Photo Essay: The World’s Most Spectacular Roads, Vol. 2
[Editor's note: This list is based almost entirely on reader comments from the original post, The World's Most Spectacular Roads. Plus a couple of my personal favorites.]
1. Milford Road, New Zealand
Not to be confused with the famous Milford Track trekking route, the Milford Road State Highway 94 passes through the Southern Alps of New Zealand’s South Island.
Photo: macronix
2. Stelvio Pass, Italy
48 hairpin turns up to a 2757m (9045ft) pass in the Italian Alps, and Top Gear’s pick for “greatest driving road in the world.”
Photo: Damian Morys Foto
3. Great Ocean Road, Australia
This coastal road in Victoria runs for 241km, between Torquay and Warrnambool. The car-less might consider the Great Ocean Walk as an alternative.
Photo: Stas Kulesh
4. Chalus Road, Iran
Tehran is connected to the northern city of Chalus via this road through the Alborz Mountains. Check this site for more images.
Photo: ninara
5. Cabot Trail, Canada
Wrapping around northern Nova Scotia’s Cape Breton Island, the Cabot Trail is mountainous and windy with near-constant ocean views. I recommend biking it.
Photo: kennymatic
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560 Comments... join the discussion!
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karakoram pass belongs to Indian controlled region of Jammu and kashmir. It is incorrectly mentioned as part of Pakistan in your article.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karakoram_Pass↵ -
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A bientôt les amis
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These photos are beautiful. Something to add to the “bucket list”, travel along all of these roads. Has anyone traveled on these roads?
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Mr. Rajendran, you are dead wrong. The Karakoram Highway most certainly is in Pakistan. I have traveled this highway all the way from Bisham, which is some 180kms north and a bit west of Islamabad, to the Chinese border through Gilgit and Karimabad (Hunza). As an Indian, I realize it is your patriotic duty is to claim all of Kashimir as India’s. Reality is otherwise. Don’t try to deceive users of this website who may not be as familiar with the Subcontinent as I am.
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Hands down, the absolute winner is in Yemen, from the coastal city of Makullah to the valley of the Hadramaut. It’s an unpaved road with one-way, single lane traffic. Vehicles have to back up on every other switchback, and it has about twenty switchbacks that go up a 45-degree slope.
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Some stunning photos. Certainly agree with the Milford Sound road – an incredible drive.
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Highway 12 in Southern Utah is great.
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Can’t wait to hit these with my longboard
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Its not karakoram pass, its karakoram highway which is definitely in pakistan.
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Without a doubt Stelvio Pass and Gotthard Pass are incredible. Almost like a racetrack for indycars. Although it’d be incredibly hard to drive them going that fast I think the hairpin turns would make it exciting.
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Can I also recommend Trollstigen: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Trollstigen_Norway_2004.jpg – the “Troll’s Staircase”. Apparently it’s been upgraded recently – it was so much fun when I drove it in 1986 that when I got to the top I went back down again to have another go…..
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I just drove over the stelvio pass… and the gavia pass… stunning roads und easily worth a visit. Live is too short NOT to drive on all the streets listet here ^^
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Woah.. that’s a full rainbow.. DOUBLE RAINBOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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I’m another vote for the Road to Hana, Highway 36 in Maui, Hawaii. My husband and I recently drove it, including those parts less paved, around the back of Haleakala, and it’s spectacular. You pass through several different climates on the way around. If it’s not on a list, it definitely should be.
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Looking at all these roads made me think of the Road to Hana in Maui.
I was glad the first comment I saw was about it! It really is an amazing whining road, an trip truly beautiful!
The volcanic landscape and black beaches as well as the bamboo rainforest’s and the painted bark eucalyptus trees make it one of the most unbelievably beautiful roads in the world Highly recommended you take a tour
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you should add that windey steep road in san fran cali
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The Pacific Coast HWY (HWY 101) also extends through Oregon and Washington state, and is just as beautiful.
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Seward Hwy in Alaska is stunning too check it out: http://www.flickr.com/photos/72213316@N00/3216688577/in/set-72157612851727412/
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Agree with you Manan it’s in Pakistan
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Transfagarasanul. Romania. Here’s a picture of it: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ViulEr6iEIk/SpAjhgsj3JI/AAAAAAAABiU/cMcG47WYsdM/s1600-h/1234205425zjFFUwJ.jpg
Definitely a must.↵ -
you should add the causeway bridge in louisiana. its a 24 mile bridge across water, that brings you to new orleans. longest bridge in the usa over water and second longest in the world.
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also , hwy 23 in arkansas. it drives through the ozarks and is very scary. sometimes part of it falls off….
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I recently drove to Mt Etna in Sicily. It was my first personal experience with a road that could be in this list. Here is a picture. http://www.gianferrante.it/images/guestwinkelewski5.jpg What you see in the horizon is the ocean! And if I remember correctly, Etna is the highest volcano in Europe!
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Should check out the Ice Field Parkway between Jasper and Banff National Park Canada. National Geographic rates it real high. Lots of glaciers on the trip…
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Hana was nice, but Western Maui, highway 360 is just as crazy if not crazier, and the view is almost exclusively cliffs and ocean. Coolest drive I’ve ever taken.
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Hana, Western Maui, I also love the trip around the northern coast with the hairpin turns. Maui is awesome. Drive the entire island, even the southern coast where it is dirt for about 5 miles. Car rentals say you’re not allowed there but use your head and take it slow. Will be one of the most memorable drives in your life. Drive the island in a convertible and take in all it’s beauty.
No I’m not from there, just a very pleased tourist. Can’t wait to return.↵ -
Thank you for sharing those beautiful pictures with me and the rest of the world. I am not a world traveler, and sure do appreciate those of you who are that take the time to photograph their experiences and share. I live in Colorado, and so I have been on the Glenwood Canyon Highway, but the other roads in other far away countries I will not travel to, are very beautiful. The one that is sticking out in my mind is the road in France,,,, it doesn’t even look real!
Thanks Again,
David G. Duncan↵ -
There is a road between Huancayo and Satipo, Peru that seems to hang out over a very, very deep river valley. It is single lane with absolutely no berm and bus traffic runs on it somehow. Don’t know how they do it.
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I drive Chapmans Peak #11, on a regular basis. Beautiful piece of road. The photo doesn’t do it much justice.
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Wow, I just counted that i have been on 6 of these roads: Milford Road, NZ; Going to the Sun Road, MT USA: Great Ocean Road, Australia; Pacific Coast Hwy, USA; Snowdonia in Wales and the Dingle Peninsula in Ireland. One of the scariest though is the road from Eyries to Allihies on the Beara Peninsula in West Cork, Ireland. As you rise and fall on the road with sharp drops on either side, you just have to have faith that you’re not driving off a cliff!
Lovely photos.
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Amazing roads… Gr8 Job guys… now I really wanna travel!
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Some amazing roads…Maybe for you should head over to the Highlands of Scotland see what spectacular really means!
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Arizona 89A between Flagstaff and Sedona. The road drops into Oak Creek canyon and the view in every direction is just fantastic. I’ve googled it but just cannot find a photo that conveys the awesomeness of the descent into the canyon.
http://www.atlasrider.com/images/OakCreekCanyon.JPG
The above pic at least gives you an idea of the winding road.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B30Aq8r_M-w
The video does it a little more justice. The quality is poor, just realize that every time a corner is turned there is an incredible landscape view that the camera doesn’t pick up on.↵ -
Transfagarasan, Romania.
http://www.fourthirds-user.com/galleries/data/501/Transfagarasan.jpg
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I agree with the last comment regarding the Highlands of Scotland, though there are also wonderful sights in the lowlands as well.
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Amaizing!!!!!!
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The last one has a DOUBLE RAINBOW ALL THE WAY!!!
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I would add Tamarind Blvd in West Palm Beach Florida. At dusk it is breathtaking.
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Erm, the Grand Canyon was carved only a mere 5m years old, not ‘billions’ of years ago…
My vote is for pretty much any road you choose in the highlands of Scotland.↵ -
Dear Saravanan Rajendran
Karakoram highway was built by Pakistan in Collaboration with china. It has nothing to do with India.↵ -
and we are talking about the highway, not the pass, you referenced.
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I agree! i was about to comment about the road to Hana as well. Beautiful.
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The river road leading from I-70 in Utah to Moab, UT is one of my favorites. Many famous films have been made in the area…also, how could you miss Monument Valley!
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I live on the Cabot Trail….it’s even more beautiful in the Fall or the Winter after an ice storm! It’s an amazing drive.
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Cades Cove, Tennessee, USA
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Blue Ridge Parkway, anyone?
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Interstate-95 between exits 9 and 18 in North Jersey. The refineries and infrastructure on the middle of an August day are just magic…..the sights, the sounds, the smells.
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I have travelled the Cabot Trail thousands of times as I live on Capre Breton Island. This picture does not do it justice, actually (although it is a lovely photo). If you google Cabot Trail you get a better idea of the winding cliff sides. It is a world-reknowned bicycle challenge.
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Atlanterhavsveien is quiet impressive too ! Going from island to island with weird shaped bridges…
Just have a look : http://www.google.fr/images?q=atlantic+road&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=Wih-TI3UGIyF4QavjunYBQ&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CCcQsAQwAA↵
