Some Of The World's Must See Mountain Roads

There are hundreds of scenic mountain roads located around the world, way too many to mention on this page without sending you all to sleep.

So I have compiled a list of twelve of my particular favourites in the hope that I have mentioned a few you may not have already heard of. 

                  For a list of the world’s highest mountain passes, visit my blog page   

                                            The worlds highest navigable roads.   

The Dades Gorge, Morocco
Image courtesy of - www.flickr.com/rosino

  

The A 376 Road is a well maintained mountain road located along the Ronda Mountains of southern Spain, linking the traditional Spanish coastal town of San Pedro de Alcantara and the ancient city of Ronda in the Andalusia Region.

This 48 kilometer long, mountain pass of high sided gorges and gently sloping terraces makes it’s way to the ancient Roman built city of Ronda, located at an elevation of 750 meters above sea level, a city famed for it’s bull fighting school and the vast, El Tajo Gorge, which was formed by the rushing waters of the Guadelevan River. 

Despite being a well maintained road it does have a reputation of being dangerous, this is due to it’s many winding bends and the high number of hikers, bikers, cyclists and coaches which will invariably be lurking around each and every one of them, making it not only a dangerous drive but a slow one too, but Ronda does make it all worth while. 

The Beklemeto Pass (aka Troyan Pass) is a 50 kilometer long mountain pass which forms part of Route 35 located between Tutrakan and Koprivshtitsa, located in the Stara Planina Mountains (Balkan Mountains) of Bulgaria.

This mountain pass, which traverses the Karlovo Plain and the flat topped peak of the Midzor Mountain, reaches an ultimate elevation of 1,565 meters above sea level. 

The well maintained carriageway takes in some stunning views of the surrounding pine forests,  neighbouring, snow capped mountain peaks and several Roman ruins as it makes it’s way between the town of Troyan and the mountain village of Karnare in central Bulgaria. 

The road, which is Bulgaria’s highest navigable road, is primarilly used as the access road to the prestigious Beklemeto Ski Resort, which forms part of the scenic Central Balkan National Park.  

The Col de I’iseran is a scenic mountain pass which forms part of the D902 Road between the two French ski resorts of Val d’Isere and Bonneval Sur Arc in Savoire in south east France. 

Measuring 48 kilometers long and with an ultimate elevation of 2,770 meters above sea level, the pass is the highest navigable road located within the European Alps.

The pass, which is renowned for being part of the route of the Tour de France, makes it’s way along the Graian Mountains passing through the world renowned Espace Killy ski area and the former Olympic ski resort of Tignes.  

The Beklemeto Pass, Bulgaria

The Dades Gorge Pass in Morocco is located between the village of Boumalne du Dades, situated along the Upper River Dades Valley of the High Atlas Mountains, and the village of Msemrir, Quarzazate Province, or as far as the town of Agoudal if you happen to be travelling in a 4x4 vehicle.

This sixty kilometer long mountain pass of winding hairpin bends, kasbahs and stunning rock formations reaches an ultimate elevation of 1,500 meters above sea level.

Try and visit between May and August to avoid the muddy conditions of the Spring months or the heavy snows of it’s upper elevations during the Winter months.  

 

The Hai Van Pass is a 21 kilometer long mountain pass located along the Hai Van Peninsula of central Vietnam. 

This winding, tarmac road, which is part of the country's National Route 1, is located between the cities of Hue and Da Nong and hugs the coast of the South China Sea coast through the Annamite Mountain Range, passing through miles of mountainous rain forests, where it reaches an ultimate elevation of 496 meters above sea level.

This well travelled pass has recently been updated by the construction of the 6.28 kilometer long, Hai Van Tunnel, which was opened in 2005, which now cuts the journey time along the pass by at least one hour.

The pass was featured on the 2008 British motoring show, Top Gear Vietnam Special.   

 Icmeler – Datca Road -  This 60 kilometer long untitled mountain pass located along the east coast of Turkey’s Datca Peninsula actually forms the western most terminus of the much larger 2,057 kilometer long D400 Highway located along the entire southern coast of Turkey. 

This once narrow and dangerous mountain pass has recently been widened, allowing much easier access to the small coastal resorts of Turunc, Bozburun and Datca, located on what is known as Turkey’s Turquoise Coast, famed for it’s gulut – traditional Turkish sail boat - cruises. 

The pass, which can be accessed from the Aegean coastal resort of Icmeler along the south western most part of the Taurus Mountain Range, makes it’s way along the Mediterranean Sea coast through miles of pine forests and several traditional Turkish mountain villages, fishing harbours and ancient historical sites, forming several deep sided, hair raising sharp bends along the way.  

The Paso de las Liberatores AKA The Los Caracoles Pass

The Paso de las Liberatores is one of forty mountain passes which link Chile and Argentina across the Andes Mountains of South America. The pass links the city of Santiago in Chile by way of the country's Ruta 60 with the city of Mendoza in Argentina, the capital of Argentina's world renowned wine growing region, which is accessed by way of the country's National Route 7. 
The asphalt surfaced pass is 9.2 kilometers long and reaches an ultimate elevation of 3,200 meters above sea level between the Chilean village of Juncal and the Argentinian village of Uspallata. 
At the summit of the pass is a 3,080 meter long tunnel, which is flanked on the Argentinian side by the huge Cristo Redentor Statue, also known as the Christ the Redeemer of the Andes statue, which gives the pass it's other well known name of the Paso de Cristo Redentor. 
Because of the statue the pass is a well travelled route during the Summer months, the pass is actually impassable in the Winter due to snow, therefore despite having several hairpin bends and no safety rails the pass is actually well maintained and not really known for it's acccidents. That could also be due to the fact that the road is so steep that the many lorries and coaches which use the pass can only travel along it very slowly, giving rise to the road's other known name of the Paso de los Caracoles or Snail Pass.  


 National Route 40 – This super highway of 5,000 kilometers runs from Punta Layola in Santa Cruz to La Quiaca in Jujuy, Argentina.

The road runs parallel with the Andes Mountain Range and passes through twenty seven national parks, crosses eighteen major rivers and links with twenty seven Andean mountain passes. 

The road begins at sea level and climbs to an ultimate elevation of 5,000 meters above sea level.

  

Route 11 – A 192 kilometer long highway between Arica and Chungara – Tambo Quermado in northern Chile. The route starts at sea level along the River Lluta Valley before climbing to an ultimate elevation of 4,500 meters above sea level through the snow capped peaks of several volcanoes and scary hair pin bends, before terminating at the Lauca National Park. 

The park, which borders the Sajamo National Park of Bolivia, contains several lakes, volcanic calderas, lava fields and archaeological sites and is surrounded by the majestic volcanoes of the Chile / Bolivia border.  
  

Tongtian Avenue as seen from the cableway

  

The Sognefjellsvegen is a 110 kilometer long National Tourist Route located in Norway. The pass, which forms part of the 248 kilometer long, National Route 55 / Riksveg 55, reaches an ultimate elevation of 1,434 meters at the point of a high plateau known as Fantesteinen, making the pass the highest naviable road in Scandinavia. 

The pass gets it’s almost unpronouncable name from one of the mountains which it crosses, the Sognefjell Mountain, although the pass actually crosses five of Norway’s mountains, the other four being the Breheimen, the Galdhopiggen, the Hurrungane and the Jotunheimen.

This well maintained scenic pass, which links the villages of Lom in Oppland with Gaupne in Sogn og Fjordane, is used as an access road to seven alpine villages and the popular tourist destinations of Jotunheimen National Park, Breheimen National Park, Lake Bovertunvatnet, Lake Hervavatnet and Lake Prestesteinsvatnet.

The pass is closed during the months of November through to May owing to snow making it impassable.  

  

The Stelvio Pass is a 75 kilometer long mountain pass which links the village of Stilfs in Southern Tyrol with the small town of Bormio in Sondrio, Italy.

This well travelled pass, famed for being part of the route of the Giro d’Italia cycle race, forms part of the 224 kilometer long, Strada Statale 38, which links the the town of Piantedo with the city of Bolzano.

The pass includes forty eight hairpin bends and reaches an ultimate elevation of 2,757 meters above sea level as it snakes it's way along the lush, green, alpine slopes of the Ortler Alps of northern Italy.  

  

Tongtian Avenue, also known as the Heaven Linking Avenue, is an eleven kilometer long mountain pass located along Tianmen Mountain located in the Tianmen Mountain National Park in China. 
The road consists of ninety nine hairpin bends and makes it's way to an ultimate elevation of 1,500 meters above sea level. 
The road, which is located eight kilmeters from the city of Zhangjiajie in Hunan Province, gives visitors access to the summit of Tianmen Mountain, the unique Tianmen Cave, the Tianmen Temple, the world's largest cableway and miles of surrounding forestry. 
At the end of the avenue visitors must make their way up to the top of the mount on foot by way of a glass bottomed footpath. 

The Stelvio Pass, Italy
Image courtesy of - www.flickr.com/79653482

              For a list of the world’s highest mountain passes, visit my blog page   
                                    The worlds highest navigable roads.