Riding the Yungas Road
 

Is it better to ride up or down or do both?

If going from La Paz to Coroico do you follow the N Yungas road all the way back to Ruta 3 or do you turn off after crossing Rio San Jaun and take a right and a more direct route to Coroico?

Finally, in the Spring summer, is there a particular time of day that's more likely to be misty foggy?

Thanks

Did it today from coroico up to la paz. On that road you have to keep left, not right, but some of the mountain bikers don't seem to be aware of it or stay on the right side if they're insecure.
So i think it's safer to do it the other way round because then you're going with the flow.
Not sure what you mean withe roads.
The entrance to the dr is at 16,28712598°S 67,83100605°W
The upper part was misty today.

Yeah that is one entrence, there is another at S16° 17.357' W67° 49.636' which is the one Google Maps favours.

My question about following the road was the starting at the co-ordinates above you follow the N. Yungas road until you cross the Rio San Juan. after that their are three options. The first heads north following the rio back up to Ruta 3. The second is a relatively direct route to Coroico, and the third just goes off south.

we had lots of fog in february on this road - what we did is one direction death road and the other direction the new road. both are nice rides, also the new road la paz/coroico is quite nice once the fog clears

My death road ride - late January 2013
 

Left La Paz after breakfast, saw lovely light snow in the mountains as we headed north...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxWn1527iV8#t=18
(Video capture by the legendary RTW rider Takahiro Sanu)

...arrived at the southern end (the uphill part) where totally clear skies greeted us.

http://lh3.ggpht.com/-1r7NFkyjiZo/UW...jpg?imgmax=800

I enjoyed the downhill direction. Encountered zero uphill traffic until we reached the bottom. Dodging mountain bikers for a portion of the road was easier going in the same direction.

In the afternoon, on our return leg to La Paz, the morning dusting of snow was melted off. Things change quickly in the Adnes. Don't waste your time trying to second guess the weather. Be prepared, then go for it. The weather gods have a special plan custom made for you. It’s always a surprise and definitely part of the adventure.

Sounds like you had fun.

I'll be there late October so don't expect their to be much snow about.

I was asking about the weather as some places are well known to be a particular way in the morning, say misty, then clear up later in the day.

I guess no-one on here is going to familiar enough with the route though to know though. Which makes sense given that we don't live in the region.

I'd ride up it but beware of jittery cyclists coming the opposite way. Make sure you stay at Sol y Luna in Cororico. Biker friendly, nice food and great camping area.

October will be ok. At Coroico chances are that it will be very hot and humid that time of year. That's what we got. Too hot and too humid. But while on the Yungas road, it was perfectly clear. It was afternoon. On the other hand, on the Cumbre mountain pass (route 3) at 4600 meters alt. it was freezing cold and raining. The same on the day we returned to La Paz (my temp gauge read 0 Celcius).

This is the route we took: (red is the new paved road, we rode it returning from Coroico to La Paz)

https://roadspirit.files.wordpress.c...death-road.jpg

The point we exited ruta 3 and joined the old yungas road was at:
S16 17.352'
W67 49.628'

We did it going downhill, and it is what I would suggest. I would not feel good going uphill and having a nasty surprise encounter with an adrenaline bicyclist riding down.

Going downhill you go with the flow, much less probabilities of coming face to face with a bike.

As far as traffic, we met only one car going up, then one support van for bikers going down. Nothing thrilling really.

+1 for Sol y Luna camping (they also have rooms)

take you time riding...not for safety
 

I highly recommend taking your time on the North Yungas Road. Stop a few times, take in the views, no reason to rush. Chances are you aren't going to ride that road twice, so savor the moments.

We pretty much road it and didn't stop except at a point of two and that was to chat... Took the modern road back to La Paz and stopped at the top of the Yungas road to take more pictures. One of my favorites, at the sign.

http://lh4.ggpht.com/-B4iNNOEPrJk/UW...jpg?imgmax=800