The world's seven best driving roads (List) | GRR
We all road trip for different reasons – for many it’s the end goal, for others the decreased environmental impact, and some the sights along the way. Here at Goodwood, we fall into an entirely separate category: we roadtrip for the roads themselves.
Sure, the aforementioned reasons all figure somewhere in our semiconscious, but it's those beautiful, curving pathways to driving extasy – be they tarmac or dirt – that really get our hearts racing. And nothing unites petrolheads like the shared experience of an epic drive – the Ronda Road in Andalucia springs to mind…
So in the spirit of driving for the roads themselves, we’ve picked our favourites. We may not have driven them all personally, but they all figure somewhere on our bucket list of roads to drive before we die.
A397 Ronda Road, Andalucia, Spain
As familiar to any motoring journalist as a car itself, the Ronda road climbs from San Pedro on the Costa del Sol to the historic mountain town of Ronda, offering spectacular views and tight bends upon nail biting cliff tops.
Peeling off the A-7 coast road and measuring 50km long, it takes roughly an hour – more or less depending on how at ease you are with altitude. But beware driving this in adverse weather conditions – it can get pretty sketchy!
N16, Morocco
Morocco’s Mediterranean coast holds a special place in my heart, as the first Moroccan road that I rode, back in December 2016. Crossing from the bustling port of Tangiers all the way to the closed Algerian border, it is a winding ribbon of perfect tarmac, suspended on rust red cliffs above sparkling blue seas. With tight turns aplenty, it’s a thrilling ride, drive or even cycle, and offers plenty of opportunity to experience the rich Moroccan culture, passing through quaint fishing villages and larger cities such as Tetouan and Al Houceima.
Lysevegen Mountain Road, Norway
There was no way that Norway, with its wealth of tight, twisting fjord-side roads couldn’t feature on this list. And the Lysevegen Mountain Road is among the best there is. Perched in the high mountains of Rogaland and Vest Agder, in Norway’s southwest Rogaland county it winds 18 miles out of Lysebotn, to a summit of 950 metres at the Andersvatn lake. Comprising no less than 27 hairpin turns, it offers an exhilarating drive as well as epic scenery and an adrenaline kick to last all day. Originally built as a service road and opened to the public in 1984, it is open from May to October/November (depending on snow conditions).
Karakoram Highway, Pakistan
Perhaps one of the most other-worldy roads to make our list, the Karakoram highway was opened to the public as the China-Pakistan Friendship Highway in 1985. Stretching 800 miles from nearby Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan to Kashgar, in China’s Xinjiang province, what was once a silk road route is now considered as one of the manmade wonders of the world. Traversing three of the greatest mountain ranges on Earth – the Himalayas, the Karakoram and the Hindu Kush – it is the highest paved road in the world (reaching 4,800m at Khunjerab Pass). As you can imagine, all this altitude makes for some spectacular switchbacks, perfect straights and epic views. Not to mention the variety of different cultures you can experience along the way.
The Stelvio Pass, Italy
Where would this list be without the Stelvio Pass, arguably one of the most famous driver’s roads of Western Europe. Located in Northern Italy, bordering Switzerland, it reaches a maximum elevation of 2,757m and is the highest paved mountain pass in the Eastern Alps, and the second highest in the Alps (7m less than France's Col de l'Iseran). But perhaps more importantly to the most passionate of petrolheads is the 75 (yes, you read that right) hairpin turns contained within its 29 mile length – 48 of which are the northern side. Famously, Sir Stirling Moss crashed off the pass during a vintage race in the 1990s.
The road is recognisable the world over, and motorists travel from far and wide to drive it.
Highway 395, Yosemite National Park, USA
While the draw of Yosemite far extends its excellent roads, it’s not unusual for driving fans to travel to the area solely for the thrill of its roads. And Highway 395 has it all. Within a day, you can drive from the lowest spot in the western hemisphere (Death Valley’s Badwater at 86 metres below sea level) to more than 3,000 metres above, along a convoluted, curving stretch of tarmac. Soaring saw-toothed granite peaks and arid desert sandwich the road – jaw-dropping scenery that makes it hard to focus on the drive. But you’re going to want to, for one wrong move here could spell disaster.
The Tail of the Dragon, USA
So popular among petrolheads that it has its own website, the Tail of the Dragon is renowned worldwide for the incredible ride it offers drivers and motorcyclists alike.
Comprising 318 curves in just 11 miles of the US 129, to give its proper name, the Tail of the Dragon begins at Deals Gap on the Tennessee/North Carolina state line and cuts through the Great Smoky Mountains and the Cherokee National Forest, in a glorious, sweeping high speed run.
With no intersecting roads or roadside business, and very little in the way of elevation change, the Tail of the Dragon is the closest you can get to a racetrack on the roads. But it pays to remember that traffic is two-way, and to drive like you don’t want to meet yourself coming in the other direction.