because it is a steep climb yeah they listen my feet hurt from walking so much despite the physical exertion Maria still prefers walking to taking the sky cables you must be half an hour but we've been here without any effort it's part of our way of life now we always use some coca before we start working also stops us getting hungry and allow us to work like dogs fall off a tree and not feel anything in the valley the work days are long and arduous the hardest is the harvesting of mandarins which grow in abundance but they have to be picked within two days of ripening otherwise they rot Maria and her new partner Alex can obviously only sell the fresh mandarins and market so timing is crucial in this airport oh that's always a rush and that's when you might have an accident from having to hurry so much you might get careless and fall that's why the cables aren't as reliable as they say it's like Russian roulette I see Salah I don't want to be widowed twice over email me that it's scary starting with someone like him rather Mets on from a different part of the country live elsewhere where it's less dangerous in the valley danger is never far away when the baskets full of mandarins don't quite reach their destination for example damnit let's mean back the other way now the only choice is to go and fetch them a high-risk operation the baskets weigh as much as 50 kilos Alex is barely fastened properly to the pulley at 200 metres any mistake could be fatal you should film this look I feel internally I feel this is how accidents occur the harness can slip and you just fall backwards all the way into nothing it almost happened to me once I was in a hurry and I wasn't fastened properly just for a basket of fruit like a one-hour walk away on the other side of the mountain Severo has just returned from picking coca the leaves are put out to dry one month's work of harvesting they're not dried out then they could turn black black leaves aren't worth as much as the green ones put them on the ground there was no Sun they say the mirror attracts the Sun the Sun sees the mirror light for the cocaleros such a severe Oh has become a little easier since the election of Evo Morales in the presidential elections of 2005 Ava was the first native Indian head of state in South America and an outspoken advocate of the coca farmers under his rule the laws that previously impose some restrictions on coca growing were relaxed ever since AVO has been in office things have changed before they were embargoes and other serious restrictions the other governments had said they want to stop coca altogether no one listened to our side of the story they said cocoa is used to make cocaine but it's not true cocoa is not cocaine you need to add a lot of chemicals to make cocaine from coca leaves severa says he's never seen cocaine as far as he's concerned his coca is a powerful therapy against fatigue pain and altitude sickness but because of a fight against drugs he also has to travel to the officially sanctioned market in La Paz in Bolivia's capital it's mcworter don't this is my room this is where I sleep I keep all my clothes here and my coca leaves kita no kikosi cha doe D I see you me Bo this is how I lived this familiar German / a bearish comparable so two bundles of coca ridden City then with the money I'll buy some supplies what's left I'll give to my wife that comes about here Amelia with a baby pero relieved as la escuela it's Lake home it's name is the school because the nearest school is over the mountains on the other side the kids are scared of snakes and things like that as we started - Severo has finished harvesting his coca he'll soon be heading off to market in La Paz and get a chance to see his family again in the past month he's amassed 50 kilos of coca leaves which he needs to get to the other side of the valley to the nearest road yeah severe is also bringing a large basket of mandarins for his wife and daughters [Music] [Music] why did you yell out like Alegria just out of happiness happy happiness about what that's all about flying like a bird across the valley oh well de bolívar como un pájaro company loco after the thrill of the crossing it takes Severo a back-breaking 10 minutes to drive each of his three twenty five kilo packs up the mountain to the roadside done wiped out this is killing me the next morning severa will take the first bus heading to La Paz the road thats makes its way through the valley of cables is the main artery that links the mountain ranges with the plains 4000 meters below our to believe but this narrow dirt road is as busy as any modern highway on the way down are manufactured goods from La Paz on the way up rice fruit and cattle from the fertile Amazonian pastures two-way traffic causes vehicles to Teeter on the edges of precipices crosses in memory of victims of accidents are everywhere the Bolivians call this road el camino de la muerte the road of death the road studs 4000 meters up in la paz the economic capital of Bolivia Marco aged 23 is a vichara a trucker specialized in the transport of cattle his job is to drive down the road of death as far as Amazonia and load up cattle we're getting ready for the trip assume communica bn0 the truck comes from Europe like all the others at secondhand but it's being ready to take off or worse roads coming through is it with 600,000 kilometers already on the clock it's the first time mark I was taking it out his own truck has long since driven more than 1 million kilometers these trucks never die no because we constantly repair them everything gets fixed up in Bolivia Marco is always accompanied on his trips by his cousin Wilson traveling alone is far too dangerous on the road of death what's hosting talking at a Mazda narrow but all the job pays well que otros trabajo see see I didn't learn what I do and I won't be able to send my kids to college in the future no Colegio come on cuz now the thing on me he had I mean if you have small kids there's these clothes usual stuff that's why I keep doing this dangerous job Marco never leaves without first kissing his children goodbye I always do this but panellist I mean you are key of them here during the journey hola hello have you been good salud off see you sure yeah that was what that would be listen you behave yourself when I get back home I'll come and see there you go what would you like me to bring back for you now what is there in some there all sorts of fruits no no give it happened on us yeah don't you like something yeah I'll bring some button if you've been good okay yeah okay Marco doesn't go inside as he's going through a divorce the kids mother his wife could no longer stand the strain of waiting for her husband to return safely from the road of death I still happy the end violence in Europe I pray to the Lord I may come back safe and sound from the journey okay I was kidding okay condoms every time I leave to drive I always pray to the Lord do you speak to your truck always what kind of things you tell me I often say how's it going kid or things like okay kid we need to get there and come back alright I do it all the time sometimes when it has some problems I tell it why are you behaving like this I've given you everything you need oil petrol does it understand I think it does actually yeah okay let's go [Music] it's the start of a trip that will take 24 hours marker travels the road of death once or twice a week and 900 kilometer round trip on one of the world's most dangerous highways his wages of fear 140 euros a month [Music] they are a bit of way up our end I'm going to stop with the highest point on the road to say a mess bring me luck en La Cumbre at an altitude of 4,700 meters it's the highest point on the journey and marks the start of the road of death below the cross that overlooks the descent yacht eros or Indians shame and priests have gathered for a few pennies the trucker's invoke their help to pay their respects to Pachamama the goddess of the earth did you bring any Coca Wilson where's the coca what's your name my name is Esteban yeah listen mr. Marko will hold a ceremony for you a little ceremony where are you headed san borja some larger well we'll call up the spirits of nature and the Devils what kind of truck do you have it's a Volvo which models NFL 750 12 all the spirits are here they're called amateur Chile's in India I'm are after is also mama them to help us to make sure there is plenty that there's health that his truck has no problems on the journey chemistry a spell of peace ball of tears yeah gotta get that sambal ha we pray that your business does well your truck the Volvo FL 7 on the plate 956 let everyone be blessed the trial Evolver everyone on board Oh I left but your mama shall wear no order an offering to Pachamama for the benefit of everyone good health for setting off again Marco baptizes his truck with beer now we can travel more at ease we know now that the spirits will be protecting us from danger good luck young mark have a great trip may you be granted money and health the Lord of Cumbre bless you [Music] from here the road of death drops dramatically down towards the valley the Trucks hurtled down an uneven three thousand meter descent in less than 50 kilometers to the youngest Valley at this point the road is still surfaced but the greatest danger is the constant fog caused by warm air from Amazonia meeting cold air from the Andes like you see in the game it's always drizzling around here but it's okay usually the fog it's thicker and you can't see more than two meters in front of you that's why so many buses or trucks have fallen into the ravine most of the accidents here are caused by fog especially at night time at least we can see where we're going today 2,000 meters lower down the fog begins to dissipate but this is where the greatest danger begins soon get really narrow and I reached this point and I stopped to pray and I asked for the Lord for help after backup to let another vehicle through for example the problem here is the two-way traffic this stretch of road is now unsurfaced all the way to Amazonia all traffic has to be on the left-hand side of the road now you see since the driver is sitting on the left by the precipice it's easier to see where you're going you can put your head out of the window and see how close your tires are to the edge if we were on the right they wouldn't say anything if we had to reverse and the trucks often do have to reverse because this road is simply not wide enough [Music] and the road of death the rule is that the vehicle that's descending has to back up to the nearest wider stretch of road the wheels just centimeters from the edge [Music] this is often when accidents happen [Music] and if a truck or a bus is full of passengers the cost in human lives can be terrible Marco himself has had several close shaves I remember the one time that one of my wheels was over the edge that's when I got off to have a look I'd panic I got back on tried to get back on the road but I couldn't I was so scared I was shaking from head to foot I felt like it's never driving again Marco however has become an expert and today he knows all about the dangers he may come across here you have to look out for Rock Falls at every turn Luntz potential danger let's have my casual trainer here you must not break ye must drive much more slowly than well than before if you break here you go flying off does of all the mind this truck was lucky it skidded into the side and got stuck in the undergrowth I have to get all the mud off here there's no way to move it and for the driver and his wife the only thing to do was to dig it out I'm trying to dig here for an hour do it ready managed yeah I thought sir but there's one stretch of road that's even narrower and more dangerous an alternative route has been dug out of the mountainside but until last year more than 200 trucks a day had to negotiate this road from hell the surface is less than three meters wide and there's a 500 meter drop into the ravine these days only tourists on bicycles and thrill-seekers use this stretch of highway crosses litter the side of the road and the horror stories make up the trade in stock of Eduardo the tourist guide to the road of death over the past 50 years about 1,200 people have been killed here last year was the worst 180 people died just one year even tourists are not safe eight cyclists have fallen to the bottom of a ravine providing yet more stories for Eduardo keeps it there on those Maria and Jose Liz this is where two Israelis with you and a few years ago woman lots control of her bike and fell 120 meters there over over the edge siento venti metros Abajo the point is better you can see the Israeli flag that's the accident I was telling you about it happened two months ago and three years ago you see they are the other team is they follow down one track the track half more or less 22 persons all that only the tracks fly in the same through the eight lines down Eduardo arrived on the scene just after the accident and took part in the rescue operation the default about 180 meters the victims were in terrible condition legs and arms missing bits of a truck through their bodies I tell my son - estuvieron then these are about 15 people here Nino's como puedes ver mujeres una Senora que estaba con vida one woman was still alive we took us 30 minutes to bring her back up to the road just as we were about to get there she died dos metros de la casa para la Senora yeah Mario and that was the worst part of it for me the helicopters can't reach here that's a real problem and it's why we can only save the people that are closer to the road after an accident if you spend time searching through the ravine you'd find the skeletons of many people that 400 kilometers further down marco has finally arrived in Amazonia it's taken him 20 hours of non-stop driving without any sleep this is the Bolivian Far West Plains as far as the eye can see millions of head of cattle scattered across a territory as large as Texas [Music] a song that talks of the unlucky driver who drives recklessly and faces certain death I'm happy when I thank the Lord was looked after me along the way on this road you see the the risk is you might fall asleep behind the wheel when you're coming down the mountainside has all the turns and bends your adrenaline keeps you awake and here the road is so straight and you're so tired you can just not off like that together swing son Borgia with 20,000 inhabitants is little more than a large dusty village but it's the capital of Bolivia's cattle industry this is where Marko and his assistant Wilson will wait for a dealer to give them cattle to transport in some bullsháá everyone knows Don Alberto his trademark clever hat screw to his head he scours the ranchers to select the cattle that he will resell in La Paz so Matthew Randall a professor here in the state of many a lot of money get Andy cattle rearing is a huge business some Baja region the rich owned up to fifty thousand a head of cattle even the smallest rancher has at least five hundred and then after that I think oh it's 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 amazing meaning these cows will be transported all the way to La Paz where they will be slaughtered in a country where refrigerator trucks are rare it's the best way to guarantee the quality of the meat Don Alberto is choosy he's interested in only the best small thin ones like that one over there that's doesn't no good to me they would never survive the trip 14 wearing see the big ones however they're much stronger the way I wanted Don Alberto will pay 2,000 bolivianos about two hundred and fifty dollars to transport his cattle but the journey is undertaken entirely at the truck drivers own risk and it's Marco that's responsible for the cattle arriving safely in La Paz the cows get hurt on the way or if one of them dies I'm the one that will have to pay each cow is worth as much as nineteen hundred or two thousand forty pianos which is what I get paid for the entire trip the role of the assistant is crucial Wilson has to take care of the cattle on the return journey I have to make sure the animals don't fall over or step on each other otherwise they might die take these cows to Dona Valentina is her cell phone number I'll drive slowly the cattle tire no they've had a good rest but you had to make sure they all arrived in good condition okay alright dumb about the don't worry there's not a minute to waste to avoid any suffering to the animals marker we'll head back as fast as possible if all goes well they'll be in La Paz within 24 hours there is only one way to keep going overnight Germany coca yep Janos give me to believe Janos worth you cannot have what I want without coca I don't think I could keep going through the night it helps you stay awake that makes you less scared scared of what scared of the road because there's so many stories about it for example they say that on this stretch there's a woman who walked along the side of the road but when you get closer she was disappears for Marco and Wilson it will be a long night they will pause only briefly to get their breath back and the valley of the cables Severo is getting ready to leave philip has to sell his 50 kilos of coca leaves in the market it's a five-hour bus journey along the road of death he's accompanied by Edwin the son of old Ignacio the man who invented the cable Skyway Bobby I'll be back Saturday okay fearless on their cables the flying men of youngest are far less at ease when they have to go on the road of death trust in the grace of God when we travel could be landslides with just a skin coming back as we are going awry Lee but for severa the dangers of the road mean nothing he hasn't seen his family in more than a month see where this husband is worried about them the whole time of course I want to refer okay doing well [Music] the villa fatima market in la paz it's the only place in the country where the cocaleros are allowed to sell their crop [Music] even so it's estimated that as much as a third of all the coca leaves that are sold here end up in the laboratories of cocaine traffickers in the market the cholitas the native Indian women ruled the roost they are the ones who buy and sell the coca [Music] well kill it give your name we have to haggle with the buyers to get the best prices the furtive glance here an appraisal there it's a discreet game between seller and buyer don't you have any other bags just these two how much did you give me last time because I want more this time woman decides not to buy but severa soon find someone else I'm sorry I'm selling everything but we'll need to get a good price do we're dealing with well this woman over here for how much 700 700 bolivianos for each of the 25 kilo bags severa makes about one hundred and eighty dollars for one month's work [Music] he lives in a poor district of La Paz high up in the city this is my house [Music] [Music] hello we've got company yes miss Rosa yes is my wife my eldest daughter this is where they live my wife looks after the kids to school washing is it hard for when your husband's not here we have no news from him my stuff's not a quasi OU's when he doesn't arrive I'm scared I'd rather he walked take the cable damn near the pyramids it's my quality Kerr this is the room cocina where my wife cooks okay it's my quarter panel this is my room and this is where the three of em blue I'm exhausted I want my daughters to have a better life than I've had without the same hardships cannot say I don't want them to be farmers care ok student I want them to study and find a job in the city as secretaries or in an office or whatever they like as long as they have a choice for Marco and Wilson and their 15 cows the return journey is far from over the hardest part is still lies ahead the steep climb up into the Andes in the rear the cattle are starting to feel the strain of the trip but there's nowhere to stop the road is far too narrow [Music] yeah take a look at the cows will you that's ok they're fine they're fine but the cattle are exhausted then Wilson has to stop them from lying down it's okay they're fine you're well in just four hours the truck will climb 3,000 meters it's the final blow for the animals just unconscious well they're sort of wiped out but it won't be too long now good a little fect it's the altitude that's getting to like the sleep and the weather well would have been on the road for 24 hours so that's and I'm really tired hello Abby tell me the only way to keep going when you don't sleep well that's when you really age they say a night without speech means you live one year less I look at me I'm only 23 but I look older because of all the sleepless nights trips that I've made behind the wheel eventually the truck staggers across the peak of Cumbre 4,700 meters up the path is now very close I'll carry on doing this until I've paid for of my truck and that way I can work myself most drivers start off like me and end up owning their trucks I want my own truck so I'll need to keep working like a dog after 25 hours on the road Marko completes his side of the deal all 15 cattle have survived the journey only to be dropped off at the municipal slaughterhouse where they'll be killed overnight Marco and Wilson will rest and then head once more down to the plains for another consignment of cattle marco estimates that it will take him about ten years to save the nearly $20,000 he'll need to buy his truck [Music] after spending two days with his family's Severo leaves la paz to return to the valley back with Ignacio and among the flying men of the youngest and the coca fields on the road of death [Music] [Music] you you

Channel: Free Documentary

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Keywords: Free Documentary, Documentaries, Full documentary, HD documentary, most dangerous roads, most dangerous journeys, worlds most dangerous roads, worlds most dangerous journeys, deadliest roads, deadliest roads in the world, dicing with death, deadliest journeys, deadliest journeys bolivia, dicing with death bolivia, dangerous bolivia, most dangerous roads bolivia, dangerous roads bolivia, deadliest roads bolivia

Id: M7-FFtYSCGg

Length: 52min 44sec (3164 seconds)

Published: Sun Jan 26 2020

Reddit Comments

[u/MadManMorbo]

That’s the North Yangus Road. 300ish people die on it every year.