Update: Please also check the second part of Most Dangerous Roads in the World
It’s hard to imagine how many dangerous roads there are. When working on this post I studied about 10 resources to find out that there are over 50 dangerous and scary roads and these are just the most famous we’ve heard of. There are different factors of danger so it’s really hard to say what roads are the most dangerous of all the dangerous roads in the world.
In our 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.
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.
The highway is made right on the mountains, it’s high, pretty narrow, cloudy and definitely dangerous. The overall length of the highway is 2,028 kilometers.
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 knows by narrow curves, steep cliffs, flash floods and landslides.
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Compared to the other roads from our post, the coastal roads of Croatia may look childish, but that’s not the case. 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.
The name of the tunnel translates from Chinese as the “Road that does not tolerate any mistakes”. First the tunnel was created by the villagers from the remote area of the Taihang Mountains to get a way out to the outside world. Presently the road is 15 feet high and 12 feet wide which is pretty scary for the drivers. The tunnel has 30 windows to enjoy the scenes.
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Magnificent but dangerous road on the island of Luzon. Apart from the unpaved parts of the roads, landslides and big stones you can be stopped by the clouds.
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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.
Taroko Mountain is a mountain in Taiwan with an elevation of 3,282 meters and it speaks for itself. Check the photos to get an idea of the little stones that can cross the road.
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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.
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The Canyon road is carved from schist rock and travels through some of the most spectacular scenery in the New Zealand. That’s a narrow and unsealed road about 22 km long. Rental car companies warn clients not to take their cars on this dramatic and at times terrifying road which branches off the Coronet Peak ski field road.
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Hmmmmm, I've been to Toroko, it's amazing.
Funny how danger seems to be synonymous with beauty...
Well, Croats do drive quite fast but if you don't like those coastal roads, you always have alternative - excellent highway network (both the scenery and technology).
Funny thing is that those roads are exactly the same as any other Mediterranean coastal roads (Spain, France, especially Italy) and Italians drive even faster (especially south of Italy).
Another interesting thing about driving in Croatia: official highway speed limit is 130 km/h.
However, there is no fine for driving up to 156 km/h. Here is the math:
156 km/h measured speed
- 10% (or 10 km/h, whichever is greater) tolerance 16 km/h = 140 km/h
- 10 km/h - (no fine for +10 km/h outside city limits) - 130 km/h
Police will not stop you for this speed at all.
If you are ready to face the 300 Croataian kuna fine (40 EUR / 53 USD), you may do more:
that's for 30 km/h over the limit:
178 km/h measured speed -10% (18 km/h) gives you 160 km/h - 30 km/h over the limit.
For 500 Kuna (67 EUR / 88 USD) you may do 200 km/h - tolerance 20km/h - gets you to 180 km/h and that's 50 km/h over speed limit.
Do not go past that speed since fines get harsher and you may get ban on driving in Croatia.
You clearly have never been to Turkish back-country.
Agree about Turkey. I drove from Assos to Behramkale last year. It's only about 2-3 kms but a narrow road, sheer drops into the ocean and no guard rails make for a fearful drive. Beautiful scenery too.
Undoubtedly you will get the "hey, what about this road?" comments.
There are almost certainly other roads which are even more dangerous... this list can't be comprehensive. Maybe if you want to keep everyone happy this could be re-titled "The Most Dangerous Roads In The World That More Than A Couple People Know About". :-)
In any case, it's a fun collection - thanks for sharing!
Thanks for your comment, but I don't think I've ever mentioned that these and only these roads are most dangerous. I've explained why I have chosen these ones in the very beginning of the post :)
i think we should just admire the post, because I have not seen such roads before and I am sure many people who visited this post have not seen this many dangerous roads in one place.....keep up the good work Anastasia
Wow! I got car sick just looking at these! Love the tunnel road but no way in hell would I ever drive it! Nice job, very entertaining.
The most dangerous/difficult roads and you do not have Ladakh! You have obviously never been to India and have never heard why people travel all the way from Europe, Americas and Australia (Mind you, I'm not mentioning Indians at all among the visitors yet!) to India to make this road trip! Or should I call it a pilgrimage! Manali to Leh. That's the route. In the heart of Himalayas, and from first hand experience I can tell you, the most incredible and most dangerous trip you'll ever make. Google it, check it out for yourself!
Indeed creepy. There is a road in Arizona that hugs the side of nearly sheer cliff for several miles on either side of river. I drove it several years ago in a truck camper. Several miles down, bridge over the river and then several miles back up again. My wife stayed in the camper so she would not have to watch.
Also, even though these are scary and dangerous I don't think they are any worst than many of the freeways in America. At least on these roads you don't have to deal with 18 wheelers tailgating you at 70 MPH. I would like to know the death rate per miles driven compared to the highway I drive to work everyday. I bet mine is more than any of these.
What road?!
I think you are referring to Fossil Creek Rd. in Arizona- Beginning in Strawberry, continuing through Fossil Creek and ending on HWY 260 to Camp Verde. This is a very rocky, dangerous dirt road, only about 12 feet wide in some areas, hugging cliffs for about 20 miles. It is said that this was used as a backroad for bootlegging during the prohibition and if you peer over the cliffs, you can see some 1920s/30s cars still stuck in the canyons because they are too dangerous to remove. Its a beautiful but terrifying drive. Fossil Creek is one of the most incredible wildnerness areas in the state, so it's worth it!
Oh my Lord - I thought I was going to have a hard attack on that drive to Fossil Creek! It was a beautiful place what I saw because we were actually camping in the Payson area. We didn't realize the trip was as long as it took. However, I will never see what I missed. The ride was too terrifying for me.
I'd add the Ice Road to the list!
I have to say.. i NEVER comment these things, but i loved this psot! incredibly beautiful pics!