 Bolivia's North Yungas Road runs for 65 glorious mountain-hugging, death-embracing kilometres.
September 13, 2008 10:31 AM
Locals give them names such as the "Road of Death" and the "Road of Bones" - streets where just one small miscalculation can lead to disaster.
Travel website Travel + Leisure takes a look at 10 of the world's scariest roads.
Show me the freaky roads!
1. North Yungas Road, Bolivia
Location: Between La Paz and the town of Coroico
In running as the most dangerous road on the planet, the North Yungas Road - aka the "Road of Death" - stretches some 65 mountain-hugging kilometres, as narrow as three metres in spots and with 350m-foot drops straight to a rainforest below.
2. Guoliang Tunnel Road, China
Location: China's Taihang Mountains
In 1972, villagers in a remote area of the Taihang Mountains chiseled a kilometre-long tunnel through a mountain for access to the outside world. Today, the route - five metre high and four metres wide - is a tight squeeze for vehicles, twisting past 30 "windows," which provide views off the recipice.
3. Halsema Highway, Philippines
Location: Island of Luzon
Like many under-maintained mountain roads, landslides are a
hazard on the Halsema Highway, where big stones and debris
tumble from peaks and along with the cloud forests comes mist
that can ruin visibility. Many sections remain unpaved.
Show me the freaky roads!
4. Karakoram Highway, Pakistan to China
Location: Karakoram mountain range in Pakistan
The world's highest paved road, the Karakoram Highway winds
through the mountains at an altitude above 5500m,
eventually connecting to China. It's a popular tourist route,
with motorists stopping to view K2. Drivers can easily suffer
altitude sickness.
5. Kolyma Highway, Russia
Location: Russian Far East and Siberia
Actors Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman crossed this
1900km route, nicknamed the "Road of Bones," on a
round-the-world motorcycle trip in 2004. Built in the Stalin
era, the Road of Bones gets its name from labor camp inmates
and other workers who died during construction. In winter,
motorists drive across frozen rivers instead of ferries.
6. Canning Stock Route, Australia
Location: Through the vast deserts of Western Australia
Cattlemen 100 years ago pushed this 1750km route
through the desert, digging more than 50 wells along its
length. Recreational 4WD convoys can now cross the desolation
with the aid of fuel drops, forging endless sand and sun-baked
earth to traverse one of the least habitable places on the
planet.
Show me the freaky roads!
7. Graciosa Trail, Brazil
Location: In the mountains above Morretes
This old mule route winds through a rainforest and crosses
moss-covered bridges. Cobblestones pave parts of its length,
it's slippery and dangerous at the sharp turns, and hydrangea
plants push in to line the lush lane with blue flowers.
8. Trans-Sahara Highway, Africa
Location: Algiers, Algeria to Lagos, Nigeria
From pavement to sand, the 4500km Trans-Sahara Highway
traverses three countries - Algeria, Niger, and Nigeria - and
journeys through the largest sand desert on earth. Fuel and
water are unavailable for much of its sun-scorched length, and
sand storms some years move immense drifts, blocking the route.
9. The Stilwell Road, India and Myanmar
Location: Jungle route from Ledo, India into Myanmar
Built during World War Two at the cost of thousands of
lives, the Stilwell Road (aka The Ledo Road) climbs mountain
passes, snakes through the jungle, and crosses more than 100
rivers and streams in its 1600km length. Constructed as a
supply route by Western Allies, the road today is returning to
jungle, little used and inaccessible for much of its length in
Myanmar.
10. Wilderness Road to Selva Blue Lodge, Bolivia
Location: Between Santa Ana and Selva Blue wilderness lodge
The 160km jungle labyrinth is a seven-metre-wide gravel
track that shrinks to a grassy two-track and crosses log
bridges over rushing Amazonian tributaries.
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