Road collection
A road cut into rock is a road with character. Expect overhangs, tight corners and a river somewhere far below.
30 roads, ranked
1. Italy, Campania, Italy
A cliffside ribbon of hairpins clinging above turquoise water and pastel towns.
Sorrento to Vietri sul Mare, 50 km (31.1 miles). Driving 9.3/10, scenery 10/10.
2. France, Var, France
Cliff hugging ledge road staring straight down into Europe's grandest limestone canyon.
Aiguines to Comps-sur-Artuby, 24 km (14.9 miles). Driving 9.2/10, scenery 9.9/10.
3. United States, Utah
Slickrock, the Hogback ridge with drops both sides, and red canyon after red canyon.
Panguitch to Torrey, 198 km (123 miles). Driving 9.3/10, scenery 9.8/10.
4. 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.
5. France, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, France
A vertiginous loop skimming the canyon rim with balcony viewpoints at every bend.
La Palud-sur-Verdon to Verdon rim, 23 km (14.3 miles). Driving 9/10, scenery 9.8/10.
6. Vietnam, Ha Giang
A shelf road cut into limestone cliffs high above the Nho Que river gorge.
Dong Van to Meo Vac, 20 km (12.4 miles). Driving 9/10, scenery 9.8/10.
7. France, Lozere, France
A river hugging road beneath towering limestone cliffs, one of the Massif Central's great drives.
Ispagnac to Le Rozier, 52 km (32.3 miles). Driving 8.9/10, scenery 9.6/10.
8. France, Haute-Corse, Corsica, France
A narrow gorge road blasted into red granite walls, the gateway to Corsica's high interior.
Corte to Calacuccia, 25 km (15.5 miles). Driving 9/10, scenery 9.5/10.
9. Croatia, Velebit
A wild Velebit crossing of endless hairpins between the Zrmanja canyon and the sea.
Obrovac to Sveti Rok, 33 km (20.5 miles). Driving 9.2/10, scenery 9.3/10.
10. Romania, Eastern Carpathians
Vertical limestone walls close in over a road carved into the gorge floor.
Bicaz to Gheorgheni, 50 km (31.1 miles). Driving 9/10, scenery 9.5/10.
11. New Zealand, West Coast
Rainforest and waterfall canyon roads link the lakes to the wild West Coast.
Wanaka to Haast, 145 km (90.1 miles). Driving 8.9/10, scenery 9.6/10.
12. United States, Utah
Switchbacks out of Zion Canyon into a mile long tunnel with windows cut in the rock.
Springdale to Mount Carmel Junction, 39 km (24.2 miles). Driving 8.8/10, scenery 9.7/10.
13. United States, Wyoming
Switchbacks over Dead Indian Pass into a canyon nobody else seems to know about.
Cody to Cooke City, 76 km (47.2 miles). Driving 9/10, scenery 9.6/10.
14. Taiwan, Hualien
Marble walls close overhead as the road tunnels along a turquoise river.
Taroko to Tianxiang, 19 km (11.8 miles). Driving 8.8/10, scenery 9.7/10.
15. Montenegro, Zabljak
A high circuit of the Durmitor massif above the deepest canyon in Europe.
Zabljak to Trsa, 76 km (47.2 miles). Driving 8.9/10, scenery 9.6/10.
16. Italy, Lombardy, Italy
A tunnel like gorge road carved into rock above Lake Garda, once called the world's best road.
Pieve di Tremosine to Lake Garda shore, 7 km (4.3 miles). Driving 9/10, scenery 9.4/10.
17. France, Ardeche, France
A dramatic corniche skimming turquoise river bends beneath the Pont d'Arc natural arch.
Vallon-Pont-d'Arc to Saint-Martin-d'Ardeche, 32 km (19.9 miles). Driving 8.8/10, scenery 9.5/10.
18. 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.
19. 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.
20. Peru, Ancash
Thirty five tunnels hacked through rock in a gorge barely wider than the car.
Caraz to Huallanca, 47 km (29.2 miles). Driving 8.8/10, scenery 9.5/10.
21. Greece, Epirus
Stone villages and arched bridges above the deepest gorge in Greece.
Ioannina to Papigo, 60 km (37.3 miles). Driving 8.8/10, scenery 9.5/10.
22. South Africa, Mpumalanga
Escarpment road past God's Window and the vast Blyde River Canyon.
Graskop to Blyde Canyon, 60 km (37.3 miles). Driving 8.6/10, scenery 9.6/10.
23. Oman, Ad Dakhiliyah
Oman's own Grand Canyon, reached by a graded climb to 2000 metres.
Al Hamra to Jebel Shams viewpoint, 36 km (22.4 miles). Driving 8.7/10, scenery 9.6/10.
24. France, Alpes-Maritimes, France
A quiet pastoral pass with a gorge finale through the narrow Gorges du Bachelard.
Barcelonnette to Guillaumes, 48 km (29.8 miles). Driving 8.7/10, scenery 9.2/10.
25. 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.
26. Jordan, Karak and Tafilah
The oldest continuously used road in the world, crossing the vast Wadi Mujib gorge.
Madaba to Petra, 230 km (142.9 miles). Driving 8.5/10, scenery 9.5/10.
27. Spain, Aragon Pyrenees, Spain
A short dramatic climb into a canyon rimmed by sheer limestone walls and waterfalls.
Torla to Pradera de Ordesa, 8 km (5 miles). Driving 8/10, scenery 9.7/10.
28. Turkey, Trabzon
A green gorge climb through tea terraces to an alpine lake in the Pontic mountains.
Of to Uzungol, 42 km (26.1 miles). Driving 8.6/10, scenery 9.2/10.
29. United States, Oregon
America's first scenic highway, hand built curves past Multnomah Falls and gorge viewpoints.
Troutdale to Hood River, 121 km (75.2 miles). Driving 8.4/10, scenery 9.4/10.
30. Montenegro, Northern Montenegro
A rim road above a 1300 metre gorge, crossing the great arched Tara bridge.
Djurdjevica Tara to Mojkovac, 45 km (28 miles). Driving 8.4/10, scenery 9.4/10.
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