The wind in my hair, horizons stretching to infinity, and a road that seems to be created to rush along it into the distance without looking back. Each of us dreams of a journey where every turn reveals something amazing, and landscapes make us forget about time.
Roads are not just paved roads, they are real guides to the world of beauty and discovery. Bigpikcha has compiled for you a selection of the 25 most scenic routes in the world, where every kilometer will be an unforgettable adventure, and every horizon will be a new challenge. Let’s go towards the wind and the beauty of our planet!
1. Atlantic Road, Norway.
The Atlantic Road is a national tourist route. The road was opened on July 7, 1989, and in 2005 it was named “The best building of the twentieth century in Norway.” The highway is almost 8.5 km long and consists of several roads and large bridges.
2. Cabot Trail, Canada.
It stretches for almost 300 km along the intermittent coastline of Cape Breton Island. The road was named after Giovanni Caboto, an Italian navigator. He was the first modern European to sail to the shores of modern Canada in 1497.
3. Chapman Peak, Cape Town, South Africa.
The road skirting the Chapman Peak Mountains offers stunning panoramic views of the Atlantic Coast at the southwestern tip of South Africa. The 9 km long route, winding through 114 turns, crosses the rocky coast — Chapman’s Peak. This track is affectionately called Chappie.
4. Dades Gorge, High Atlas, Morocco
For centuries, the Dades River has been sharpening this narrow gorge, which has become a very popular destination for tourists in Morocco. A 63-kilometer road bends along it. The best time to visit the lower valleys is from March to May.
5. Denali Highway, Alaska.
The Denali Highway (Alaska Route 8) was opened in 1957, it was the first roadway to Denali National Park, which used to be called McKinley National Park. The length of the highway is 217 km. This was the first access road to the Denali National Park.
6. Ruta 40, Argentina.
One of the longest roads in the world. It begins in the south of Argentina near Tierra del Fuego and ends 5,000 km later in the north of the country near the border with Bolivia, passing all the time along the Andean Range and crossing 20 national parks, 18 large rivers, 236 bridges, as well as along 13 large lakes and salt marshes and through 27 mountain passes.
7. Saint-Gotthard Pass, Alps.
The most famous Alpine pass. It was through Saint-Gotthard that the Russian commander A.V. Suvorov made his famous crossing of the Alps on September 13, 1799. A 17-kilometer automobile tunnel has been dug through the Saint-Gotthard Pass — the third longest in the world.
8. Highway No. 1, Iceland.
Iceland has one main ring road, Highway 1. It runs along the coast of the country and its length is approximately 1400 km. Wherever you go in the country, part of the route will still pass through it. To take your time to see all the sights of the ring road route, you will need at least one week in summer and up to two weeks in winter.
9. Mount Jebel Hafit, UAE.
One of the main natural attractions of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. A 12 km serpentine paved road leads to the top. When this path was paved, fossils of shells and skeletons of fish were discovered, which are evidence that in ancient times there were sea expanses on the site of the desert.
Jabal Hafit
10. Seven Mile Bridge, Florida Keys, USA.
The famous bridge in Monroe County, Florida. Passing over the sea, it connects the middle islands of the Knights Key archipelago with its lower islands of Little Duck Key. One of the longest bridges in the USA, which offers stunning views of the ocean and the bay.
11. The road leading to the sun, Glacier National Park, Montana, USA.
Built in 1932, the 50 km long two-lane road passes through almost every type of terrain in the park: from large glacial lakes and cedar forests in the lower valleys to the windswept alpine tundra at the top of the pass.
12. Stelvio Pass, Alps, Italy.
It is located at an altitude of 2757 m. It is the highest paved pass in the eastern part of the Alps and the second highest in the Alps, second only to the Col de l’iserand pass in France.
13. Highway 550 “Million Dollar Highway”, Colorado, USA.
The length is about 40 km. The origin of the name is not known for sure; some argue that a normal person would not travel on such a dangerous road for a million dollars, others — that the views at key points of the highway are worth just the amount mentioned. In any case, the track is really as dangerous as it is picturesque.
14. Pikes Peak, Colorado, USA.
The winding mountain track with an average gradient of 7% has 156 turns. Annual auto and motorcycle competitions are held here. Pikes Peak is composed of a characteristic pink granite, which is called Pikes Peak granite. Its color is due to the large amount of feldspar. One of the most important weather stations in the USA is located here. In 1899, Pikes Peak became a place for experiments conducted by electrical engineer and inventor Nikola Tesla.
15. Route 163, Monument Valley, USA.
There is only one highway to get to Monument Valley, so it is almost impossible to get lost. The Indians call their valley “The Place between the rocks”, which colorfully reflects the geographical description of the sand vase. It is conveniently located with huge rocky boulders and dunes, the height of which reaches 300 m.
16. Trollstigen, Rauma, Norway.
The Trollstigen Mountain Road (“Troll Ladder”) flows like a serpentine in the town of Rauma, being part of the Norwegian National Road No. 63. This piece of engineering art, also called a Staircase, stretches for 56 km along the most amazing landscapes of Geirangerfjord and its surroundings. The visiting season lasts from mid-May to October.
17. Furka Pass, Switzerland.
The Fourka Pass Panoramic Road is an exciting 32—kilometer journey from Gletsch to Andermatt in Switzerland. This route passes through Fourka Pass and Realp, two picturesque towns, and is best suited for the summer months. Along the way, you will find stunning landscapes, including snow-capped mountains and lush green fields. Furka was the filming location of the James Bond film Goldfinger.
Furka
18. Col de Turini, France.
The Col de Turini is a high mountain pass in the Maritime Alps, located near Sospel in the Nice district. The serpentine passes through a mountain pass at an altitude of 1,607 m above sea level in the French Alps. Due to the sharp turns and changeable weather conditions, this road is far from safe: the area is often covered with snow and ice.
19. Transfegaras highway, Romania.
The Transfegarashan, or DN7C, originally built as a military strategic highway, is Romania’s second largest paved road. From north to south, 90 km of sharp bends and turns run along the highest sections of the southern Carpathians, connecting Transylvania and Wallachia. The road rises to a height of 2034 m.
20. Los Caracoles pass through the Andes.
This road is the main thoroughfare between Santiago, Chile and Mendoza, Argentina. Los Caracoles Pass is a mountain pass at an altitude of 3,176 meters above sea level, which is located on the border between Chile and Argentina. The pass passes through the Andes mountain range and is one of the highest and most dangerous in South America. The road through the Los Caracoles Pass was built in 1915 and is one of the steepest and most serpentine roads in the world.
21. The Great Ocean Road, Australia.
The most famous and picturesque road stretches for 243 km along the coastline. It is known for the rocks called the Twelve Apostles. At first, the place was called Pig and Piglets (Pig is an island, and piglets are separated rocks), but in the 1950s, in order to attract more tourists, it was changed to the current one, despite the fact that there were only nine rocks in the group. Currently, there are eight rocks left.
22. California State Highway SR 1, USA.
One of the main north-south highways in the USA with a length of 140 km. Most of the route runs along the Pacific coast of California. The highway is famous for its views of one of the most beautiful coastlines of the United States.
23. Tianmen Mountain Road, Hunan, China.
The highway has its own name: “99 turns road”. By the way, you can walk along it. Its length is 11 km, and it really has 99 turns.
24. The road to the Jily-Su tract (Elbrus region), Kabardino-Balkarian Republic, Russia.
The total length of the highway is about 50 km. It connects Kislovodsk with the foot of Elbrus. The road runs at an altitude of about 2000 m above sea level. Elbrus can be seen in the distance. (Photo: Vitaly Brekhin).
25. Mountain road in North Ossetia.
The road connecting the Kurtatinsky (or Fiagdonskoye), Gizeldon and Karmadon gorges leads to the famous “city of the dead” Dargavs in the Caucasus. (Photo: Vitaly Brekhin).