One of the article in http://www.thetravelerszone.com/travel-destinations/the-top-10-roads-worth-to-be-walked-at-least-once-in-a-lifetime/ listed the following roads as the top 10 Roads Worth to be walked at least once in a lifetime. According to the writer, the roads are The Pan American Highway, Parliament Street,Col de Turini, Road To Giza,9 de Julio Avenue, Lena Highway, The Guoliang Tunnel Road, Trollstingen ,and Lombard Street, California. The selection based on the tourist attraction, as the website is Travel website. The road selected may not be the most dangerous, the longest or the narrowest; nevertheless they are the one with spectacular view for the tourists.
You can see some pictures in the article, but I further elaborate with more details. I added further one extra for the tourist seeking excitement of the most dangerous road, Bolivia's Road of Death. So called 10 plus 1.....not for the weak heart. The Top 10 Roads Worth To Be Walked At Least Once In A Lifetime are:-
1. The Pan American Highway(inter-continental between North and South America)
The Pan American Highway, connecting the two Americas and crossing 15 countries, which facilitating the crossing of two continents, North America and South America.
The Pan-American Highway (French: Route panaméricaine, Spanish: Carretera Panamericana, Autopista Panamericana) is a network of roads measuring about 47,958 kilometers (29,800 miles) in total length. Except for an 87 kilometers (54 mi) rainforest break, called the Darién Gap, the road links the mainland nations of the Americas in a connected highway system. According to Guinness World Records, the Pan-American Highway is the world's longest "motorable road". However, because of the Darién Gap, it is not possible to cross between South America and Central America by traditional motor vehicle.
The Pan-American Highway system is mostly complete and extends from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, in North America to the lower reaches of South America. Several highway termini are claimed to exist, including the cities of Puerto Montt and Quellón in Chile and Ushuaia in Argentina. No comprehensive route is officially defined in Canada and the United States, though several highways in the U.S. are called "Pan-American".
2. Parliament Street, Exeter, England
The narrowest street in the world lies in Exeter, England. Built in 1300 and barely fitting one person. It was formerly called Small Lane and was renamed when Parliament was derided by the city council for passing the 1832 Reform Bill. Parliament Street is a 50 metres (160 ft) long street in the city of Exeter, Devon, England. It links the High Street to Waterbeer Street and dates from the 14th century. At about 0.64 metres (25 in) at its narrowest and approximately 1.22 metres (48 in) at its widest, it has been claimed to be the world's narrowest street, although this title actually belongs to the Spreuerhofstraße in Reutlingen, Germany.
Ironically, the residents of Waterbeer Street subscribed £130 to have Parliament Street widened in 1836, but nothing was done about this.....
3. Col de Turini, France
Col de Turini is surely winding though the Alps and driving on it is surely an adventure even for the most experienced drivers. The spectacular view of the French territory and the large number of hairpins resembling the Monte Carlo F1 race track is making it extremely spectacular. Col de Turini (el. 1607 m) is a high mountain pass in the Alps in the department of Alpes-Maritimes in France. It lies near Sospel, between the communes of Moulinet and La Bollène-Vésubie in the Arrondissement of Nice.
It is famous for a stage of the Monte Carlo Rally which is held on the tight road with its many hairpin turns. Until a few years ago, the Turini was also driven at night, with thousands of fans watching the "Night of the Long Knives" as it was called, due to the strong high beam lights cutting through the night.
4. Road To Giza, Egypt
The oldest road in the world that was serving as a paved way towards Giza, Egypt is still visible even if 4,600 years did their best to make it invisible.
5. The Puxi Viaduct Shanghai, China
Shanghai is one of the most crowded cities in the world. The metropolis is having one of the most complicated highway knots in the world. Shanghai's Puxi Viaduct, one of the largest and busiest interchanges in the world, is a five-level interchange. The spectacular view of looking down at the street, while traveling in the highway higher up above the crowded street road is worth a visit in your life time.
6. 9 de Julio Avenue(Avenida 9 de Julio), Argentina
Argentina is the home of the widest road in the world. With six lanes on each side, this avenue is spectacular because of its size but also because of its uniqueness on the planet. Avenida 9 de Julio is an avenue in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Its name honors Argentina's Independence Day, July 9, 1816.
The avenue runs roughly one kilometer to the west of the Río de la Plata waterfront, from the Retiro district in the north to Constitución station in the south. The avenue has six lanes in each direction.
The northern end of the avenue is connected to the Arturo Illia expressway (which connects to Jorge Newbery airport and the Pan-American highway) and to Libertador avenue. The southern end is connected to the 25 de Mayo tollway (serving the West side of Greater Buenos Aires as well as Ezeiza airport) and the 9 de Julio elevated expressway which provides access to the two main southbound roads out of the city (route 1 to La Plata and route 2 to Mar del Plata).
7. M56 Lena Highway – Russia
Leave it to the Soviets to make a disaster and you will see one made a masterpiece. Whether you are swimming in the mud or break your neck driving on it this one is surely a road not worth taking.
M56 Lena Highway or The Amur-Yakutsk Highway (Russian: Амуро-Якутская автомобильная дорога or Russian: Амуро-Якутская автомагистраль) – a federal highway (road) in the Sakha Republic (Yakutia), Russia, connecting Yakutsk with the south. It runs parallel to the incomplete Amur Yakutsk Mainline railway. It takes its name from the Lena River, which runs more or less north-south in this part of Siberia. Actually, with Yakutsk situated entirely on the west bank of Lena, and the road running on the east bank, the highway terminates in Nizhny Bestyakh (Нижний Бестях), a settlement of 4,000 people opposite Yakutsk on the east bank of Lena. When river conditions permit, one may drive right over the frozen river to Yakutsk, or take the ferry, but much of the year the river is impassable due to flooding or ice floes or semi-thawed ice not supporting the weight of vehicles. There is no bridge over the Lena anywhere in Yakutia. One is meant to be built 40 kilometres (25 mi) south of Yakutsk center between 2009 and 2013, a dual-use railroad/road span of some 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) in length.
The road runs 1,212 kilometres (753 mi) south to Never. It was built in stages between 1925 and 1964. Although it is a federal highway, it is just a dirt road. When frozen in the winter, this makes for an excellent surface, and the posted speed limit is 70 kilometres per hour (43 mph). However, in the summer, with any significant rain, the road turns to impassible mud that often swallows whole smaller vehicles, contributing to the nickname 'The Highway from Hell'.
At Nizhny Bestyakh, Lena Highway connects to Kolyma Highway (The Road of Bones), also designated M56, linking Yakutsk with Magadan to the east, on the Pacific Ocean seacoast
8. The Guoliang Tunnel Road In China
Carved through the heart of the rock completely manually, this one took five years to be finished. Lives were lost during the construction of this spectacular road but its builders did not give up until it was finished.
The Guoliang Tunnel is carved along the side of and through a mountain in China. The tunnel is located in the Taihang Mountains which are situated in the Henan Province of China. Photos of the road are often misidentified as photos of the "Road of Death" in Bolivia.
Before the tunnel was constructed, access to the nearby Guoliang village was limited to a difficult path carved into the mountainside. The village is nestled in a valley surrounded by towering mountains cut off from civilization. In 1972 a group of villagers led by Shen Mingxin decided to carve a road into the side of the mountain. They raised money to purchase hammers and steel tools. Thirteen villagers began the project. The tunnel is 1.2 kilometres (0.75 mi) long, 5 metres (16 ft) tall and 4 metres (13 ft) wide. Some of the villagers died in accidents during construction. On 1 May 1977 the tunnel was opened to traffic
9. Trollstingen –Norway
Trollstingen, translated in English is English: The Troll Ladder or The Troll Path. It is a mountain road in Rauma, Norway, part of Norwegian National Road 63 connecting Åndalsnes in Rauma and Valldal in Norddal. It is a popular tourist attraction due to its steep incline of 9% and eleven hairpin bends up a steep mountain side. Trollstigen was opened on July 31, 1936, by King Haakon VII after 8 years of construction.
The road up is narrow with many sharp bends, and although it has been widened in recent years, vehicles over 12.4 metres long are prohibited from driving the road. At the top there is large parking place which allows visitors to leave their cars and walk for about ten minutes to a viewing balcony which overlooks the road with its bends and the Stigfossen waterfall. Stigfossen is a beautiful waterfall which falls 320 metres down the mountain side.
Trollstigen is closed during the fall and winter months. A normal opening season stretches from the mid of May to October, but may sometimes be shorter or longer due to changes in the weather conditions.
Looking almost as if it was brought down from a sci fi movie, this road is more than spectacular spread over two mountain sides and the valley between them. Of course this road is very hard to drive but the amazing view and the beautiful waterfalls around it make the trip worth it.
10. Lombard Street, California, USA
This looks more like a zig-zag rather than a real street. Extremely narrow hairpins going down a hill are almost amusing to drive on.
and after that, the most dangerous road in the world..."Road of Death" in Bolivia.
10+1: Yungas Road, Bolivia
The North Yungas Road (alternatively known as Grove's Road, Coroico Road, Camino de las Yungas, El Camino de la Muerte, Road of Death or Death Road) is a 61-kilometre (38 mi) or 69-kilometre (43 mi) road[1] leading from La Paz to Coroico, 56 kilometres (35 mi) northeast of La Paz in the Yungas region of Bolivia. It is legendary for its extreme danger and in 1995 the Inter-American Development Bank christened it as the "world's most dangerous road". One estimate is that 200 to 300 travellers were killed yearly along the road. The road includes crosses marking many of the spots where vehicles have fallen.
A South Yungas Road (Chulumani Road) exists that connects La Paz to Chulumani, 64 kilometres (40 mi) east of La Paz, and is considered to be nearly as dangerous as the north road.
Note: Photographs of China's Guoliang Tunnel are often incorrectly identified as showing the Yungas Road
That is it.....the 10 plus 1 road, you must visit once in a life time; but some is a comfortable walk, some are dangerous drive along the winding mountain road. Once in life time, some it may be the only time in their life, and they never come back.....
Related articles
1. Dare to Drive on Any of the 19 Extremely Dangerous Roads on Earth, http://www.travelfront.com/most-dangerous-roads-on-earth/
2. The Most Dangerous Roads in the World, http://thecityfix.com/the-most-dangerous-roads-in-the-world/
3. Some Complicated Road Junctions, http://trifter.com/practical-travel/adventure-travel/some-complicated-road-junctions/
No comments:
Post a Comment