FX.co ★ World’s beautiful but dangerous roads

Road of Death, Bolivia

The North Yungas Road in Bolivia is well-known around the world. This road is considered not only the most beautiful but also extremely dangerous mountain road.

This 70-kilometer highway runs between the cities of La Paz and Coroico. Statistically, there are more than 25 accidents every year that take the lives of several hundred people. Most of the accidents occur due to bad weather, terrible road surface, and lack of bumpers. Drivers are unable to react quickly, falling into the abyss.

AI-Petri, Crimea

The AI-Petri mountain (from Greek "Saint Peter") gives tourists the opportunity to enjoy picturesque panoramas from a height of 1234 m and feel the difference between subtropical and mountain climate.

You can climb it by cableway or undertake a memorable car trip to the pick.

Stelvio Pass Road, Italy

The road through the Stelvio Pass, built by the Austrian Empire, consists of 75 sharp turns and offers views of the Alpine peaks and glaciers from a height of 2757 miles.

According to Top Gear, this is one of the best driving roads in the world. Moreover, the famous multi-day Cycling Giro d'italia has taken place many times on the Stelvio Pass.

Lysefjord Road, Norway

The Lysefjord is a road under the steep cliffs that starts with a 1.5-kilometer tunnel. Then it goes through a flat and very picturesque area and ends with 30 km of winding road with sharp turns and amazing forks. Its length is 42 km, the depth ranges from 13 m to 422 m.

This is one of the most popular tourist places in Norway, especially among BASE jumping lovers. However, the fjord is almost uninhabitable due to the tricky terrain. Only two settlements are located on the banks of the fjord.

Atlantic Ocean Road, Norway

The Atlantic Road is undoubtedly the best tourist route in Norway. When designing the road, engineers planned it in a way that the scenic landscape could be seen from any angle, ocean and shifting pictures of different islands in particular.

Thus, on the 8 km road, the driver crosses 12 bridges and viaducts. They are connected several small islands in the Atlantic ocean between the settlements of Molde and Kristiansund.

The most famous bridge is the "Drunken Bridge" or "Bridge to Nowhere". Those who want to tickle their nerves should look at the bridge from a certain angle – it may give an impression that the top of the bridge is directed upwards and passing cars are about to take off into the sky. In windy weather, waves can break out on the road. It makes everyone who stands on the bridge hold their breath.

Durango Pass, Mexico

The Durango Pass or Devil's Ridge became known in the 20th century when the Hollywood filmmakers created here many locations to illustrate wilderness. Many of those locations can be seen today. That is why a lot of tourists are craving to see this place getting here by car.

For a long time, the Durango Pass was the only way that linked the Mexican States of Durango and Sinaloa. This pass was considered to be quite dangerous. Nevertheless, in recent years, the road surface has been repaired, marked and equipped with warning signs.

Leh-Manali Highway, India

The Leh-Manali Highway or the Road of Death is open to drivers only a few months a year. Remarkably, under favorable conditions, it takes a couple of days to pass this road. The Leh-Manali Highway was originally built to transport military equipment to the Pakistan-China border. However, most of the year, the road is blocked by snow and thereby unsuitable for transport.

About 500 km of the route pass through the disputed territory of Jammu and Kashmir, squeezing between India, China, and Pakistan. During the road trip, it is necessary to cross four passes - the highest one Taglang La reaches 5,334 miles.

Florida Keys, US

The Florida Keys is a vast archipelago in the southeastern United States. Most of its reefs and islands are connected by the Overseas Highway which begins on the mainland. Moreover, tourists will definitely be astounded with 40 picturesque bridges capable of withstanding heavy winds.

This is literally a road on the surface of the seas, the path that brings a lot of positive emotions and adrenaline rush. Throughout the 203 km of a road trip, drivers can enjoy delightful tropical landscapes, blue ocean waters, atolls, and coral reefs.

Dades Gorge, Morocco

On the site of the rocks that go along the road in the Dades Gorge, there were once coral reefs. Nowadays, they are so close to each other that it seems that they squeeze the road and the drivers.

The Dades Gorge is the only fertile valley for thousands of kilometers. It is located between such cities as Ouarzazate and Tinghir. The Dades Gorge is a huge river canyon with the depth of 200-500 m. It is formed from the local rocks during the winter river floods. Lifeless desert with rare oases and frequent dust storms surrounds the canyon.

The natural and ineffable beauty of the canyon painted in pale green and red to gold colors, attracts hordes of tourists from all over the world.

Tuktoyaktuk Winter Road, Canada

The village of Tuktoyaktuk in the far north of Canada is located far above the Arctic Circle. In the past, people could reach the famous Tuktoyaktuk Road only by Canadian Ice Road which is the bed of the frozen Mackenzie River.

Drivers do not seem to be disturbed by the fact that due to many mountain ranges the road is very winding. Besides, snowdrifts, cracks in the ice and blizzards pose a real threat to the passing cars. Each year a special road service prepare the road for exploitation and regularly monitor its working condition, measuring safe ice thickness.

Furka Pass, Switzerland

At an elevation of 2,436 m above the sea level, the Furka Pass in Switzerland is also one of the highest mountain passes in the Alps. On the backdrop of famous Rhone glacier, the road has innumerable twists and turns.

After an exciting ride on the mountain, tired travelers can stop for lunch or for the night in one of the high-altitude hotels located along the highway.

Karakoram Highway, China/Pakistan

The Karakoram Highway, a route that in the past was part of the world-renowned Silk Road in Pakistan and China, is considered the world’s most high-altitude international highway.

It crosses the Karakoram through the Khunjerav Pass at a height of 5425 to 700 m above sea level and stretches for 1300 km. Despite more than 20 years of construction and a big amount of money spent on it ($3 billion), most of the road has no hard surface.

Due to the danger of avalanches in the winter, the highway is closed. However, in summer the road is overloaded with different types of transport: aside from regular freight routes, a lot of tourists travel on this road on bicycles and tour buses.

Road to Elbrus, Russia

The length of the road A158, located in the Elbrus region, is 130 km. The two-lane highway runs from the northeast to the southwest of the Republic of Kabardino-Balkaria, crossing the Kabardino valley and meandering through the Narrow Baksan Gorge.

The foot of the famous volcano Elbrus can be seen at the end of the road at an altitude of almost 2.5 km.

Transfagarasan Highway, Romania

The Transfagarasan Highway was built in the 19070s by order of the President of Romania, Nicolae Ceaușescu, shortly after the coup in neighboring Czechoslovakia.

Scenic highway with a length of 261 km passes in the Carpathians through the Fagaras Mountains from Wallachia to Transylvania. In 2009, the former military road was chosen many times by the Top Gear team to test here the expensive sports cars.

As the road is open only three months in a year, a lot of tourists come here to admire the beautiful surrounding views from the observation deck: the mountain lake, waterfall Balea, and the fortress of Poenari, widely known as Count Dracula's Castle.

Los Caracoles, Chile/Argentina

The Los Corrales road that connects Chile and Argentina runs along an extremely steep slope and has many very sharp turns without fences security.

Surprisingly, this mountain serpentine is used not only by numerous tourists but also by transport companies that daily transfer dozens of tons of various goods along a dangerous path.

Most of the year, the road with the haphazard natural landscape is covered with snow. Despite all obstacles, the road is maintained in working condition.

Col de Turini, France

The Col de Torini Speedway runs through a mountain pass in the South of France in the Alps. Every year, the boldest racers from all corners of the world come here trying to conquer this road. It passes at an altitude of 1600 meters above sea level.

The Col de Turini features every year the Monte Carlo Rally of WRC. The race takes place among a series of mountain peaks and gorges, turbulent rivers, and steep stone walls.

White Desert Road, Canyonlands National Park, Utah, USA

Tourists who want to see the Canyonlands National Park in Utah can travel to the place only by car. This canyon is vast and full of mountain gorges and river valleys.

The White Desert Road amazes tourists with its unusual colors. The length of the National Park that runs through the White Desert road is 170 kilometers.

Trollstigen, Norway

Trollstigen or The Trolls' Path is part of the Norwegian national highway RV63, connecting the cities of Ondalsnes and Valldal. This road is an example of the art of engineering and design. It has 11 sharp turns. Trollstigen has been functioning for more than 80 years.

Notably, there is a bridge in the middle of the road where tourists can feast their eyes on the Stigfossen waterfall. At the very top, after parking their car, travelers can visit local souvenir shops.

In some places the road width is not more than 3.3 meters, so the passage for cars, which are longer than 12.4 meters, is prohibited. What is more, there are seasonal restrictions, and in the autumn-winter period, The Trolls' Path is closed for travelers.

Lombard Street, San Francisco, US

Lombard Street is the world's most winding street that enables cars to overcome a 27-degree descent from Russian Hill. 400-meter part of the road has eight sharp turns. That is why the speed limit in this section is 8 km/h. Cars can only drive downhill. Parking is prohibited.

This tourist route became popular when the slope of the road decreased to 16 degrees. Soon the cost of renting houses on this street inched up. There are planted trees and flowers, and shrubs on each side of the serpentine, lined with red brick.