Roads in Asia
21 roads found in Asia
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Cameron Highlands Road
🌍 Malaysia
The Cameron Highlands Road climbs from the lowland town of Tapah through dense tropical rainforest to the tea plantations and cool hill stations of the Cameron Highlands in Pahang, Malaysia. The original road (Route 59) is a classic 60-kilometer mountain drive with over 400 curves as it ascends from near sea level to approximately 1,500 meters, passing through multiple climate zones and vegetation types along the way. The Cameron Highlands were developed as a hill station by the British in the 1930s, and the winding road retains much of its colonial-era character. The journey takes travelers from the steamy tropical lowlands through dipterocarp forest and cloud forest to emerge among the neatly manicured rows of the famous BOH tea plantations, strawberry farms, and flower nurseries. The cooler temperatures at the top (averaging 18-22 degrees Celsius) make this a popular escape from Malaysia's heat, and the road itself is a joy for driving enthusiasts.
Chalus Road
🇮🇷 Iran
The Chalus Road is a 190-kilometer mountain highway connecting Tehran, Iran's capital, to the Caspian Sea coastal town of Chalus. The road climbs through the Alborz Mountains, reaching elevations above 3,000 meters before descending dramatically through lush Hyrcanian forests—an ancient forest ecosystem recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site—to the subtropical Caspian coast. Built during the reign of Reza Shah in the 1930s, the Chalus Road is one of Iran's most famous and heavily traveled routes, especially on weekends and holidays when Tehranis escape to the Caspian seaside. The road features a remarkable series of tunnels, bridges, and viaducts carved through steep mountain terrain. The contrast between the arid, brown southern slopes near Tehran and the verdant, misty northern forests is striking, and the descent through ancient beech and oak forests with their dense green canopy feels like entering another world entirely.
Fairy Meadows Road
🇵🇰 Pakistan
The Fairy Meadows Road is a narrow, unpaved jeep track in Pakistan's Gilgit-Baltistan region that ascends from the Karakoram Highway at Raikot Bridge to the trailhead of Fairy Meadows, a lush alpine grassland at 3,300 meters directly beneath the massive Nanga Parbat, the world's ninth-highest mountain. The 16-kilometer road clings to sheer cliff faces with no guardrails, barely wide enough for a single vehicle, and drops hundreds of meters into the gorge below. Widely considered one of the most dangerous roads in the world, the Fairy Meadows Road was carved out of the mountainside and sees regular rockfalls, washouts, and collapses. Only experienced local jeep drivers attempt the full route, and even they sometimes refuse when conditions deteriorate. Despite the terror of the approach, the reward is extraordinary: Fairy Meadows offers one of the most spectacular mountain views on the planet, with Nanga Parbat's Rupal Face—the highest rock wall in the world at over 4,600 meters—towering directly above.
Friendship Highway
🇳🇵 Nepal
The Friendship Highway, officially China National Highway 318, stretches approximately 800 kilometers from Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, to Zhangmu (Kodari) on the Nepal border. This is one of the highest and most spectacular road journeys on Earth, crossing multiple passes above 5,000 meters including the Gyatso La at 5,220 meters and the Lalung La at 5,050 meters, while offering views of four of the world's fourteen 8,000-meter peaks. The highway passes through the vast Tibetan Plateau with its sweeping grasslands, yak-dotted valleys, and turquoise lakes before descending dramatically into the subtropical gorges near the Nepalese border. Key stops include Gyantse with its ancient Kumbum stupa, Shigatse with the Tashilhunpo Monastery, and the Rongbuk Monastery—the highest monastery in the world—with its iconic view of Mount Everest's north face. The road was originally built in the 1960s and represents one of the greatest feats of high-altitude road construction ever undertaken.
Georgian Military Highway
🇬🇪 Georgia
The Georgian Military Highway is a 212-kilometer road running from Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, across the Greater Caucasus Mountains to Vladikavkaz in Russia. One of the oldest and most historically significant mountain roads in the Caucasus, it follows an ancient trade route that has been used for millennia. The highway crosses the Jvari Pass at 2,379 meters, threading between snow-capped peaks that rise above 5,000 meters. The road passes through some of Georgia's most iconic scenery, including the medieval fortress town of Ananuri on the Aragvi River, the ski resort of Gudauri perched on dramatic cliffs, and the legendary Gergeti Trinity Church perched at 2,170 meters with the mighty Mount Kazbek (5,047m) as its backdrop. The highway was rebuilt and modernized by the Russian military in the early 19th century and has inspired poets and writers from Pushkin to Lermontov. Today it remains the only land route between Georgia and Russia.
Guoliang Tunnel Road
🇨🇳 China
The Guoliang Tunnel Road is a 1.2-kilometer tunnel carved through a sheer cliff face in the Taihang Mountains of Henan Province, China. What makes this road extraordinary is that it was hand-carved by thirteen villagers from Guoliang Village between 1972 and 1977, using only hammers, chisels, and dynamite. Before the tunnel was built, the only access to the remote cliff-top village was via a perilous set of steps carved into the rock face known as the "Sky Ladder," which was too narrow for vehicles and dangerous even on foot. The tunnel is approximately 5 meters high, 4 meters wide, and features over 30 irregularly shaped "windows" carved into the cliff wall, which provide light and ventilation while offering vertigo-inducing views of the valley 200 meters below. The road surface is rough and uneven, reflecting its hand-carved origins, and the tunnel bends and undulates following the natural contours of the rock. Passing another vehicle requires extreme care, as there is barely room for two cars side by side in most sections. The village of Guoliang, home to only a few hundred residents, has become a popular tourist destination and has been featured in numerous Chinese films and television programs. The surrounding Taihang Mountains offer dramatic scenery of red sandstone cliffs, deep canyons, and cascading waterfalls. The tunnel road is open year-round, though it can be icy and dangerous in winter. It stands as a remarkable testament to human determination and has become one of China's most famous feats of rural engineering.
Hai Van Pass
🇻🇳 Vietnam
The Hai Van Pass (Pass of the Ocean Clouds) is a 21-kilometer mountain road crossing a spur of the Truong Son mountain range on the border between Thua Thien-Hue and Da Nang provinces in central Vietnam. Rising to 496 meters above sea level, the pass separates two distinct climate zones: the cooler, wetter north and the warmer, drier south. It was famously featured on the BBC's Top Gear Vietnam Special in 2008, where Jeremy Clarkson called it "a deserted ribbon of perfection - one of the best coast roads in the world." The road was historically one of the most important strategic locations in Vietnam, controlling the narrow coastal route between the two halves of the country. Remnants of fortifications from the Nguyen Dynasty, French colonial period, and American/South Vietnamese military occupation can still be seen at the summit, including an old French-built bunker that now serves as an informal viewpoint. The pass marked the border between the ancient kingdoms of Champa and Dai Viet and later between South Vietnam and the Viet Cong-controlled north. Since the Hai Van Tunnel opened in 2005, most commercial traffic bypasses the old pass road, leaving it remarkably quiet and perfect for motorbike touring. The road winds through dense tropical forest, past waterfalls and rocky outcrops, with dramatic views of the coastline, Lang Co lagoon to the north, and Da Nang bay to the south. The pass is a highlight of the popular motorbike route between Hue and Hoi An, and most travelers rent motorbikes or book "easy rider" guided tours to experience it. The road is open year-round, though low clouds frequently shroud the summit, living up to the pass's poetic name.
Halsema Highway
🇵🇭 Philippines
The Halsema Highway (officially Aspiras-Palispis Highway) is the highest road in the Philippines, reaching an elevation of approximately 2,255 meters as it traverses the Cordillera Central mountain range in northern Luzon. The 150-kilometer route connects Baguio, the summer capital of the Philippines, to Bontoc in Mountain Province, winding through dramatic mountain scenery of pine forests, vegetable terraces, and deep ravines. Named after the American engineer Eusebius Halsema who supervised its construction in the early 1900s, the road is notorious for landslides, fog, and narrow sections with steep drop-offs. Despite improvements over the years, it remains a challenging drive that passes through the spectacular rice terraces of the Cordillera region, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The highway provides access to remote Igorot communities whose traditional culture and terracing skills have been maintained for over 2,000 years.
Ho Chi Minh Road (Western Branch)
🇻🇳 Vietnam
The Ho Chi Minh Road is a modern highway that follows much of the route of the legendary Ho Chi Minh Trail, the wartime supply network that ran through the jungles and mountains of central Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. The western branch of the road stretches roughly 1,200 kilometers from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City through the Truong Son (Annamite) mountain range, far from the busy coastal Highway 1. This route passes through some of Vietnam's most remote and stunning landscapes, including Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park with its enormous cave systems, the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) region, the A Shau Valley, and dense tropical forests that still show bomb craters from the American War. The road sees very little tourist traffic, offering an authentic journey through rural Vietnamese life with minority hill tribe villages, waterfalls, and sweeping mountain vistas. Sections are beautifully smooth tarmac cutting through pristine jungle, while others are rougher and more adventurous.
Irohazaka Winding Road
🇯🇵 Japan
The Irohazaka Winding Road is a pair of steep, switchback-laden mountain roads in Nikko, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. The first Irohazaka (downhill) has 28 curves and the second (uphill) has 20 curves, each named after a character in the old Japanese iroha poem. Rising from 600 to 1,270 meters, these roads connect the town of Nikko to the highlands around Lake Chuzenji. The routes are famous for their spectacular autumn foliage, when the surrounding forests of maple, oak, and birch transform into a blaze of red, orange, and gold. The roads were originally built in the early Meiji era and have been a beloved driving destination ever since, offering tight hairpin turns with panoramic mountain views at every level.
Karakoram Highway
🇵🇰 Pakistan
The Karakoram Highway (KKH) is one of the highest paved international roads in the world, connecting Hasan Abdal in Pakistan's Punjab province with Kashgar in China's Xinjiang region. The highway stretches over 1,300 kilometers and reaches its highest point at the Khunjerab Pass at 4,693 meters on the Pakistan-China border. Often called the "Eighth Wonder of the World," the KKH took 20 years to build (1959-1979) and cost the lives of approximately 810 Pakistani and 82 Chinese workers, roughly one life for every kilometer of road. The highway follows the ancient Silk Road route through some of the most extreme mountain terrain on Earth. It passes through the Karakoram, Himalayan, and Hindu Kush mountain ranges, running alongside deep gorges, past glaciers, and beneath peaks exceeding 7,000 and 8,000 meters. The section through the Hunza Valley is considered one of the most beautiful stretches of road anywhere, with views of Rakaposhi (7,788 m), Ultar Sar (7,388 m), and the ancient Baltit Fort perched above the valley floor. The road is subject to frequent landslides, rockfalls, and washouts, particularly during the monsoon season and spring snowmelt. The Attabad Lake section, created by a massive landslide in 2010, requires drivers to use a tunnel system completed in 2015 to bypass the blocked valley. Despite the hazards, the KKH offers access to some of the world's most extraordinary mountain scenery and culturally rich communities, including the Hunza people, known for their legendary longevity and hospitality.
Khardung La Pass
🇮🇳 India
Khardung La is a mountain pass in the Ladakh region of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. At approximately 5,359 meters (17,582 feet) above sea level, it is one of the highest motorable passes in the world and serves as the gateway to the Nubra and Shyok valleys. The 39-kilometer road from Leh to the pass summit climbs steeply through a barren, high-altitude landscape of rocky terrain and snowfields. The pass was originally built in 1976 and opened to public motor vehicles in 1988. It is maintained by the Border Roads Organisation and remains a bucket-list destination for adventure motorcyclists and overlanders from around the world. The thin air at the summit can cause altitude sickness, and weather conditions can change rapidly with snow possible even in summer months. The views from the top are breathtaking, with panoramic vistas of the Karakoram range stretching into the distance.
Lateral Road (Bhutan National Highway)
🇧🇹 Bhutan
The Lateral Road is Bhutan's main east-west highway, stretching approximately 560 kilometers from Phuentsholing on the Indian border to Trashigang in the east. This single road essentially connects all of Bhutan's major towns and dzongs (fortress-monasteries), climbing over multiple passes above 3,000 meters as it traverses the rugged Himalayan terrain of one of the world's most isolated and unspoiled countries. The road crosses several major passes including the Dochu La (3,100m) with its 108 memorial chortens and views of the eastern Himalayan peaks, and the dramatic Thrumshingla Pass (3,780m) through ancient rhododendron and fir forests. Construction began in 1962 with Indian assistance, and sections are still being improved today. The narrow, winding road with its prayer-flag-adorned passes, roadside monasteries, and pristine forest is as much a cultural journey as a geographic one, passing through landscapes where Gross National Happiness was born.
Leh-Manali Highway
🇮🇳 India
The Leh-Manali Highway is one of the world's highest motorable roads, stretching 479 kilometers across the Indian Himalayas between Manali in Himachal Pradesh and Leh in Ladakh. The route crosses several passes above 4,000 meters, including Tanglang La at 5,328 meters, one of the highest mountain passes traversed by a public road. The highway is a lifeline for the remote region of Ladakh and serves as a critical military supply route for the Indian Army. The journey typically takes two days by road and passes through an otherworldly landscape of barren mountains, high-altitude desert, and vast plateaus. The road conditions range from well-paved sections to rough dirt tracks washed out by rivers and snowmelt. Major challenges include river crossings where the road simply fords mountain streams, loose gravel switchbacks on steep mountainsides, and the ever-present risk of altitude sickness as the road repeatedly climbs above 4,000 meters. The stretch near Rohtang Pass and the approach to Tanglang La are particularly demanding. The highway is open only from June to September, with exact dates depending on snowfall and the Border Roads Organisation's ability to clear the passes. During the open season, the road attracts thousands of adventure motorcyclists and overlanders from around the world, making the Leh-Manali route one of the bucket-list motorcycle journeys. Along the way, travelers encounter Buddhist monasteries, nomadic camps, and the stunning Pangong Lake region. The construction of the Atal Tunnel (completed 2020) has improved access to the Lahaul Valley section, extending the travel season slightly.
Mae Hong Son Loop
🇹🇭 Thailand
The Mae Hong Son Loop is a legendary 600-kilometer motorcycle and driving circuit in northern Thailand that winds through the mountainous terrain between Chiang Mai and Mae Hong Son provinces. The route features an astonishing 1,864 curves as it passes through lush tropical forests, terraced rice paddies, hill tribe villages, and misty mountain passes along the Myanmar border. The loop can be driven in either direction and typically takes 3 to 5 days to complete at a leisurely pace. Highlights include the town of Pai with its laid-back atmosphere, the fish cave at Tham Pla, the hot springs at Tha Pai, and the stunning viewpoints above the cloud-filled valleys. The road reaches elevations of around 1,500 meters and provides an authentic glimpse into rural northern Thai life far from the tourist beaches.
Musandam Peninsula Road
🌍 Oman
The Musandam Peninsula Road is a dramatic coastal and mountain highway in Oman's Musandam Governorate, an exclave separated from the rest of Oman by the United Arab Emirates. The road system connects the town of Khasab to the rugged interior and along cliff edges overlooking the Strait of Hormuz and the fjord-like khors (inlets) that earn the area its nickname, the 'Norway of Arabia.' The main route climbs through the Hajar Mountains on a series of switchbacks to the Jebel Harim plateau at around 2,087 meters, passing through fossil-rich limestone terrain that was once an ancient seabed. The roads are modern and well-paved, a remarkable feat of engineering through extremely rugged terrain. The landscape is stark and otherworldly, with deep wadis, sheer cliffs, and isolated mountain villages accessible only by 4WD tracks branching off the main highway.
Pamir Highway (M41)
🌍 Tajikistan
The Pamir Highway, officially known as the M41, is a 1,252-kilometer road connecting Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, to Osh in Kyrgyzstan via the autonomous Gorno-Badakhshan region. Built by the Soviets in the 1930s, it is one of the highest and most remote highways in the world, crossing passes above 4,000 meters including the Ak-Baital Pass at 4,655 meters, the highest point on the former Soviet road network. The highway traverses the heart of the Pamir Mountains, often called the 'Roof of the World,' passing through vast, treeless high-altitude plateaus, turquoise lakes including Karakul and Yashilkul, ancient Silk Road caravanserais, and remote Pamiri villages where hospitality is legendary. The road surface ranges from decent tarmac near Dushanbe to deteriorated Soviet-era concrete slabs and unpaved gravel tracks in the most remote sections. It is considered one of the ultimate overlanding routes on Earth.
Rohtang Pass
🇮🇳 India
Rohtang Pass is a high mountain pass at an elevation of 3,978 meters (13,051 feet) on the eastern end of the Pir Panjal Range of the Himalayas in Himachal Pradesh, India. The name Rohtang means 'pile of corpses' in the local language, a testament to the historically treacherous nature of this crossing. The 51-kilometer road from Manali climbs through alpine meadows, glacial streams, and snowfields to reach the pass, which connects the Kullu Valley with the Lahaul and Spiti valleys. The road is famous for its challenging conditions including narrow stretches, hairpin bends, loose gravel sections, and frequent landslides during the monsoon season. Despite the opening of the Atal Tunnel in 2020 which bypasses the pass, the original road over Rohtang remains popular with adventure seekers for its raw, unfiltered mountain driving experience and stunning Himalayan panoramas.
Southern Expressway to Ella (A2/A4)
🌍 Sri Lanka
The route from Galle to Ella via the A2 and A4 roads is one of Sri Lanka's most scenic driving journeys, covering approximately 230 kilometers from the historic colonial fort town of Galle on the southwest coast up into the misty tea country of the central highlands. The road climbs from sea level through dense tropical jungle, rubber plantations, and spice gardens before reaching the spectacular tea estates of the hill country at elevations above 1,500 meters. The final stretch approaching Ella is particularly dramatic, with the road winding along precipitous ridgelines offering views across valleys filled with tea plantations and punctuated by waterfalls including the 263-meter Bambarakanda Falls, Sri Lanka's tallest. Ella itself sits at a gap in the mountains with sweeping views south to the coast on clear days. The route passes through a remarkable range of ecosystems and cultures, from Muslim fishing villages on the coast to Sinhalese Buddhist temples in the lowlands to Tamil tea-picker communities in the highlands.
Tianmen Mountain Road
🇨🇳 China
Tianmen Mountain Road, known as Tongtian Avenue or "The Road to Heaven," is an 11-kilometer mountain road in Hunan Province, China, that ascends Tianmen Mountain near the city of Zhangjiajie. The road features 99 hairpin bends (a number considered sacred in Chinese culture, symbolizing heaven having nine palaces) and climbs from 200 meters to 1,300 meters above sea level. Completed in 2005, the road was purpose-built as part of the Tianmen Mountain National Park development. The road rises steeply through lush subtropical forest, with each hairpin bend numbered and named. The turns are exceptionally tight, and the gradient is severe in places, making the ascent a white-knuckle experience even by bus, which is the primary means of transport on the road (private vehicles are not permitted). At the summit, visitors encounter Tianmen Cave, a massive natural arch 131 meters high and 57 meters wide that pierces through the mountain, visible from the city of Zhangjiajie below. The cave is reached by climbing a further 999 steps from the road's terminus. Tianmen Mountain is also famous for its glass skywalk, a transparent walkway bolted to the cliff face 1,432 meters above the valley floor, and the world's longest commercial cable car ride (7,455 meters), which connects the city to the summit. The road has been used for various automotive stunts and challenges, including racing events and promotional drives by car manufacturers eager to showcase their vehicles on one of the world's most dramatic switchback roads. The park is open year-round, though mountain-top conditions are cold and foggy in winter.
Torugart Pass Road
🌍 Kyrgyzstan
The Torugart Pass Road is a remote border crossing route between Kyrgyzstan and China that climbs to the Torugart Pass at 3,752 meters in the Tian Shan mountains. The roughly 170-kilometer route from Bishkek side traverses the Son-Kul plateau area, passes through sweeping alpine grasslands dotted with yurt camps, and ascends through desolate, wind-scoured terrain to one of Central Asia's most dramatic border crossings. The road follows ancient Silk Road trading paths and passes through landscapes that have changed little since the caravans of Marco Polo's era. The high-altitude steppe is home to nomadic Kyrgyz herders who move their yurt camps and livestock with the seasons. In summer, the valleys are carpeted with wildflowers, and the Song Kol lake area at 3,016 meters offers one of the most authentic nomadic cultural experiences in Central Asia. The road conditions vary from reasonable tarmac to rough gravel tracks, and the border crossing itself requires advance arrangements.