Here’s a slice of Mexico that you probably won’t see in a travel brochure. On Paso Florentino, said to be Mexico City’s most inclined street, collisions are an all-too-regular occurrence. Fortunately, one building is protected by what are surely the strongest, most enduring bollards in all the world.
Surveillance footage shows vehicles of all kinds slipping, sliding, and crashing down the Mexican street including trucks, taxis, motorcycles, cop cars, and at least one pedestrian at unconfirmed levels of inebriation. It was enough to go viral on Twitter this month, but it’s been a phenomenon for locals for a long time.
The problem is exacerbated when it rains and the surface is wet, at which point Paso Florentino becomes “a giant slide” according to one driver speaking to Nmas.
This steep, corrugated-looking bit lasts for about 200 yards and is located in the borough of Álvaro Obregón. The specific corner at Florentino and Paso Viejo seen in the video above is even listed as a tourist attraction hilariously called “La bajada del diablo” which translates to “the devil’s descent.”
Despite one Reddit post and some subsequent news articles claiming this street to have an incline of 45 degrees, I’m skeptical. Taking a look at the actual slope on Google Maps’ Street View in relation to the presumably level buildings, the level of slant is pretty clearly less than 45 degrees. For what it’s worth, the Guinness World Record for the planet’s steepest street belongs to Baldwin Street in New Zealand which apparently boasts an incline of about 19 degrees.
As fun as it is to watch cars and people stumble down Paso Florentino from afar, residents interviewed by local news understandably come off as less amused.
Got a tip or question for the author about steep-as-heck Mexican streets? You can reach him here: chris.tsui@thedrive.com