The World's Most Spectacular Roads

[Editor's note: This list is based almost entirely on reader comments from the original post, The World's Most Spectacular Roads. 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 6. I-70 at Glenwood Canyon, Colorado The Colorado River, of Grand Canyon fame, carved this canyon billions of years ago. The U.S. government built the 12-mile, $490 million interstate route through it, which was only completed in 1992. Photo: Payton Chung 7. Millau Bridge, France Southern France’s Millau Bridge is the tallest in the world — taller, actually, than the Eiffel Tower. Photo: tibchris 8. Karakoram Highway, Pakistan The “highest paved international road in the world” connects Pakistan with Xinjiang, China. It is currently closed at the Hunza Valley due to a massive landslide. Photo: Umair Mohsin 9. Mountain road, Snowdonia, Wales Mountainous northern Wales is traversed by many of these ancient, narrow, stone-walled roads. I’ve experienced the challenge of navigating them at night. With oncoming traffic. Car renters beware. Photo: Richard0 10. Ice Highway, Canada Winter means greater accessibility in northern Canada. This frozen road runs up the Northwest Territories. Photo: madmack66 11. Chapman’s Peak Drive, South Africa Another great coastal road, this one just 15 miles south of Cape Town. Photo: Raveesh Vyas 12. Mountain road, central Peru Most mountain pass roads in Peru qualify as “spectacular.” This one runs north from the Sacred Valley town of Ollantaytambo and is part of the car route to Machu Picchu. Photo: ThiagoJ 13. Liwa, UAE Roads through the desert oasis of Liwa, Abu Dhabi, stretch long. Photo: Luca Assen 14. Going-to-the-Sun Road, Montana The only route through Glacier National Park was featured in the opening scenes of “The Shining.” Photo: Colin Gregory Palmer 15. Mývatn, Iceland Mývatn is a volcanically active region in northern Iceland. This road will take you there. Photo: Francesco_G 16. Seven Mile Bridge, Florida Keys U.S. Highway 1 runs for miles over the water, connecting the Florida Keys to the mainland. It includes this long span of bridge. Photo: milan.boers 17. Gotthard Pass, Switzerland Traveling north from Italy into Switzerland, you’ll come to Gotthard Pass, which you can cross on either the new, straightforward road, or the old roller coaster above. My money’s on the latter. Photo: Mikael Miettinen 18. Tichka Pass, Morocco I recently drove over the 2260m Tichka Pass on my way to Zagora to ride a camel. The pass was cooler. No offense, camel. Photo: cliffwilliams 19. Pacific Coast Highway, California This is the only road getting reprised from the original post. It seems to deserve it. Photo: tibchris 20. Dingle Peninsula, Ireland The roads of western Ireland are narrow, flanked by green, and sometimes charmed. Photo: ktylerconk