SAFETY FIRST – PREPARE YOUR VEHICLE… These roads present serious challenges and need to be treated with the greatest of respect, in terms of driving them and in preparation of your vehicle. It is essential that your vehicle is in sound mechanical condition before attempting any of the following drives, all of which will prove Continue Reading…
Furka Pass, Swiss Alps(7,969 feet or 2,429 metres at its summit) This delightful road joins Gletsch (in the canton of Valais) with Realp (in the canton of Uri) to the east; it is just over 30 km (about 19 miles) long. The original road was constructed for military use in 1867. This pass is probably Continue Reading…
Grossglockner High Alpine Road, Austrian Alps(8,215 feet or 2,504 metres at the top) This is the highest surfaced mountain pass in Austria and takes its name from the famous adjacent mountain. The pass, 48 km (approximately 30 miles) in length, and completed in 1935, links Fusch-Ferleiten (in the state of Salzburg), at its southern end; Continue Reading…
Route Napoléon, Alpes Maritimes, FranceConnects Grasse (just inland from Cannes, at the southern end of the route) with Grenoble, about 150 km (just over 60 miles) to the north-east. This road follows the route taken by Napoléon I (Napoléon Bonaparte) in 1815, and passes through some wonderful scenery. It’s probably best driven starting from the Continue Reading…
San Bernardino Pass, Swiss Alps(6,778 feet or 2,066 metres at its summit) This route (in use for thousands of years, and named after Saint Bernardino of Siena) is on the eastern side of the western Alps, and connects the Hinterrhein and Mesolina (Misox) valleys between Thusis (in the canton of Graubünden in south-east Switzerland) and Continue Reading…
Stelvio Pass, Italian Tyrol(9,045 feet or 2,757 metres elevation) This road, built in the 1820s by the Austrian Empire, links Stilfs (‘Stelvio’, in Italian) in South Tyrol with Bormio (in the province of Sondrio). A magnificent drive, and it is best driven from the north, southwards towards Bormio, to tackle the giddying zig-zag ascent, including Continue Reading…
Umbrail Pass, the highest paved road in Switzerland (8,205 feet or 2,501 metres at highest point) Straddling the Swiss-Italian border, and linking Giogio di Santa Maria in Val Müstair, at the eastern extremity of Switzerland, with Bormio in the Adda valley, in Italy (on the Italian side, it joins the Stelvio Pass road). The ascent Continue Reading…
Other fun high roads, closer to home, to consider (UK): Old Military Road, Scottish Highlands: A83 (in the Cairngorms National Park), Blairgowrie to Aberdeen.Wonderful remote scenery, amazing hills and bends. Pass of the Cattle to Applecross, Scotland: Through the Applecross peninsula mountains to the sea.Narrow, twisting, steep sections with fantastic scenery all around. Don’t rush; REQUIRES Continue Reading…