Top 5 scariest roads in the world
Now we’re in Level 2 and can drive around New Zealand again, I thought we would look at roads you wouldn’t want to navigate. From Russia to China and Bolivia these ‘roads’ (read: rocky outcrops) are frequently used by trucks, buses and crazy cyclists.
These are the top five according to British roadside assist and insurance company RAC UK. (Though I don’t think RAC would be able to give you a tow if you’re stuck on one of these roads.)
5. Fairy Meadows Road, Pakistan
This road was carved out by locals hundreds of years ago, as if you couldn’t tell. Photo: wikimedia commons
Fairy Meadows Road is 16km-long and reaches heights of 3300 metres above sea level, and there are no guardrails.
The road was carved by locals hundreds of years ago and hasn’t been maintained since. It starts at the Karakoram Highway (number 2 on the list) and ends in the village of Tato.
Many lives have been claimed by this treacherous trail, which is no wider than a 4x4 for a stretch of 10kms.
Money is being raised by the Fairy Meadows toll to fund eventual resurfacing work, but for now, it’s still one of the wildest, most dangerous roads in the world.
4. BAM Road, Russia
Not so much as a service ‘road’, more just a series of bits of wood. Photo: YouTube
Built as a service road for the Baikal Amur Mainline railway, the unkempt BAM Road stretches 4345km across eastern Siberia via bogs, broken bridges and potholes.
Today, adventure motorcyclists and 4x4 drivers take on the challenge and often find the route closed due to adverse weather.
3. Sichuan-Tibet Highway, China
Mind the bend, this highway can take 15 days to complete. Photo: Pinterest
With an average elevation of 4000 metres, this highway has all the makings of one of the world’s craziest roads. Landslides and rock avalanches are commonplace across the 2041km route that starts in Chengdu, Sichuan and ends in Lhasa, Tibet. A trip along the length of the highway can take up to 15 days.
The Sichuan-Tibet Highway is also infamously known for bad driving surfaces and sharp mountain-side hairpins. Driving along single track sections in bad weather can be a great challenge to a less experienced driver.
2. Karakoram Highway, China – Pakistan
Mind the gap! This highway is also known as the eighth wonder of the world. Photo: YouTube
Perched 4693 metres above sea level, the Karakoram Highway, or KKH, connects China and Pakistan over a total of 1300km.
It was started in 1959 and completed in 1986, but only after 810 Pakistani and 82 Chinese workers lost their lives in its construction.
The road has earned the title of the eighth wonder of the world, but has claimed the lives of tourists and locals alike in recent times.
1. Yungas Road (Death Road), Bolivia
You won’t want to be coming in the opposite direction on Death Road. Photo: Oddviser
The disconcertingly named ‘Death Road’ covers a stretch of 70km, connecting Coroico and La Paz, the capital city of Bolivia.
At its highest elevation the route stands at 4650 metres and drivers often find themselves navigating narrow gravel trails well above cloud level.
If that wasn’t bad enough, it also includes over 200 vertigo-inducing hairpin turns, some with sheer drops of 1100 metres.
It’s also featured on Top Gear and is a well-known tourist attraction. Not this tourist, though!
