In my post today you will see the roads that are considered the most dangerous and that caught my attention because of the fact that the roads shouldn’t naturally be in those places. What I mean here is that it looks like the Nature has created the borders that shouldn’t be crossed using huge rocks, steep slopes, stones, volcanoes but the human beings were so stubborn that they finally erected the roads and trails, but what we still can’t do is ensure the safety. There’s always the risk that something will happen but the risk has never stopped the human yet. Driving through this roads may be scary to some people and thrilling experience to some others....
Guoliang Tunnel in Taihang mountains, China
The Guoliang Tunnel is located in the Taihang Mountains of China. The little village of Guoliang is situated in the northwest corner of the Henan Province. Guoliang Tunnel Road is pretty freaky with its 30 windows of various sizes and shapes. The road is not as deadly as Bolivian Yungas Road but is ghostly enough when you look down the bottomless cavity and also those weird rocks hanging from above the cliff. The magnificent tunnel road in the Taihang mountains was built by 13 local villagers headed by their chief, Shen Mingxin, and took around five years to finish. Many localities lost their lives in accidents during construction of the tunnel but the others continued relentlessly.Taroko Mountain, Taiwan
Taroko Mountain is a mountain in Taiwan with an elevation of 3,282 meters and it speaks for itself. Travelling in this hazardous road can be dangerous with unexpected road condition.
The Jebel Hafeet Mountain Road, UAE
The Jebel Hafeet Mountain Road in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is arguably one of the finest driving roads in the world. Spanning some 7.3 miles and climbing nearly 4,000 feet, the Jebel Hafeet Mountain Road boasts a whopping 60 corners and a road surface to smooth you’d swear you were on a racetrack. The road is cut into the Jebel Hafeet mountain that spans the border with Oman and lies about 90 minutes’ drive south-east of the thriving city of Dubai.
Los Caracoles Pass, Andes
The Los Caracoles passes through the harsh terrain of the Andreas Mountains is located on the way between Chile and Argentina.The harsh incline of the pass features a number of sharp hairpins, and with no safety barriers and snow forecast for most of the year, the Los Caracoles is definitely one of the more challenging roads on our list.
Stelvio Pass, Italy
The Stelvio Pass is the second highest paved mountain road in the Alps (2757 meters), and has long been a firm favorite with traveling motorists. The northern side of the Stelvio Pass is by far more challenging, with the steep ascent offering little to no visibility for oncoming vehicles.
Halsema Highway, Phillipines
Located in the Cordillera Central mountain range on the Island of Luzon, Halsema highway has a very uneven texture. With occasional landslides and stone fall from the peak of the mountain, accidents are common to the highway. Foggy conditions paired with the lack of much-needed guardrails in certain areas only complicate the Halsema Highway’s already dangerous conditions.
Coastal Roads, Croatia
The Adriatic Highway is a road that stretches along the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea and is part of the European route E65. The road passes principally through Croatia, with smaller stretches through Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro. This road sees more deaths in accidents and injuries than the accidents that are associated with the landmines that the Yugoslavian war left behind. The coastal roads and the fast-driving Croats that crowd them probably account for more deaths and injuries than accidents associated with unexploded ordinance ever do.
Grimsel Pass, Switzerland
Grimsel Pass which is 2165 m. high is a Swiss high mountain pass between the valley of the Rhone River and the Haslital valley. Taking into account you are on a mountain, you can’t expect much safety. The Grimsel Pass in Switzerland is known for being dangerous as there are a number of things that should be considered. These are that the road is running through the mountains and that the pass is two thousand one hundred and sixty five meters high.
The North Yungas Road (Road of Death), Bolivia
North Yungas Road also known as the Road of Death is considered the most dangerous road in the world. It stretches for about 40 mountain-hugging miles and is only 10 feet wide. Connecting La Paz to Coroico, the road stretches 61 to 69 km depending upon the source. The estimated suggests that the ‘killer-road’ takes 200-300 lives every year. Full of stones, rocks and shingles, the road offers a dirt track edging the mountain connecting La Paz and Coroico. It gets worse with rain and fog, which not only reduces the visibility, but also makes the road surface muddy, and slackens rocks from the hillsides. This is why the region is highly prone to accidents. Often the mini-buses skid over the sides of the road plunging into the deep canyons, this has lead to high death count over the years. The spots of accidents have been marked with crosses.
Leh Manali highway, India
The Leh-Manali Highway is situated in India and spans over a length of 297 miles among the Himalaya mountain range. It passes through some of the world’s highest mountain passes in the world, with a mean altitude in between 2 to 3 miles above sea level. Open only during June to September when the road is cleared of snow by the BRO. Connects Manali to Kullu, Lahaul, Spiti and Ladakh. The view is beautiful but the drive can be scary sometimes.
Skippers Canyon, New Zealand
The skippers Canyon Road, located in New Zealand, is unbelievably scary as it’s totally narrow and different to manouvre your car. Skippers Canyon is located in skippers canyon 22 kilometers from Queenstown New Zealand, access is by the famous Skippers Canyon road, a gravel road carved by hand by miners over 140 years ago.
Trollstigen, Norway
The Trollstigen or ‘The Troll Ladder’ as it’s known in English, is a steep winding mountain road located in the Rauma region of Norway. Drivers who manage to conquer the challenging road are rewarded with a viewing balcony at the top, offering spell bound views of the winding turns and the Stigfossen waterfall which also runs down the mountainside.
Changla Pass, India
The Changla Pass, at 5,425 metres above sea level, is the third highest motorable mountain pass in the world. Guarded & maintained by the Indian Army (because of its proximity to Chinese border), this heavenly place is covered with snow throughout the year and is part of the 83 mile road between the Pangong Lake and Leh, the former capital of the ancient kingdom of Ladakh.
Pan American Highway, Costa Rica
The Pan American Highway is a network of roads stretching for nearly about 30,000 miles from Alaska to the lower reaches of South America. This is the world’s longest “motorable road,” according to Guinness World Records. Some roads are widely known by narrow curves, steep cliffs, flash floods and landslides.
Karakoram Highway, Pakistan
Karakoram Highway is the highest paved road on the planet connecting Pakistan with China. It’s a popular tourist route, with motorists stopping to view K2 and other stratosphere-scraping peaks from the pavement. This highest paved mountain road of the planet is situated in the Karakoram Mountain range in Pakistan. Connecting Pakistan to China, the road is paved at an altitude of 16000m.The drivers can sometimes suffer from altitude sickness while traveling this 800 mile unruly highway.
Zoji La Pass, India
The Zozila or Zojila Pass is one of the important mountain passes in India. The pass lies amid Leh in the Western Himalayan Mountain Ranges and Srinagar, on the Indian National Highway 1. This pass connects Leh and Srinagar. Extremely stenosed, this pass is one of the most dangerous passes in this region, experiencing vicious winds due to the funnel effect and very heavy snowfall. There are more than 60 dangerous avalanche sites on this road.Irohazaka, Japan
The winding road of the Iroha-zaka in Japan is the main route that connects central Nikko and Oku-Nikko. Comprising of 48 curves, the Iroha-zaka road has an ancient Japanese alphabet character displayed on each corner starting with l-ro-ha (hence the name).
Khardung La Pass, India
Khardung La, at an elevation of 5.359 m (17,582 feet) above the sea level, is a highest motorable road in the world located in the Ladakh region, Jammu and Kashmir, IndiaGateway to Shyok and Nubra valley, Khardungla pass is situated to the north of Leh in the Ladakh range. Opened in 1988 to motor vehicles but constructed in 1976, this pass is a popular place for biking expeditions. This pass provides an important linkage to Siache and is maintained by the BRO.
Col De Turini, France
Located in the South of France, the Col De Turini is a famous mountain top range that is included as part of a 32 km rally stage starting from Sospel to La Bollène. The Col De Turini is the highest point in the stage standing at 1607 metre, and is one of the most dangerous and challenging stages in the WRC. Along its long straights the cars can reach speeds of upto 180 km/h, with the roads 34 tight hairpins and jaw-dropping scenery making the Col De Turini one of the most amazing and coolest driving roads in the world.
