Adventure & Overland Routes
Off-road tracks, expedition routes, remote desert crossings, and 4x4 overland drives across challenging terrain. 89 curated drives with mapped stops, distance, duration, and route notes — including Alaska Highway, Baja California Highway 1, Gibb River Road.
These 89 routes range from 40 to 5000 km and from 1 to 36 days, across 44 countries. Top picks: Alaska Highway, Baja California Highway 1, Gibb River Road.
IconicAlaska HighwayThe ALCAN, built in eight months in 1942 to connect Alaska to the Lower 48, is the last great North American frontier road. 2400km of boreal wilderness, glacial rivers, the Yukon's vast silence, and more wildlife per kilometre than almost anywhere on Earth.
LegendaryBaja California Highway 1The world's longest peninsula drive, Highway 1 traces 1,700 km of Pacific surf, Sea of Cortez lagoons, giant cardón cacti, and grey whale sanctuaries from Tijuana all the way to Cabo San Lucas.
LegendaryGibb River RoadThe Kimberley's legendary outback dirt road connects Derby to Kununurra through ancient boab tree forests, Aboriginal rock art sites, spectacular gorges, and remote cattle stations, Australia at its most raw and untouched.
LegendaryCarretera AustralChile's Ruta 7 is one of the world's great adventure roads, unpaved, remote, cut through Patagonian fjords and ancient rainforest. Glaciers, hanging valleys, thermal pools, and almost nobody ahead of you.
LegendaryRuta 40Argentina's longest highway traces 5,000 km of the jagged Andes from the shores of the South Atlantic at Punta Loyola through Los Glaciares, Bariloche, Mendoza, Salta, and the Bolivian border at La Quiaca, traversing 20 national parks, crossing 18 major rivers, and climbing over 27 mountain passes. One of the most epic drives on the planet.
LegendarySalar de Uyuni CircuitAcross the world's largest salt flat, a 10,582 km² mirror of white that becomes a perfect sky reflection after rain, then through volcanoes, lagoons of pink flamingos, and geysers at 5,000m into the Altiplano.
IconicTranspantaneiraThe only road into the Northern Pantanal, 147km of raised dirt track on 122 wooden bridges through the world's largest tropical wetland. In the dry season, caimans line every bridge, capybaras graze the shoulders, and the Cuiabá River banks are the best place on Earth to see a wild jaguar.
LegendaryNamib Desert CircuitThe world's oldest desert, 55 million years, and its most photogenic. Sossusvlei's 300m apricot dunes, the bleached bones of Deadvlei, the Skeleton Coast's shipwrecks, and Fish River Canyon's billion-year-old gorge.
LegendarySani PassA boulder-strewn 4WD track climbing 1332 vertical metres in 9km through the Drakensberg escarpment into the mountain kingdom of Lesotho. At the top: the highest pub in Africa, a blanket of stars, and a Basotho world entirely apart.
IconicSkeleton CoastThe C34 salt-and-gravel coastal road from Swakopmund north along Namibia's Atlantic fringe to Terrace Bay, through the Skeleton Coast National Park, past bleached whale bones, shipwrecks, and Cape Cross Seal Reserve's 100,000-strong fur seal colony. Ultra-desolate. Motorbikes not permitted on the coast road.
LegendaryPamir HighwayThe M41, the Roof of the World. From Dushanbe through the Wakhan Corridor to Osh, the Pamir Highway crosses four passes above 4,000m, traces the Afghan border along the Panj River, and reaches the highest navigable plateau on Earth.
IconicKyrgyzstan LoopThe great Kyrgyz circuit from Bishkek through the nomad heartland, over the Tian Shan to Song-Kul's high-altitude lake (3,016m), through the Naryn canyon to Karakol, along the blue shore of Issyk-Kul, and back. A route of yurt camps, eagle hunters, and passes above 3,500m with almost no tarmac for 300 km at a stretch.
IconicTurkmenistan: Gates of HellThrough the Karakum Desert from Ashgabat, the world's most surreal capital of white marble and golden statues, north to the Darvaza gas crater (the Gates of Hell), a 69-metre burning pit ignited by Soviet drillers in 1971 and still flaming today, before continuing to Dashoguz on the Uzbek border. One of the most extraordinary drives on earth.
LegendaryG318 Sichuan-Tibet HighwayChina's most legendary road climbs from Chengdu's basin through 14 mountain passes above 4,000 m, across four mighty rivers, and into the thin air of Lhasa, the world's highest capital. Called "the most beautiful road on Earth" by Chinese drivers.
LegendaryMongolia: Gobi DesertSouth from Ulaanbaatar into the world's northernmost desert, the Flaming Cliffs where Roy Chapman Andrews discovered the first dinosaur eggs in 1923, the Khongoryn Els singing sand dunes, Yolyn Am's year-round ice canyon, and the nomad ger camps of the Southern Gobi. A 4WD expedition through the emptiest terrain on earth.
LegendaryKarakoram HighwayOriginally part of the ancient Silk Road, the Karakoram Highway crosses the world's three highest mountain ranges, the Hindu Kush, Karakoram, and Pamir, from the Hunza Valley in Pakistan to Kashgar in China, peaking at 4,693 m at the Khunjerab Pass. Chiselled from bare rock and ice over 20 years by Chinese and Pakistani labourers, it remains one of the most extraordinary feats of road engineering ever attempted.
IconicThakhek LoopThe Thakhek Loop is a classic central Laos motorbike and road trip, starting and ending in Thakhek on the Mekong. It winds through limestone karst hills, quiet villages, river caves, and the dramatic Kong Lor Cave area, with a mix of smooth roads, rough patches, and unforgettable scenery.
IconicCosta Rica: Parks & WildlifeThe world's greatest concentration of biodiversity per square kilometre in a country the size of West Virginia, from San José through the cloud forests of Monteverde, the active Arenal Volcano's lava fields and hot springs, down to Manuel Antonio's rainforest beaches where sloths hang in the canopy above white sand. 5% of the world's species in one small, peaceful country.
IconicAlice Springs to DarwinThe Stuart Highway runs dead-straight through the Red Centre, Uluru and Kata Tjuta at the start, Kings Canyon, Devil's Marbles, Tennant Creek, Katherine Gorge, and finally Darwin where the Outback meets the Timor Sea.
IconicAparados da SerraThe Serra Geral escarpment splits the Rio Grande do Sul plateau with two of the deepest canyons in South America, Itaimbezinho (720m deep, 5.8km long) and Fortaleza (900m deep). The araucária pine forests above and the Atlantic Forest below create two entirely different worlds within 20km.
IconicArctic HighwayFrom St. Petersburg north through the Karelian lakes and birch forests to Murmansk, the world's largest city above the Arctic Circle, and an ice-free naval port that never closes. In summer the sun never sets; in winter the Northern Lights arc overhead without interruption.
IconicBonito and Bodoquena Pantanal SulThis classic Mato Grosso do Sul road trip links Bonito’s clear rivers and sinkholes with the limestone hills of Bodoquena and the wildlife flats of the southern Pantanal. Expect good paved highways, short gravel detours, birdlife everywhere, and memorable stops for swimming, cave views, and ranch stays.
IconicBR-319 Amazon Highway Manaus to Porto VelhoThis legendary Amazon crossing links Manaus to Porto Velho through long stretches of rainforest, river crossings, and sparse settlements. When conditions allow, the drive feels deeply isolated and dramatic, with huge skies, dense jungle, and a true expedition atmosphere on one of Brazil’s most talked-about roads.
Hidden GemCairo to Luxor Nile ValleyThis classic Nile Valley drive follows Egypt’s main southbound corridor from Cairo to Luxor, passing fertile river plains, roadside markets, and ancient temple towns. It’s the most practical overland link between two of Egypt’s greatest archaeological hubs, with desert scenery framing the route.
IconicCalchaquí ValleysThrough the high-altitude Andes of northwestern Argentina, the world's highest vineyards at Cafayate, the sculpted red rock canyons of Quebrada de Cafayate, pre-Inca ruins at Quilmes, and the colonial splendour of Salta.
IconicCanning Stock RouteThe big one, the most challenging 4WD track in Australia, from Wiluna north to Halls Creek through the Great Sandy, Little Sandy, and Gibson Deserts. 51 wells once watered the cattle drives; today a truck visits Well 23 once a year and leaves a 50-gallon drum of fuel if you've pre-arranged it. Serious expedition territory.
NotableCannonball RunThe legendary coast-to-coast dash from the Red Ball Garage on Manhattan to the Portofino Inn on Redondo Beach, dreamed up by Brock Yates in 1971 after the 55mph national speed limit threatened to kill American road culture. Dan Gurney ran it in 35 hours 54 minutes at an average of 80mph. The record stands at just under 26 hours.
IconicChapada DiamantinaThe highland plateau of Bahia, Brazil's walking and driving heartland. Diamond-rush colonial villages, table-top cerrado mountains, 100m waterfalls into swimming holes, underground lakes glowing with refracted light, and the most extraordinary cerrado scenery in Brazil.
IconicDakar Rally TerritoryFollow the world's most demanding rally through the Empty Quarter's boundless ergs, the Hejaz lava fields, and the ancient Nabataean trade routes to Al-Ula, Saudi Arabia at its most elemental and most extreme.
IconicDanakil Depression ExpeditionThis expedition runs from Mekele into Ethiopia’s otherworldly Danakil Depression, crossing volcanic plains, salt flats, and low desert to reach Dallol and the edge of Erta Ale country. Expect stark colors, extreme heat, and rough tracks on one of Africa’s most dramatic overland journeys.
LegendaryDempster HighwayCanada's loneliest highway branches off the Klondike near Dawson City and swings north through pristine wilderness to Inuvik, past the Arctic Circle, over two river ferries, through permafrost tundra, and finally to the shores of the Mackenzie Delta. Bring two spare tyres and emergency supplies; there is no phone reception.
IconicDenali HighwayThe Denali Highway runs between Paxson and Cantwell across a vast sweep of tundra, alpine lakes, and glacier-carved ridges with constant views of the Alaska Range. Long gravel stretches and frequent wildlife sightings make it a classic remote drive, best enjoyed slowly in clear summer weather.
IconicEtosha Pan CircuitA vast white salt pan, 120km across, visible from space, ringed by waterholes where lions, elephants, and black rhinos gather in the dry season. The Etosha circuit is Africa's most accessible concentrated wildlife driving, all on good gravel roads.
IconicExplorer's Way: Adelaide to DarwinAustralia's great north-south crossing on the Stuart Highway, from Adelaide across the Flinders Ranges to the opal-mining moonscape of Coober Pedy, past the dingo fence into the Red Centre, around Uluru and Kata Tjuta to Alice Springs, north through the Devils Marbles to Katherine Gorge and Darwin. The full traversal of the continent from temperate south to tropical north.
IconicFlores, IndonesiaAcross the extraordinary island of Flores, from the Komodo dragon territory of Labuan Bajo through Portuguese colonial Ruteng and the spider-web rice paddies of Cancar, up to Bajawa's megalithic Ngada villages, the ikat-weaving towns of Maumere, and Kelimutu's three crater lakes that change colour between turquoise, red, and black.
LegendaryG219 Xinjiang-Tibet HighwayChina’s G219 is a vast trans-Himalayan frontier drive linking Xinjiang with western Tibet through some of Asia’s most isolated country. Expect high passes, stark desert basins, salt lakes, glacier views, and long stretches of military and mining settlements, all demanding careful planning and acclimatization.
IconicGrande Terre East Coast and HienghèneThis east-coast Grand Terre drive follows New Caledonia’s lush, less-traveled side from Nouméa toward Hienghène, with jungle-cloaked valleys, coastal lagoons, and traditional Kanak villages. The road winds through tropical foothills, river crossings, and dramatic limestone formations, making it one of the island’s most rewarding overland journeys.
NotableGreat East RoadDrive the Great East Road from Lusaka through the Luangwa Valley to South Luangwa National Park, one of Africa's finest wildlife sanctuaries and the birthplace of the walking safari.
IconicGuwahati to TawangIndia's northeast is a wild frontier of remote tribal states on the Chinese and Burmese borders, the testing drive from Guwahati in Assam to the Tawang Valley in Arunachal Pradesh rises from the Brahmaputra floodplain through Himalayan foothills to the 4,170 m Se La pass, then drops into the Tawang Valley's serene Buddhist culture. A Protected Area Permit is required; road crews dynamite fallen rocks as you drive.
NotableGuyana Interior RoadDrive deep into Guyana’s interior from Georgetown to Lethem, crossing the country’s evolving savanna-and-forest spine on the paved-to-gravel Linden–Lethem corridor. Expect river ferries, mining settlements, wide-open Rupununi landscapes, and a true frontier feel with long stretches far from reliable services.
IconicInner Mongolia GrasslandsFrom Hohhot's Mongolian temples across the rolling Xilamuren grasslands, past the singing sand dunes above the Yellow River, and to the Russian-flavoured border town of Manzhouli, one of the great emptiness drives of Asia where the sky is wider than the land.
IconicJalapão CircuitThe Jalapão Circuit is a classic cerrado road trip through eastern Tocantins, linking Palmas with sand tracks, orange dunes, blue springs, and river beaches around Mateiros, São Félix do Tocantins, and Ponte Alta do Tocantins. It is remote, scenic, and best tackled at a slow pace.
NotableKalahari Desert DriveCross the world's largest sand system from Gaborone west to the Central Kalahari, red dunes, black-maned lions, meerkats at sunrise, and skies so dark the Milky Way casts shadows on the sand.
LegendaryKamchatka Volcano RoadRussia's most spectacular peninsula, a chain of 29 active volcanoes above the Pacific where the roads end and wilderness begins. The circuit from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky delivers steaming calderas, geysers, and brown bears fishing salmon streams in plain sight from the roadside.
NotableKangerlussuaq to the Ice CapLeave Kangerlussuaq and head west across raw inland Greenland to the edge of the vast Russell Glacier and the ice cap beyond. The drive is short but dramatic, with tundra, braided meltwater streams, and an unforgettable first look at the Greenland Ice Sheet.
LegendaryLake Baikal CircuitThe world's deepest and oldest lake holds one-fifth of Earth's unfrozen fresh water, the circuit around its shores passes through taiga wilderness, shamanic sacred sites on Olkhon Island, the Buryat Buddhist capital of Ulan-Ude, and in winter, a road on the ice itself.
IconicLake Khövsgöl Northern MongoliaThis northern Mongolia drive traces the approach to Lake Khövsgöl from Mörön into forested taiga, open steppe, and high-clearance dirt roads. The reward is one of Asia’s purest alpine lakes, with blue water, mountains, and nomadic camps around Khatgal and the western shore.
Hidden GemLee Against GrantThe road through central Virginia provides access to the pivotal 1864 Overland Campaign, the Wilderness, Spotsylvania, Cold Harbor, and the siege of Petersburg, where Ulysses S. Grant outmanoeuvred Robert E. Lee through nine brutal months until Lee's final retreat and surrender. Virginia has a network of Civil War trails to rival the Ho Chi Minh Trail; three national parks preserve the key battlefields.
LegendaryLençóis MaranhensesThe "Maranhão Bedsheets", 1500km² of white sand dunes rising from a flat coastal plain, filled between July and September with hundreds of turquoise and emerald rainwater lagoons. One of the most surreal landscapes on Earth, reached from São Luís via the Preguiças River delta.
IconicLombok and Sumbawa Overland RouteThis island-hopping road trip starts in Mataram on Lombok, crosses by ferry to Sumbawa, and continues east to Bima for a sweep through volcano-backed coasts, fishing towns, and quiet bays. Expect a mix of smooth highways, scenic mountain bends, and long, lightly trafficked stretches.
IconicMadagascar Baobab RouteThrough Madagascar's central highlands and western lowlands to the Avenue of the Baobabs, 800-year-old bottle-shaped giants lining a red laterite track near Morondava. Past highland rice terraces, zebu cart markets, sacred forests, and the canal du Pangalanes to one of the most otherworldly landscapes on earth.
LegendaryMagadan to Yakutsk Road of BonesThe Road of Bones links Magadan with Yakutsk across one of the harshest inhabited landscapes on Earth, following the old Kolyma Highway through taiga, river valleys, and permafrost country. Expect long empty stretches, rough surfaces, and a raw sense of isolation that makes every settlement feel like an outpost.
NotableMakgadikgadi PansThe remnant of an ancient mega-lake larger than Switzerland, two vast salt pans at the Kalahari's heart. In the dry season: meerkats and brown hyena. In January: a quarter-million zebra on the world's second-largest migration.
IconicMangystau and Ustyurt PlateauThis out-and-back loop from Aktau into Mangystau and across the Ustyurt Plateau showcases Kazakhstan’s most otherworldly desert scenery. Expect chalk cliffs, wind-carved canyons, and vast empty steppe, with highlights including Bozzhyra’s white escarpments, the isolated Tuzbair salt flats, and remote road stops beneath endless skies.
NotableMozambique EN1 Coastal RouteMozambique’s EN1 is the country’s spine, linking the southern capital to the far north through palm-fringed coast, busy market towns, and long Indian Ocean stretches. This overland drive mixes beach access, ferry crossings, and everyday Mozambican life, with highlights around Inhambane, Beira, and Nampula before reaching the far north.
NotableNicaragua Volcano RouteThis volcanic loop links Nicaragua’s most dramatic landscapes, from the colonial streets of León to the smoking crater of Masaya and the lava fields around Cerro Negro. It finishes on Ometepe’s twin volcano island, pairing black-sand shores, crater viewpoints, and classic Pacific coast driving.
IconicNorth Caucasus Mountain RoadAlong the northern face of Europe's highest mountain range, from the Cossack mineral spa towns of Stavropol through the medieval tower villages of Ingushetia, Dagestan's Atlantic-deep Sulak Canyon, and the ancient Persian citadel of Derbent where the mountains meet the Caspian Sea.
LegendaryNorth Yungas RoadBolivia’s North Yungas Road drops from the high Andes near La Paz into the humid Yungas valleys on a dramatic, tightly winding descent. Expect cliffside curves, changing weather, and sweeping mountain-to-jungle scenery on a historic route once notorious for its extreme exposure.
IconicOld Telegraph TrackThe mettle-testing trip from Cairns to the northernmost point of Australia, the Old Telegraph Track is only passable in the dry season, requires a 4WD, and demands fording saltwater-crocodile-infested rivers. The Bloomfield Track through Daintree rainforest provides basic training before the empty country begins at Cooktown, where the crude one-koala hamlets end and the real wilderness starts.
IconicOrkhon Valley Heartland LoopThis classic central Mongolia loop links the open steppe around Kharkhorin with the Orkhon Valley’s basalt canyons, waterfalls, and nomadic camps. It’s a rewarding drive for wide horizons and cultural stops, with rough roads that become most manageable in the short summer season.
IconicQuilotoa LoopThe Quilotoa Loop is a high-Andean circuit west of Quito that links market towns, canyon viewpoints, and the brilliant crater lake of Laguna Quilotoa. Expect winding paved and gravel roads, big altitude swings, and stop-start driving through Indigenous communities, farmland, and dramatic volcanic scenery.
LegendaryRN7 Antananarivo to ToliaraMadagascar’s RN7 is the country’s classic overland journey, linking the highland capital to the southwest coast through rice terraces, red-earth villages, and dramatic sandstone massifs. The route passes Antsirabe, Ambositra, Ranomafana, Fianarantsoa, and Isalo before descending to the dry thorny plains around Toliara.
LegendaryRoad of BonesBuilt by Gulag prisoners between 1932 and 1953 through the most extreme landscape on Earth, the Kolyma Highway from Magadan to Yakutsk passes through permafrost wilderness, gold-mining ghost towns, and the Pole of Cold at Oymyakon, where temperatures have reached −71°C.
IconicRwanda Congo Nile TrailThe Congo Nile Trail follows Rwanda’s lush western shore of Lake Kivu from Rubavu to Rusizi, winding through tea hills, lakeside villages, and ridge-top viewpoints. It is one of East Africa’s most scenic overland drives, with frequent stops for hiking, kayaking, and local guesthouses.
LegendarySani Pass and Roof of AfricaClimb from the Himeville area up the legendary Sani Pass into Lesotho, following one of southern Africa’s most dramatic mountain roads. The gravel switchbacks rise to the high plateau and the iconic Sani Mountain Lodge, with sweeping views over the Drakensberg and a true sense of reaching the Roof of Africa.
NotableSarawak Pan-Borneo HighwayThis Sarawak section of the Pan-Borneo Highway runs from the Brunei border near Miri to the Indonesian frontier at Tebedu, linking coastal cities, rainforest interiors, and river towns. It is a practical overland showcase of Borneo’s changing landscapes, with frequent stops for caves, national parks, and local food.
IconicSavannah WayThe Savannah Way links tropical northern Australia from Cairns to Broome through some of the country’s most remote country. Expect long sealed stretches mixed with isolated highways, red-dirt detours, stock country, gulf wetlands, gorge country, and classic outback towns along one of Australia’s great cross-continent drives.
IconicSouth-East Arabia, OmanMuscat's eastern loop through the dramatic landscapes of south-east Oman, the golden dunes of the Wahiba Sands, the dhow-building port of Sur, the world's most important nesting beach for green turtles at Ras al Jinz, and the luminous blue pools of Wadi Bani Khalid hidden in the Hajar Mountains. Oman's quietest and most rewarding road trip.
LegendarySrinagar–Manali HighwayOne of the world's highest motorable roads, from Kashmir's lakes and Mughal gardens over three mountain passes above 4,000m, through the moonscapes of Ladakh, to the green Kullu Valley. Staggering altitude, staggering beauty.
IconicStewart-Cassiar HighwayCut from dense forest in the 1970s through the wildest and most isolated territory in British Columbia, following trails used by gold prospectors, loggers, and miners. Grizzly bears, ghost towns, ancient totem poles, lava fields, and the staggering Salmon Glacier await.
IconicTanzania Northern Safari CircuitThis classic northern Tanzania circuit links the country’s best-known wildlife country on a practical overland loop from Arusha through Tarangire, Lake Manyara, the Ngorongoro highlands, and the Serengeti, then back via Mto wa Mbu or Karatu. Expect dramatic crater rim views, big herds, and long game-drive days.
IconicThe Great Siberian RoadThe road that nobody drives but everybody dreams about, the eastern segment of Russia's Federal Highway from Chita to the Pacific at Vladivostok traverses the Amur taiga, the Chinese border, and Russia's extraordinary Far East, ending at the city where Russia finally meets the sea.
IconicThe Gunbarrel HighwayThe original Gunbarrel, built in the 1950s by Len Beadell with a handful of road builders and a bulldozer so rockets could be launched from Woomera and British atomic bombs tested at Maralinga. Made deliberately straight "to keep Australia looking tidy and neat." From Wiluna through Carnegie Homestead and the Giles Meteorological Station to Uluru.
IconicThe Simpson DesertAustralia's most remote drive, from Birdsville across 1,100 sand dunes via Big Red to Dalhousie Springs. In 1963 the Page family ran out of fuel and died of thirst before help came. These days a lot more vehicles travel the outback, but not many. 4WD, satellite phone, and extra fuel are essential.
IconicTierra del Fuego and Ushuaia LoopThis southernmost Argentina loop traces the paved and gravel roads around Ushuaia, the Beagle Channel, and Tierra del Fuego National Park, with alpine bays, peat bogs, lenga forests, and big-open steppe. It’s a compact road trip with classic end-of-the-world scenery and frequent wildlife stops.
IconicTop of the World HighwayClimb out of Dawson City onto a high alpine ridge where gravel pavement traces the Yukon–Alaska divide for miles above treeline. The drive delivers vast 360-degree views, gold-rush history, and a dramatic descent to the remote border crossing at Poker Creek and then into Chicken, Alaska.
NotableUganda Fort Portal to BwindiThis western Uganda drive links Fort Portal’s crater lakes and tea country with Bwindi Impenetrable Forest’s gorilla valleys. The route passes through rolling highlands, busy market towns, and Rift Valley edges before climbing into misty forest. It is a rewarding overland approach to one of Africa’s premier wildlife destinations.
NotableWhite Desert and Bahariya OasisThis desert road trip begins in Cairo and runs west to Bahariya Oasis, then into Egypt’s surreal White Desert, where chalk towers, mushroom rocks, and wind-carved plains glow gold at sunset. It combines a sealed highway approach with short, guided desert sections and overnight camping under clear Sahara skies.
IconicWhite Rim RoadThe otherworldly terrain of Canyonlands National Park is intimidating enough from the hard-top, once you leave the tarmac for the White Rim Road, it feels like driving on Mars. A 4WD-only loop around the Island in the Sky mesa, sneaking along sheer cliff walls above two deep river canyons. Built by Cold War uranium miners; no potable water anywhere on the route.
IconicYukon Golden CircleA compact Yukon circuit crossing into Alaska via the White Pass, Whitehorse through Carcross (and the world's smallest desert), over the White Pass summit to gold-rush Skagway, back via Haines with a ferry crossing of the Lynn Canal. A loop of glacier-fed rivers, Klondike history, and the most dramatic mountain scenery in the northern Rockies.
IconicCity to Desert: Dubai to LiwaFrom the hypermodern towers of Dubai across the Abu Dhabi desert to the Liwa Oasis on the edge of the Empty Quarter, the largest uninterrupted sand desert on Earth. The Moreeb Dune (300m, one of the world's highest natural dunes), the ancient falaj irrigation system of the oasis, and the vast silence of the Rub' al Khali beyond the date palms are the rewards.
IconicCopper Canyon DriveDeeper than the Grand Canyon in four separate gorges, the Barranca del Cobre is Mexico's greatest natural spectacle, a highland-to-canyon plunge through Rarámuri pine forests, mission ruins, and 1,800 m vertical walls of copper-tinted rock.
IconicCrossing the Khardung LaLadakh has more tricks up its sleeve than the drive in from Srinagar or Manali, a highway seemingly built from rock and ice struggles north across the 5,359 m Khardung La, said to be the world's highest motorable pass (at a similar elevation to Everest Base Camp). On the far side the Nubra Valley is a piece of suspended animation: a sandy basin dotted with Buddhist monasteries, sea buckthorn thickets, and occasional dromedary camels.
NotableDili to BaliboNot for the faint-hearted, this trail bike or 4WD-only road winds through small, pretty villages and very green countryside to Maliana (capital of Bobonaro), then a short hike to the old Portuguese fort at Balibo. Falintil used this road extensively in the Indonesian invasion of 1975; the five journalists known as the Balibo Five were killed here. The Australian Defence Forces considered it too dangerous to use.
LegendaryJourney to the CaucasusGeorgia's compact masterpiece, from the ancient capital Tbilisi through Mtskheta's living-museum monasteries, north on the Georgian Military Highway through the Dariali Gorge to the Kazbegi plateau (Gergeti Trinity Church floating above the clouds on a 2,170m promontory, with Mount Kazbek's 5,047m cone behind), and east through the Alazani Valley's vineyards to Sighnaghi's medieval wine town. The birthplace of wine, Christianity, and Georgian polyphony.
NotableKazakhstan Steppe HighwayAcross the world's largest landlocked country from the former capital Almaty to the space-age new capital Astana, through the Kazakh steppe's infinite flatness, past Lake Balkhash's bisected chemistry (fresh water in the west, salt in the east), and the Soviet-era coal city of Karaganda with its extraordinary Gulag history.
NotableMansfield to MarysvilleVictoria's High Country gravel road from Mansfield through Woods Point to Marysville, through remote forest and mountain ranges on unsealed roads that venture into country where 4WD clearance is an advantage. The section between Mansfield and Woods Point feels further from civilisation than its distance from Melbourne suggests.
NotableSeoul to Busan OverlanderThe great Korean south-north drive from Seoul through the ancient Silla capital of Gyeongju to Busan's dynamic port, palaces, UNESCO temple complexes, fortress walls above autumn maples, and Korea's best food city at the end. The country's cultural heartland threaded together in one journey along the old royal road.
NotableTanami TrackOne of Australia's great remote desert crossings, a corrugated dirt road through Warlpiri and Kukatja country from Alice Springs to Halls Creek. Red spinifex plains, a 900m meteorite crater, and near-complete solitude.