All of us have been on roads at one time or another that scared us. Maybe it was the steep drop-off along the road side, or perhaps it was all those signs warning you that a rockslide was possible at any moment. Perhaps it was a lot of sharp twists and turns, low visibility, a steep grade, or bad weather. Maybe it was just the other drivers who scared you. But it probably got you to wonder—were you driving on one of the world’s most dangerous roads? Or are there others that can make your experiences with challenging driving conditions look feel like a walk in the park?
Let’s go on a virtual drive on the most dangerous roads in the world. All of these roads are dangerous for different reasons. Many of them are quite beautiful and offer some of the most breathtaking views on the planet. But each of them carries a large element of risk, and will test any driver’s abilities, patience, and courage.
10. Stelvio Pass Road Trollstigen, Italy
This road is the second-highest drive you can take in the Alps, following the Col de l’Iseran. It is not the most dangerous road on our list (which is why it only comes in at spot number 10), but it does feature 48 hairpin turns at high altitude. If you lose control at one of these corners, you’ll take quite a tumble.
9. The James Dalton Highway, Alaska
8. The Karakoram Highway, Pakistan
7. Trollstigen, Norway
6. Patiopoulo-Perdikaki, Greece
This is a dirt road which has been poorly maintained over the years in Greece. It has numerous potholes posing hazards to vehicles, and moreover, there is a steep drop-off to either side. There are no rails and the dirt blends with the sides of the road, so at night time it is particularly hard for drivers to see whether they are on the road or have wandered off of it—until of course they start tumbling through space and the answer becomes obvious.
5. Sichuan-Tibet Highway, China
4. Siberian Road to Yakutsk
Yakutsk is an incredibly cold place. In fact, the city itself is built on concrete piles because there is no way to secure the foundations in the ground, which is permanently frozen. You’d think that this means that the harsh weather conditions during winter pose the worst hazards for drivers on this road, but it is actually the summertime that is a nightmare. The road is totally unpaved, and during the warmer months, it turns into pure mud. It is not unusual for thousands of cars to get stuck in the mud. During that time, bored travelers often assault other drivers. There’s even a colloquial name for them, “mud pirates.” Talk about road rage.
3. Luxor-al-Hurghada Road
2. Guoliang Tunnel Road, China
1. The Death Road, Bolivia
So the next time you are driving on your least favorite local road, grumbling about the potholes and the aggressive drivers, just think back to this list and imagine driving on one of these extremely dangerous roads. Plagued by mud, potholes, falling rocks, and even mud pirates, the world’s most dangerous roads will make the worst roads in your area look like a driver’s ed course by comparison.