Missing some adventurous experiences from your life? Or ready to take your love for extreme sports to the whole new level? Prepare yourself! This is going to be a bumpy ride!
Stelvio Pass Road, Italy
It is located near Sulden and Bormio. On the northern pass of the road there are 48 spectacular hairpin turns, which makes driving in this pass one of the most exciting and breathtaking experiences ever.
Interesting! In 2008 Top Gear voted Stelvio Pass “Best driving road in the world”, which increased its popularity immediately.
Original road was built in the first half of the 19th century, and at that time it connected Austrian province Lombardia with the rest of Austria.
Stelvio Pass is the second highest paved mountain pass in the Alps and its length is 21.5 km.
It isn’t as deadly as other dangerous roads, but nevertheless it attracts cyclists, backpackers, motorcyclists and many other adventure seekers every year. It is open from June to September.
Transfăgărășan, Romania
Road goes around Romania’s Carpathian Mountains for about 90 km and it includes tunnels and sharp hairpins. If you are planning road-tripping in Transfăgărășan, it will definitely be a challenge!
Interesting! After naming Stelvio Pass the best driving road in the world, Top Gear visited Transfăgărășan in 2009 and after this visit Jeremy Clarkson said the following words: “We were wrong, this is better than the Stelvio, this is the best road in the world!”
The road is open only for a few months in a year (from June to September, mostly), because of the snow which blocks the road. Transfăgărășan connects Muntenia with Transylvania.
After Soviet Union invaded Czechoslovakia in 1968 Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu gave orders to military to build this road as precaution in case Romania would be invaded as well as for the needs of military as a save pass to the north.
The Trans-Siberian Highway, Russia
This highway is considered one of the longest national highways in the world. Trans-Siberian Highway makes up a route, consisting 7 other federal highways. The road stretches across all of the Russia – from St. Petersburg to Vladivostok – making up 11 000 km long highway.
Interesting! Road from St. Petersburg to Irkutsk (one part of the highway) was featured in Jules Verne’s novel “Michael Strogoff: The Courier of the Czar,” which was written in the early 1876.
It was built by gulag inmates, however history of some parts of the Trans-Siberian Highway (for example, previously mentioned road from St. Petersburg to Irkutsk) goes way back to the pre-railway era.
Some parts of the highway are quite acceptable, however most of it is in dreadful condition and it is very dangerous. If you are planning road-tripping or motorcycling there, go between June and September, and is very advisable that you should never travel this road alone.
Trollstigen, Norway
The National Tourist Route from Geiranger to Trollstigen will take you to one of the greatest and quite dangerous driving roads in the Europe and will leave you with memories of spectacular sights and breathtaking experiences of 106 km long road-trip!
Interesting! Meaning of the Trollstigen is “The Trolls Lader,” however local way of saying the name is Trollstien, which on the other hand means “The Trolls Path.” In Trollstigen you can find a road sign with a troll on it! Norwegian legends tells us that trolls change into the stone, when the sunlight touches them, and they can only be seen after the sunset.
It connects town of Åndalsnes to village of Valldal, and is a part of Norwegian National Road 63.
With its steep incline of 10% and 11 sharp hairpin bends Trollstigen makes a great tourist attraction! During the high season, more than 2000 vehicles pass this road daily!
The Death Road, (North Yungas Road) Bolivia
The Death Road of Bolivia is located in Andean Mountains, South America. It’s been said that the North Yungas Road got its name due to the fact that there were “more death per mile than any other road in the world”.
Interesting! In the 90s this road was taking 200-300 lives of travelers annually. This also is one of RentMama’s most scenic drives in the world! Read about: http://rentmama.com/car-rental/blog/scenic-roads-from-all-around-the-world/
In 2006 much safer by-pass for traffic was opened. Currently original North Yungas Road is almost not used by car drivers, rather bike cyclers – more than 20 thousand of them every year go to the Death Road to challenge themselves and cross this dangerous route.
Are you prepared for the ride of your lifetime?