For those who consider the journey to be as important as the destination, road trips have long provided amazing views and a sense of adventure.
Below are some of the world’s most spectacular roads. Fair warning to viewers: these images are shockingly attractive and have been known to induce wanderlust in those who gaze upon them.
Denali National Park, Alaska, Photo by nicmcphee
Timgad, Algeria, Photo by gabyu
Italy, Photo by skino
Illinois, United States, Photo by jamesjordan
Zion National Park, Utah, United States, Photo by wolfgangstaudt
Dades Gorge, Morocco, Photo by wolfgangstaudt
Meadowlands, New Jersey, United States, Photo by bobjagendorf
Greenwich Township, Berks County, Photo by nicholas_t
Highway 98, Arizona, United States, Photo by paraflyer
Las Canadas del Teide, Spain, Photo by hyperfinch
Monument Valley, Utah, United States, Photo by hyperfinch
Himalaya Highway, Photo by babasteve
Route 40, Argentina, Photo by rob
Beaver, Utah, United States, Photo by areyoumyrik
Glacier Point, Yosemite National Park, United States, Photo by candiedwomanire
Utah, United States, Photo by areyoumyrik
Pacific Coast Highway, California, United States, Photo by tylerdurden
Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, United States, Photo by nicholas_t
Lapaz to Coroico, Bolivia, Photo by backpackerben
Southern Bolivia, Photo by philliecasablanca
Camino a Urubamba, Cusco, Peru, Photo by lebce
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112 Comments... join the discussion!
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Amazing, especailly Dades Gorge in Morocco. I'd love to drive that one.
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Typical egocentric American view of "the world". I've driven countless roads that are far more spectacular than any of the mentioned roads from the USA, yet roads from the US make up over 50% of the total. Take a look outside your own backyard.
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Beautiful pics! But what about Chapman's Peak Drive in Cape Town, South Africa? One of the most spectaclar drives in the world – the road cuts through the mountain and overlooks the ocean, harbour and little towns along its stretch.
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I love the views… I wonder if some of the pictures was edited? hmmmm….
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Just drove down Muholland Drive in CA last week. Spectacular at night.
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Being from Colorado, I was very happy to see this comment. When I was just a little girl, it was nearly impossible to get through Glenwood Canyon before it was rebuilt. It is now one of the most beautiful sections of highway in the United States and it is mind-boggling how it was built without one tree being damaged or removed. I am still in awe when I drive through it.
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Fantastic roads!
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Tail of the Dragon anyone, huh? huh?
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What about the A666 the Blackburn to Bolton road in Lancashire. 88 deaths in 5 years on the Lancashire moors, England. I’m joking of course. But they are facts of where i am from.
quality site, thanks.
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the warning is fair enough. Fantastic photos, wow. Travelsick is me….
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Photo Number 11 must be mislabeled. That road is also Highway 98 in Arizona. Hard to believe there would be another just like it.
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Can’t believe some of the relatively boring USA shots, like Illinois and New Jersey (!). Definitely have some better ones in the Western US that are far better, and I bet other parts of the World have some mighty impressive ones as well. Going to the Sun Road in Glacier National Park and Tioga Pass Road in Yosemite National Park seems oddly missing.
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Arizona photo is Highway 89, not 98.
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I disagree with many of the above selections. In the U.S. the list should include the Going to the Sun Highway across Glacier Park, Montana, the Trail Ridge road through Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, Sonora Pass, California Sierras, the Old Columbia River Gorge highway between Portland and the Dalles, Oregon, any of the rim drives along the Grand Canyon, the circular highway around Crater Lake, Oregon, Highway 1 from Carmel to San Luis Obispo through the Big Sur country, California, and the Beartooth highway north-east of Yellowstone Park.
In Europe any of the great alpine passes and in Norway numerous roads around the fjords. Similarly in New Zealand the highway from Te Annau to Milford Sound is spectacular, as is the Ice Fields Highway through the Canadian Rockies, in Alberta between Banff and Jasper Parks. I could go on and on, but trust me., these are truly spectacular.
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What about Ice Roads?
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Great best pictures. must have great merit to see this naturally.
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Nice list. How about Chapmans Peak, Cape Town, South Africa, or Sani Pass, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. Ridiculously beautiful scenery.
The road to Sossusvlei in Namibia is also a goodie. That Italy photo is awesome, i could live there in a second.
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wao whats a paradise road. all above roads are so wonderful and looks dangerous too. i like above all road but first one, sith and third last are so beautyful. thanks for shering these wonderful road picture
Monterosa
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Wow, Timgad Algeria looks awesome.
One of my favorite roads is the Millau Viaduct in Southern France.
Lord Out!
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Nice collection of road views.
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United States is one of the most geographically diverse nations..It does not surprise me that it has so many beautiful roads. If there is one reason to be proud of the country, it’s immense scenery should be it.
That said, I do think that traveling through the olive fields in Spain was one of the most picturesque roads that I”VE ever been on.↵ -
This is actually Monument Valley, UT.
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Nice catch, Bill. Appreciate it.
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I personally think the photo of Illinois does belong. The Midwest of the US has some spectacular sky’s and are breath taking in their own right.
One I’d like to add is the Dingle Peninsula in Ireland, much better than its more popular neighbor…the ring of Kerry. Great ocean cliffs, small towns, country roads, sheep, blasket Islands, etc.
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*Staring in awe*
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Stunning shots…
here is one from Australia..
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wolfcat_aus/3124724834/
This the road that Mad Max 2 was filmed on as well.
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I see two that are not in the Americas, more than 50% from the states. I think the title is misleading. It should read Roads from the States and a few other places. Not all of the images or roads are at all awesome.
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Excellent collection! I love how it’s inspiring many of us out here to capture our own favorite road views. Cheers
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These is the kind of roads I would love to travel as a passenger… I would become too distracted by all the beauty around to continue to drive well.
Gotta say though, Illinois is one of the most boring states to drive through. At sunset it’s pretty, but corn can only be entertaining for so long.
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I’m not sure what’s with the Illinois selection; driving by my house is more exciting. And how the hell is Going to the Sun road from Glacier not on here? Only 13 miles of it was open when I made my way to the park in late June and it was above and beyond most of these selections.
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A good collection although some of the US ones are rather non descript. Ones I would regard as equally spectacular yet not present are: The Pinnacles in Western Australia, the Sydney-Newcastle Motorway (M3) through the Ku-ring-gai/Hawkesbury north of Sydney, the Great Ocean Road (Victoria, Australia), the Trans-Canada Highway between Revelstoke/Field and the Alberta border, the BC-99 between Horseshoe Bay and Whistler, the main road (not a very major one though!) from Ostrava to the Slovakian border via Ostravice, one of the main highways to the north of Konya, Turkey, some of the mountain roads down through Köycegiz (Turkey), and a number of the Swiss and Austrian mountain routes (my parents have been there and have photos but I don’t have names). Also agree with the Antrim Coast one from Northern Ireland.
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You have listed some stunning roads to travel on, but you maybe need to check out the West Coast of Scotland or the Scottish Highlands, you will find plenty of amazing roads to drive on there.
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This is typical amateurish US-centric writing, and it has the audacity to have a title referring to the world.
Half the roads listed here are in the USA. Is that really even remotely reasonable? The US is 6.5% of the the world landmass, and it gets 50% of the credit?
That’s nonsense. Ms. Huang — please visit more places in the world and/or write a more appropriate title like “The USA’s most spectacular roads, with brief mention of the rest of the world”. It is so incredibly rude and insulting to see the US repeatedly blowing its horn so loud that the rest of the world is mostly ignored.
Have you been to Canada and bothered to show some of the beautiful roads in the Yukon, in Quebec, and in British Columbia?
How about some of the terrific roads in India?
The US certainly could have mention, but considering it is 1/16th of the world, it seems to make little sense to give it this much mention in a “world” report.
It seems to me you are either very biased or have not given the title much thought.
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Hi Jareen,
How about contributing something constructive, such as sharing a link to a pic of your favorite road, instead of repeatedly bashing the author?
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they don’t have going to the sun highway in glacier national park, montana, usa….
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Look at Lapaz to Coroico, what amazing road but a little bit scary.
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What about the Sani Pass, Lesotho?
Is one of the most amazing things I’ve seen!↵ -
you didn’t show chalus road in iran
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I can’t believe Vancouver’s Highway 99. Sea to Sky Highway.
I know your going to get a billion on what you didn’t cover, but not a single road in Canada was feature is disappointing.
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Robert, thanks for your comment. And stay tuned–we’ve got a sequel coming in the next week or so based largely off of comments like yours.
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Yuck, Illinois? Really? I live in Wisconsin and can attest that driving through Illinois is the most miserable, boring, monotonous part of every road trip I’ve ever been on. There is certainly a lot of beauty to be found in the Midwest, but not a whole lot of it is in Illinois.
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I don’t think this was intended to be an exhaustive list of EVERY great road…just those the author has happened to travel. Lighten up!
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The Transfagarasan road in Romania..that’s the most spectacular road ..;)
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Search for “Transfagarasan” road, in Romania, even those from Top Gear said it is the most spectacular road they have ever seen.
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Angola – Road from Namibe – Lubango (Serra da Leba) http://www.flickr.com/photos/44194132@N03/4779900971/in/set-72157624339517759/
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I saw the follow-up (#2) list first, and being from Utah, kept asking myself “so where are some of the many spectacular roads and views available here in Utah?” Glad I followed through and saw this first list – where Utah’s spectacular scenery gets the credit it deserves. You can’t tell from the pictures, however, just how spectacular some of the scenery you can see from the roads is. And I would definitely add the Alpine Scenic Loop, which goes through Provo Canyon, up past Sundance (and Robert Redford’s home), through the world’s largest living thing (a mountainside of genetically identical quaking aspen trees), past Timpanogas Cave, and out into Utah Valley.
Combining the two lists, adding a few more roads, and lots more pictures would result in a spectacular coffee-table book or web site.
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You call these roads spectacular? These roads, compared to the “World’s Most Spectacular Roads Vol. 2″ suck. I think the background and the sky were more intriguing. Most of these look like regular interstate roads. Where’s the roads in Australia and Ireland at?
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