Road collection
Desert roads are about space. Carry water, fill up whenever you can, and drive them at either end of the day when the light is best.
20 roads, ranked
1. South Africa, Karoo
A hand built dry stone gravel pass twisting through folded red rock strata.
Prince Albert to Oudtshoorn, 24 km (14.9 miles). Driving 9.5/10, scenery 9.8/10.
2. France, Hautes-Alpes, France
Hairpins through larch forest give way to the lunar Casse Deserte, a surreal high altitude finale.
Briancon to Guillestre, 33 km (20.5 miles). Driving 9.4/10, scenery 9.6/10.
3. Morocco, Dades Valley
A stack of orange hairpins climbs out of a red rock gorge into empty highland.
Boumalne Dades to Msemrir, 63 km (39.1 miles). Driving 9.3/10, scenery 9.6/10.
4. Argentina, Jujuy
A dizzying climb from painted desert hills to a blinding white salt flat.
Purmamarca to Salinas Grandes, 65 km (40.4 miles). Driving 9.1/10, scenery 9.7/10.
5. Mexico, Sinaloa and Durango
The Devil's Backbone, thousands of corners over the Sierra Madre now the toll road took the trucks.
Concordia to El Salto, 180 km (111.8 miles). Driving 9.2/10, scenery 9.4/10.
6. Australia, Kimberley
A red dirt outback crossing of gorges, cattle stations and river fords.
Derby to Kununurra, 660 km (410.1 miles). Driving 8.8/10, scenery 9.5/10.
7. United States, Arizona
Red rock Sedona at one end, pine forest at the other, with a hairpin climb between.
Sedona to Flagstaff, 45 km (28 miles). Driving 8.9/10, scenery 9.5/10.
8. Reunion, Reunion
Across the Plaine des Sables, a red lava desert that looks like Mars.
Bourg Murat to Pas de Bellecombe, 26 km (16.2 miles). Driving 8.7/10, scenery 9.7/10.
9. Argentina, Salta
Cloud forest to cactus desert over a 3348 metre pass of perfect switchbacks.
Salta to Cachi, 157 km (97.6 miles). Driving 8.7/10, scenery 9.6/10.
10. India, Himachal Pradesh
A desert canyon road between monasteries, with no trees and no crowds.
Kaza to Tabo, 47 km (29.2 miles). Driving 8.4/10, scenery 9.5/10.
11. Morocco, Draa Valley
Palm oasis after palm oasis along a desert river valley lined with mud fortresses.
Ouarzazate to Zagora, 165 km (102.5 miles). Driving 8.5/10, scenery 9.3/10.
12. United States, Utah and Arizona
The straight every film crew shoots, buttes rising straight out of the desert floor.
Mexican Hat to Kayenta, 72 km (44.7 miles). Driving 8/10, scenery 9.8/10.
13. United States, Nevada
Bright red sandstone waves either side of a smooth, almost empty two lane.
Overton to Interstate 15, 29 km (18 miles). Driving 8.3/10, scenery 9.4/10.
14. Croatia, Lika
Deserted forest curves through the Lika highlands towards the famous lakes.
Ogulin to Plitvice Lakes, 70 km (43.5 miles). Driving 8.6/10, scenery 9/10.
15. Namibia, Namib Naukluft
Gravel straights through moon country with the Kuiseb canyon in the middle.
Walvis Bay to Solitaire, 230 km (142.9 miles). Driving 8/10, scenery 9.5/10.
16. Australia, Victoria
Sandstone ridges and sudden sweepers through the best mountains in western Victoria.
Halls Gap to Dunkeld, 65 km (40.4 miles). Driving 8.5/10, scenery 9.1/10.
17. UAE, Dubai
Desert straights give way to rocky Hajar gorges and dam lake curves.
Dubai to Hatta, 130 km (80.8 miles). Driving 8.6/10, scenery 8.8/10.
18. United States, Maine
Granite coast, Sand Beach and the climb to the first sunrise in the United States.
Bar Harbor to Cadillac Mountain, 43 km (26.7 miles). Driving 7.9/10, scenery 9.4/10.
19. Germany, Saxon Switzerland, Germany
The Elbe riverside road runs beneath dramatic sandstone table mountains near the Bastei.
Pirna to Bad Schandau, 22 km (13.7 miles). Driving 7.8/10, scenery 9.1/10.
20. Netherlands, Veluwe, Netherlands
A quiet heathland road rolling through the Veluwezoom national park's wooded dunes.
Rheden to Rozendaal, 10 km (6.2 miles). Driving 7/10, scenery 7.8/10.
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