I fell in love with road trips much before I read Robert Frost’s epic, The Road Not Taken. There’s something so fascinating about the wind that rushes through the hair and the moon that runs alongside that it can’t be put into words.
Harsher than air travel and more exciting than taking a train, road trips are not for all. So this one is for all the ardent lovers of roads. The ones that take pleasure in roadside tea stalls, in gears and clutches, in pitching camps by the roadside and the most adventurous of all the travellers. Check out world’s greatest road trips, starting with India!
Photo Courtesy – Waypoint-zero
This is for the most enthusiastic of bikers and drivers. High on adventure and encompassing a variety of terrains, Manali-Leh highway is best covered by a cruise bike.
Vizag Beach Road
Photo Courtesy – P.Suresh
A breezy 30 km stretch between Vizag and Kailashnagri, this one is more than just perfect for a sunset or sunrise drive.
Chennai Bangalore Highway
Photo Courtesy – Soham Banerjee
Part of the Golden Quadrilateral, the highway between Chennai and Bangalore is the dream stuff for drivers and photographers alike. This one is “zero photoshop.”
Hindustan Tibet Highway/NH 22
Photo Courtesy – Sanyambahga
This stretch of NH 22 near Kinnaur is breathtaking. Meant more for biking rather than taking a car, try this is you’re really confident of your riding/driving skills. It runs from Ambala for a total of 459 km.
Mumbai to Pune
Photo Courtesy – Mouleesha
One of the best roads for a good drive in India, this one is sans any potholes or sudden speed-breakers. While it’s mostly busy during rush hours, a late night drive is what I would recommend for this one.
Seward Highway, Alaska
Photo Courtesy – Xnatedawgx
Very few gas stations and other modern day facilities on this one. What it has is waterfalls, fjords, trout ponds, oceans with whales. You made up your mind for this one, right? Good.
The Great Ocean Road, Australia
Photo Courtesy – 4hours1000places
Though it’s hailed to be irrationally hyped than the stretch at Victoria, my pick for the more amazing one still goes to it. You don’t have ocean for one of the road’s side everyday.
Jebel Hafeet Mountain Road, UAE
Photo Courtesy – Riyaz Ahamed
You will never forget the curves of this one. Forgive me if it sounded like some pun (not intended obviously), but you will love driving on this one.
Atlantic Road, Norway
Photo Courtesy – Harald Karlsen
You’ll get a whole new reason to fall in love with Norway after this drive. This section of County Road 64 runs alongside the hell beautiful archipelago in Eide. Fall in love again.
Overseas Highway, Florida
Photo Courtesy – isabelle.puaut
Connecting Florida to Key West, this one is 113 miles from the ground! Watch islands and the blue waters rushing by as you drive down this one.
Ruta 40, Argentina
Photo Courtesy – Leimdorfer
Running for 3045 miles, this is (not surprisingly) the longest road in Argentina. Drive from right between the towering Andes, 30 lakes, 20 national parks, 236 bridges and dollops of excitement.
Furka Pass, Switzerland
Photo Courtesy – Cassinam
This high pass cuts right from between the Swiss Alps. With hairpin curves and breathtaking views, it had even James Bone wooed. Remember Goldfinger?
White Rim Road, Canyonlands National Park, Utah
Photo Courtesy – Rob Lee
Get ready to bite into some dirt, literally, for you’ll be coursing through Canyonlands National Park. More meandering than any road, this is for the thrill seekers. Don’t skip this one.
Chapman’s Peak Road, South Africa
Photo Courtesy – vic.bergmann
If you are in love with the blue, this one is for you. Skirting by the Atlantic Coast, it connects Noordhoek and Hout Bay, Chapman’s Peak Road promises 180 degree views that will take your breath away.
Guoling Tunnel Road, China
Photo Courtesy – playbull.com
If you love mountains, this is for you. Carved right by the side of the Taihang Mountains in China, this is more of an adventure rather than a simple ride. Go for it to strike it off from your travel bucket list.
Karakoram Highway, China/Pakistan
Photo Courtesy – bjapuri (Ed Sentner)
This one has the honours of being hailed as world’s highest paved international road. Gorgeous views, hairpin bends, and almost zero traffic, no lover of steering wheels or biking should miss this one.
Flower Route, Netherlands
Photo Courtesy – constantrambler
This one is gorgeous, the stuff out of which Yash Chopra weaved stories that fascinated an entire generation of cinema lovers. It starts from Haarlem and takes you through the densest of flower covers. For a companion, take your camera along.
Cherhola Skyway, Tennessee – North Carolina
Photo Courtesy – Brian Stansberry
The greenest of all mountains, the thickest of forest cover and gurgling waterfalls, all this and more in a drive to this mile high ridge in the Unicoi Mountains. If nothing else, you’ll be in love with life. Get a bike for this one; no car can do justice to it.
Mount Hood Road, Oregon
Photo Courtesy – agomezig
History, beauty and sheer driving pleasure awaits you on this stretch, also famous as the Columbia River Gorge. You can start right from Portland and steer right till Mount Hood. Don’t forget to take a stop at Jonsrud Viewpoint.
Leaving you on that road note, I’m off to another hill road, steering towards Dehradun.
About the Author
Shikha Gautam loves to play with steering wheels, roads, words, flute and guitar among other things. Not necessarily in that order! You can contact her on twitter @ShikhaGautam
