Spain’s Best Kept Travel Secrets
Millions of visitors come to Spain annually because of its vibrant culture, fascinating past, and amazing scenery. Still, the real spirit of Spain is found…
The 99-Turn Road offers a breathtaking but dangerous road meandering across Tianmen Mountain National Park in Hunan province. Rising to an amazing height of almost 6,561 feet, this road offers a great 99 hairpin bends that test even the most skilled drivers’ ability. Events happen often, especially when adverse meteorological conditions cross with steep gradients. The area’s ongoing seismic activity adds still another level of risk to this dangerous mountain path.
The Stelvio Pass, which runs along the Italian-Swiss border, is the second highest paved mountain pass in the whole Alpine range and the top one in the Eastern Alps. Rising to an amazing height of 9,045 feet, this road is renowned for its 75 complex bends across the breathtaking alpine scene. Though loved by aficionados of sports cars, the Stelvio Pass is ill-advised for nighttime driving because of its great risks and usually closes in bad weather.
Often considered as the most dangerous road on Earth, Bolivia’s Death Road—also called North Yungas Road—found in the Yungas region—offers a great test to one’s balance. This 40-mile meandering across the Amazon rainforest offers more than 200 hairpin turns, steep cliffs, and an ongoing risk of landslides and rockfalls. Unfortunately, until the 1990s, it was estimated that this road claimed the lives of as many as 300 people annually, earning its sad name as “The Highway of Death.” The inherent risks still exist even with the significant legislative actions taken recently; deaths still occur with shockingly regularity.
Starting a trip across one of the most breathtaking and profoundly beautiful canyons on Earth, the Cotahuasi Canyon Road in southern Peru offers a difficult challenge. Best suited for 4×4 vehicles, the ten to twelve hour trip is marked by unfinished paving. The already difficult path becomes even more dangerous during the rainy season when the unpaved sections become completely impassable from mud.
While France boasts a commendable road safety record, the Passage du Gois—which links the island of Noirmoutier to the mainland—offers a unique and dangerous challenge. This path is still accessible just during a limited period at low tide since it is mostly submerged under the Atlantic Ocean all day. Drivers must carefully consider their timing when crossing to avoid being carried off by the retreating tides or marooned.
Among the most dangerous roads in the world is the high-altitude one connecting China’s Sichuan and Tibet areas. Since its opening in the 1950s, the 14 mountain passes that make up the Sichuan-Tibet Highway have been repeatedly dangerous for landslides and avalanches, causing thousands of deaths already. Even for the most experienced drivers, the serpentine, small width of the road combined with its sensitivity to extreme climatic conditions makes the journey dangerous.
Reaching 3,937 feet in the Altai region of Siberia, the Katu-Yaryk Pass offers a stunning but dangerous route. Designed only for 4×4 vehicles, this gravel road poses a constant risk to drivers since it lacks side protection, has unstable surfaces with steep inclines reaching 19%, and Walking small streams and negotiating the valley’s striking views from the pass height increases the complexity and danger connected with this isolated path in Russia.
At 11,575 feet, the Zoji La Pass in India offers an extremely dangerous road across the Himalayas. Due mostly to significant snowfall, this unpaved road— devoid of protective barriers and navigational markers—is prone to regular landslides and remains accessible for only a limited period each year. One of the most dangerous thoroughfares worldwide, the interaction of major elevation, extreme climate conditions, and the precipitous descents flanking the Zoji La Pass makes for quite a trip.
The Guoliang Tunnel in China poses a significant risk to drivers even if it might not be among the most dangerous of the listed entries. This complex network of tunnels cut from the cliffside offers a breathtaking view; but, the narrow and meandering nature of the road combined with the continuous traffic make it a difficult and maybe dangerous path. The danger connected with this well-used tourist destination is much enhanced by the blind corners and proximity to the precipice.
Even for the most experienced drivers, the Fairy Meadows Road presents a difficult obstacle meandering across Pakistan’s mountainous terrain at heights above 3,000 meters. There are no safety barriers to prevent vehicles from falling into the valleys under, thus this 16-kilometer road only fits one vehicle at any one time. Given the major risks involved, access to this road is limited to local people only.
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