Ready to find out some of the most interesting and weird facts about most dangerous and deadliest roads in the world? Read along!
The original purpose of the road is to ease the process of traveling and furthermore, to keep the traveler safe. However, that is not always the case. Many roads in this world are definitely safer if you just pass by them. By chance, not even to approach them. But, not everybody is lucky enough to find alternative ways to travel from point A to point B. Some of the most scariest roads in the world are mostly on the Asian continent, as you will see on our list. It is possible that you heard or seen some of the most deadliest roads in the world on History Channel. If you did, then you are aware how dangerous they can be. Moreover, you might even ask yourself how were they build in the first place? Well, half of them are shaped by nature. Meaning, their shape depends on the natural characteristics of the terrain along the road path. The other half is human-made. During the construction of, for example, Karakoram Highway, around 900 people have died. And even after its construction, because of the carves and other things, people keep on having traffic accidents.
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On the other hand, if you are an adventurous type of person, then the following 20 scariest roads all over the world will maximally excite you! The thing is, even though these roads look unstable and cause us fear, at the same time, most of them are located In the most beautiful natural landscapes. Therefore, some of them are most beautiful roads in the world, as well, such as coastal roads in Croatia, where while driving, you can enjoy the view of the open sea. Some of them are inside the territory of one country, while others connect territories of two or more countries. Maybe the article 11 Countries with the Best Roads in the World will catch your interest, as the topics are connected. And believe me, there are so many amazing roads in the world that you cannot even imagine until you see it with your own eyes.
In order to create our list of most dangerous and deadliest roads in the world, we took the most repeating suggestions from the existing lists on the top deadliest roads in the world as well as top dangerous ones on numerous travel sites such as Red Bull, Gap Year, Wander Wisdom, to a name few. Then we consulted the World Health Organization and their data by country for road traffic deaths and rank our suggestions according to the road’s country origin which had the biggest percentage of deaths. For additional interesting facts about each road, we consulted Dangerous Roads, and we added some of the YouTube videos of the deadliest roads in the world so that you can get a whole picture. Let’s start!
20. The Trollstigen Road in Norway
Norway’s Trollstigen Road is often called the ‘troll ladder.’ It has many hairpin bends and sheer drops that are especially dangerous in icy conditions. Its length is 34 miles.
19. Skippers Canyon Road in New Zealand
In order to drive on this dangerous road, motorists must apply for a special permit. Nevertheless, this isn’t stopping them from trying out the road.
18. Coastal roads in Croatia
One thing is for sure – these roads are helplessly narrow! The Adriatic coastal roads rank 18th on our list of most dangerous and deadliest roads in the world. They are known for the narrow two-way roads, blind corners, and sharp turns, and above all because they don’t have safety barriers.
17. The Widow-Maker in the UK
The original name of the Widow-maker road is The A537. It winds through the Peak District between Macclesfield in Cheshire and Buxton in Derbyshire. Locally known as the “Cat & Fiddle road,” in 2010 was proclaimed as Britain’s most dangerous road.
16. The Paso Internacional Los Libertadores (Los Caracoles – Snails Pass) in Chile
This road goes between Uspallata in Argentina and Los Andes in Chile. Its elevation is 3,176 meters, and it has no safety barriers.
Besides being the most dangerous and deadliest roads, the following 15 scariest roads all over the world will leave you speechless. Shall we proceed?
15. North Yungas in Bolivia
According to some sources, each year on this road there are about 300 drivers and cyclists who fly off the route and perish on the 11,000-foot descent from the Andes to the rainforest. Moreover, another name for this road is the Road of Death. Check out the Bolivian highway of death video below.
14. Passage du Gois in France
This passage is situated on France’s Atlantic coast. Twice per day, the road floods with incoming tides which leave seaweed all over it. The length of Passage de Gois is 14 107ft.
13. Patiopoulo-Perdikaki road in Greece
This road is full of huge potholes and sheer drops with no safety guards. It is located in the northeastern part of Aetolia-Acarnania in Greece with a length of 14 miles. You would think that nobody is that crazy to go through this road, but you are wrong. It is full of pedestrians, livestock, cars, and motorbikes which are, obviously, real adrenaline junkies.
12. Stelvio Pass in Italy
On the 13th place of the most dangerous and deadliest roads in the world is Stelvio Pass. It is a mountain pass in northern Italy with an elevation of 9,045 ft above the sea level. With that number, it is considered to be the second highest paved mountain pass the Alps.
11. Jalalabad in Afghanistan
The Jalalabad-Kabul road ranks 11th on our list of most dangerous and deadliest roads in the world. It is long 213 254ft. What makes it doubly dangerous is that firstly it is very narrow with winding lines that climb up to 60 meters and secondly, that it passes through Taliban territory. Fatal crashes occur on a daily level.
10. Highway of Death in Iraq
The formal name of this road is Highway 80, and it leads from Kuwait City to Basra in Iraq. It is, however, more known for its nickname “Highway of Death” which it got in the first Gulf War. Back then the US aircraft bombed retreating columns of Iraqi tanks, destroying 2,700 vehicles. The death toll is approximately between 300 and 10,000.
And now, let’s see the top 10 deadliest roads in the world.
9. Fairy Meadows Road in Pakistan
Fairy Meadows Road is a spectacular, dangerous and very high mountain track with a length of 53 149ft. It starts on the Karakoram Highway and ends in the village of Tato, near Fairy Meadows in Pakistan. The road is completely unmaintained, narrow and unstable without guardrails to protect drivers.
8. Million Dollar Highway in Colorado
Million Dollar Highway stretches from Durango, through Silverton and Ouray, to Ridgway for about 25 miles. It was cut from the side of the mountain and became known under this name in 1988. It is one of the most scenic views which you will want to see while driving, but please don’t. The road also leads to three very high mountain passes Coal Bank Pass, Molas Pass, and Red Mountain Pass.
7. Dalton Highway in Alaska
We are continuing our list of most dangerous and deadliest roads in the world with Dalton highway, which is, believe it or not, 666 km long road. Do you still want to pass through it? Wait, there is more. Because of the constant cold weather in Alaska, the road is often under severe ice. The advice is to bring food with you, as you will definitely need shelter and place to rest.
6. Pan American Highway (Alaska – Chile)
This road is well known for its high temperatures, landslides, and parts that are impassable in wet weather. Pan American Highway passes through 10 countries and is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest motorable road in the world at 30,000 miles.
5. Zoji La Pass in India
Zoji La is also known as Zozila, and it is one of the important mountain passes in India. It has an elevation of 11,575 ft above the sea level, and it passes between the Western Himalayan Mountain Ranges and Srinagar. Its length is about 29 527 ft, and it is an important link between Ladakh and Kashmir.
4. Tianmen Mountain Road in China
In the fourth place of the most dangerous and deadliest roads in the world is Tianman Mountain Road. It is located in China and has a length of 6.8 miles from a bottom to the top. The highest point of the road is at 1.300m above sea level, and the lowest point is 200m. It was built in 2006, requiring eight years of hard work. The interesting thing to see once you are there are 999 stairs, called Tianan stairs or Tianti – Heaven Reaching Ladder that leads to the Heaven’s Gate which is a natural rock arch. It was believed that this is the link between the gods and the mortal world.
3. Karakoram Highway (China-Pakistan)
The Karakoram Highway ranks third on our list of most dangerous and deadliest roads in the world. It is known informally as the KKH, and it is considered to be the highest paved international road in the world. Some call it the road to paradise which, if you like exploring the mountains, it really is. It connects China and Pakistan across the Karakoram mountain range at an elevation of 15,397 ft above the sea level with 551 miles in length. While building this highway 810 Pakistani and 82 Chinese workers lost their lives.
2. Sichuan – Tibet Highway in China
Sichuan Tibet Highway is one of the longest roads in China with 1330 miles in length. So, if you decide to take the trip, it will last approximately 15 days without hurry. The road is not paved, there are often car jams stretching for miles, and the biggest danger is in the hostilities among bored drivers. There are constant fights, theft, harassment, and even kidnappings for money when drivers are stuck in the mud for weeks.
1. Guoliang Tunnel in China
On the top of our list of the most dangerous and deadliest roads in the world is Guoliang Tunnel in China. The story tells that a small group of villagers hand-carved the Guoliang Tunnel into China’s Taihang Mountains about 40 years ago. The tunnel is a nearly 4,000-foot tunnel and has a nickname “the road that does not tolerate mistakes,” for a reason.
