So I was fascinated when I saw a list of seven of the most terrifying scenic roads posted on Smartertravel.com along with videos to enjoy vicariously. I know I won't be adding any of them to my bucket list, but enjoyed watching from the safety of my laptop.
1. Bolivia: They start off with North Yungas Road aka 'Death Road' near La Paz, Bolivia, which is a mountainous, winding gravel road with no guard rails, that apparently claims around 300 drivers every year. The road is now mostly used by crazy tourist mountain bikers.
2. Japan: Irohazaka Road is located near Nikko, Japan. Another winding, mountain road with 48 "hairpin turns" and one 120-degree bend. But this road is paved and has small guardrails. I could only watch a little of it, because I started feeling motion sick.
3. Germany: Spreuerhofstrasse, in Reutlingen, Baden-Wurttemberg doesn't really qualify as a road, it's more of an oddity, a paper-thin street measuring 12.2 inches at its narrowest. You can only walk it sideways, that is, if you're not pregnant or overweight. It's considered the narrowest street in the world. It was built in the 18th century. Not sure why Smarter Travel included it, but there it was.
4. China: Guoliang Tunnel in Henan province, is a 3/4 mile tunnel that was carved through and alongside another winding mountain road. Very rustic.
5. China: The National Highway 110 from Beijing to Yinchuan is a perpetual traffic jam. Apparently in 2010 a jam lasted 12 days. Not sure why this one was included either under 'scenic'.
Back in 2010, a two-mile-per-day pace on this highway was attributed to an influx of vehicles on a single road. Ironically enough, the main cause of the congestion was a large number of trucks transporting building materials to be used for highway expansion. Stranded drivers took to card playing and reading to keep entertained. For nearly two weeks.
6. USA: The lonely James Dalton Highway in Alaska is around 400 miles long, with only three tiny towns (population 60) scattered the length of it. Mostly used by truckers, the video on Smarter Travel shows a trucker driving in the dead of winter.
And last but not least:
7. Norway: In the north west coast of Norway, the 5.2 miles of Atlantic Ocean Road crosses the Norwegian sea over some pretty spectacular bridges (8 of them), and is the stuff of nightmares (at least mine) during or right after a storm.
The Atlantic Ocean Road runs across a partially inhabited archipelago and connects Averoy with the mainland at Eide.
The video below was taken the day after the storm "Dagmar" caused damage in the general area.
