If you’re looking for the Most Dangerous Roads in The World, then you are at the right place. In this article, we will discuss the Top 10 Most Dangerous Roads in The World 2023.
Do you know what the most dangerous road in the world looks like? From the United States to China, from magnificent scenery to unknown dangers, some of these roads are ingenious, some are creative and bold, and some can scare the driver’s legs. After reading this article, the top 10 most dangerous roads in the world that are counted today may overturn your perception.
Most Dangerous Roads in The World
In 5000 BC, roads were built for the first time in Mesopotamia, which provided more convenient transportation for their lives. From then on, the road continued to develop until it covered most of the earth’s surface. However, due to the harsh terrain in some areas, the roads built in these areas have become very dangerous. At the same time, some roads have changed with time and have become dangerous roads. So, in this issue, let us take a look at the top 10 most dangerous roads in the world.
Top 10 Most Dangerous Roads in The World
10. Karakoram Highway (Pakistan to China)
Length: 1300 km
Maximum altitude: 4714 meters
Dangers: landslides, rockfalls, floods, avalanches, cliffs
The Karakoram Highway is built at an altitude of 4,500 meters, and the conditions are so harsh that it is even considered the eighth wonder of the world. Construction on the Karakoram Highway began in 1966 and was completed in 1979, but it was not opened to the public until 1986.
This dangerous highway is more than 1,300 kilometers long, and some sections are built along the ancient Silk Road. The Karakoram Highway traverses the most mountainous terrain in the world and is full of dangers: rockfalls, landslides, avalanches, floods, avalanches, reckless drivers, herds of animals, sheer cliffs, and terrifying storms.
Interestingly, the road winds through the beautiful Hunza Valley, the scene of James Hilton’s Lost Horizon, the novel about the mythical Shangri-La, a place where people lived A place of harmony for centuries.
9. Tianmen Mountain Panshan Highway (China)
Length: 11 kilometers
Maximum altitude: 1175 meters
Dangers: steep drops, hairpin turns
The most exciting thing about Tianmen Mountain in Zhangjiajie is not only the wingsuit flying but also the Tianmen Mountain winding road, which is known as “the world’s first road wonder”. The road is also known as 99 bends – you guessed it, 99 hairpin turns of death built hundreds of meters in the air. If you veer off the road in such a place, you are sure to die in a violent car accident.
In bad weather and with the looming possibility of earthquakes, the road is very treacherous. Did someone lose their life while building this sky highway?
8. Pan-American Highway (Alaska to Chile)
Length: 48000 km
Maximum altitude: 3200 meters
Dangers: severe weather, difficult terrain, FARC, wild animals
The Pan American Highway (PAH) doesn’t look exactly dangerous, which is to say, it’s probably no worse than the average American highway. But in some places, if you use the Pan-American Highway as a road to travel, you may endanger your freedom or even your life. The dangerous section of the Pan-American Highway winds mainly in Central America, Mexico, where dangerous elements of drug cartels roam.
In Panama, you might come across the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), who routinely take captives and hold them for ransom, sometimes for years, with very few escaping their makeshift jungle prison. In short, the Pan-American Highway is 48,000 kilometers long, and the only dead end is the 100-kilometer Darien Isthmus between Panama and Colombia, where the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia’s activities are even more rampant, so I want to cross it safely by myself The Pan-American Highway is nearly impossible to complete.
7. Sichuan-Tibet Highway (China)
Length: 2140 km
Maximum altitude: 4700 meters
Dangers: Rockslides, mudslides, avalanches, hairpin turns, cliffs
This very long road connects Chengdu, Sichuan, and Lhasa, Tibet, and was built between 1950 and 1954. Constantly plagued by landslides and avalanches, the Sichuan-Tibet Highway is a treacherous, winding road that winds among towering peaks, often causing travelers to vomit with altitude sickness.
The Sichuan-Tibet Highway is beautiful and picturesque. Along the way, you can see many Buddhist temples, red-clothed Buddhists, and herds of yaks. Therefore, it has attracted countless explorers from all over the world to challenge and prove themselves. However, many people lose their lives on this road every year. Although the exact number is unknown, if you are considering taking this road to Tibet, please make sure you have safety measures in place.
6. James Dalton Highway (Alaska, USA)
Length: 666 kilometers
Maximum altitude: 1444 meters
Dangers: extreme weather, low visibility, complex terrain, steep slopes, isolation, wild animals
Also known as the North Slope Hall Highway, the James-Dalton Highway is a highway used by truckers, especially those traveling to and from the Prudhoe Bay oil fields on Alaska’s North Slope. In fact, the road was built along the Trans-Alaska pipeline system.
The total length of this highway is 666 kilometers. Some places are paved, but about three-quarters of it is not paved. There are no medical facilities along the way, just three towns. It is recommended that anyone who takes this road bring survival equipment and sufficient supplies. There are many episodes in the American documentary “On the Ice Road”, which tells the hardships of truck drivers driving on this deadly primitive road.
5. Kolyma Highway (Siberia, Russia)
Length: 3080 km
Maximum altitude: unknown
Dangers: extreme weather, unpaved roads, snow, ice, mud, low visibility
Traveling across Siberia is always challenging. Known as the “Road of Bones”, the Kolyma Highway from Magadan to Never winds through one of the coldest regions in the world. It is made up of two roads – the R504 Kolyma and the A360 Lena, both of which face the same hazards, the R504 being relatively better maintained.
The two roads are connected by the Leine River Ice Road, which is open from December to April of the next year, when the ice freezes, vehicles can drive on it. Tragically, dozens of people die every year when their vehicles crash into the ice.
The preferred time to travel on the Route of Bones is winter, when both the ground and the Leine have frozen over, making travel a little easier, although there is still heavy snow, ice, and very low visibility to contend with. If it’s July and August, when it tends to rain heavily, the road turns into a misshapen quagmire, causing kilometers of traffic jams. Only the toughest off-road vehicles can handle this level of mud. Worse, during traffic jams, people tend to get so bored that they’ll rob each other to pass the time.
4. Guoliang Tunnel (China)
Length: 1.7 km
Maximum altitude: 1700 meters
Dangers: Steep cliffs, no guardrails, extreme fog, falling rocks, mud
Guoliang Village in Henan Province is located on the cliff of Taihang Mountain at an altitude of 1,700 meters, surrounded by mountains on three sides and facing the cliff on one side. Due to the extremely inconvenient transportation, the villagers of Guoliang Village live in isolation. At that time, Henan Province decided that it was not worth building a road used by only 300 villagers, so 13 villagers decided to build a 1.7-kilometer road on the solid rock of the vertical cliff. The villagers blasted away the steep cliffs with dynamite. However, due to a lack of experience in road construction, some villagers died in the accident.
This wall-mounted road is 4.6 meters high and 3.7 meters wide, barely enough for two cars to pass. It took 5 years to build and opened to traffic in 1977. This road is especially dangerous when it rains!
3. Zojila Pass Highway (India)
Length: 9 kilometers
Maximum altitude: 3528 meters
Dangers: extreme weather, no guardrails, steep cliffs, narrow, unpaved roads
Zojila Pass road is one of the most dangerous roads in the world. Almost any road that winds its way through the world’s tallest mountains is likely to be at least somewhat dangerous. The Zojira Highway certainly qualifies in this regard, as it is a dirt road with no guardrails or traffic signs and has constant problems with landslides. In addition, the road twists and turns between cliffs and peaks with a maximum altitude of more than 3,528 meters.
The Jojira Highway, which connects Srinagar and Leh in the western Himalayas, is generally closed in winter when snow up to 15 meters high makes it impassable. Thankfully for drivers on the road, Sakichi Pass is only about 9 kilometers in length. By the way, it was originally built in 1947 for military use.
2. North Yungas Road (Bolivia)
Length: 80 kilometers
Maximum altitude: 4650 meters
Dangers: landslides, falling rocks, fog, cliffs, narrow, no guardrails
If you don’t want to travel on a road nicknamed “The Road of Death”, then stay off it! From La Paz to Coroico, the Death Road has nearly 80 kilometers of single-lane roads. It is characterized by a vertical drop of up to 914 meters, and if you are not careful, you will fall into the Amazon rainforest below. Even more amazing is that this road has more than 200 hairpin turns.
Until 1994, nearly 300 travelers died on the road every year. Luckily, the worst part has now been bypassed by a two-lane paved road, so there has been less traffic on this road. But every year, many cyclists continue to challenge this death road, and some people lose their lives in the process.
1. Killar Kishtwar Road (India)
Length: 114 km
Maximum altitude: 2524 meters
Dangers: steep cliffs, no guardrails, no pavement, mud, isolation
Killar Kishtwar Road is the most dangerous road in the world. This hair-raising road is only for those who enjoy driving in the mountains and have a will of steel. This rocky, gravel road is only open in summer and is about 114 kilometers long. One of the 10km stretches is particularly treacherous, with rocky cliffs that look like they could fall on the road at any moment. This road was built by local villagers hundreds of years ago and has not been maintained in recent decades.
The dirt road is only big enough for a jeep, has no guardrails, and the roadbed is unstable in places. One wrong move by the driver can send a car falling off a 600-meter-high vertical cliff. The road is so horrible that it’s hard to see videos of people driving on it. If this is on your bucket list, definitely make it your final challenge! Not sure if you’re up to it?
