Not For The Faint-Hearted! These Are The Most Dangerous Roads In India

It¡¯s hard to grasp just how beautiful India actually is, unless you have been lucky enough to visit or ¨C even luckier ¨C if you actually live in the beautiful country.

It's a land of otherworldly landscapes for travel - from stunning lakes and endless rolling plains to the snow-capped Himalayas in the north. It's also home to wild festivals, romantic mausoleums and some of the most hectic cities in the world.

India is one country that has some of the best roads in the world. However, the country is also home to some of the most dangerous terrains on the planet, and these roads can be nightmarish if you are unprepared - even the blink of an eye can mean the difference between life and death.

Let us look at the scariest routes in India that are the ultimate test in driving dexterity, and have become infamous for their sheer drops, narrow passes, rough conditions and unforgiving terrain.

1. Zoji La Pass

Zoji Pass certainly is one of the most scenic routes in India. The road that winds through the highest mountain range in the world has to be somewhat dangerous to travel, though.

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Since it¡¯s a dirt road with no guardrails or traffic signs and where landslides are a continual problem, it can be a nightmare for travellers. Moreover, the road zigzags among craggy peaks at over 11,000 feet at its highest elevation.

Connecting the towns of Srinagar and Leh in the western Himalayan mountain range, Zoji Pass is generally closed during the winter, when 50-foot snowdrifts make it impassable. Mercifully for drivers on the road, Zoji Pass is only about 9 kilometers long. By the way, it was originally built in 1947 and first used for military purposes.

Also read: Work On Zoji La Tunnel Which Will Give All-Year Access To Ladakh, To Be Flagged Off By PM Modi

2. Rohtang Pass

Rohtang Pass, sometimes also referred to as 'Ground of Corpses Pass', is a high mountain pass at an elevation of over 13,000-ft above the sea level, located on the eastern Pir Panjal Range of the Himalayas.

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The pass is traversed by the Leh-Manali Highway. Every new season, the road crew has to struggle with their GPS to dig out the road buried under the layers of snow. However, massive and deadly landslides continue, giving the pass its name, which translates to ground of corpses.

Rohtang pass is usually open from May to November and encounters heavy traffic jams. The road is filled with heavy snow and gets covered with slush which makes it even trickier to drive on. Furthermore, the road is covered in dense fog for most of the year, and that further makes the task difficult for the travellers.

3. Killar to Pangi Road

Of all the dangerous roads in India, Killar to Pangi in Kishtwar, is considered the most treacherous. This hair-raising road is only for people who love to drive in the mountains and have nerves of steel. Open only during the summer months, this rocky, gravelly road is about 70 miles long.

A six-mile stretch of it is particularly hazardous; rocky overhangs look as if they could fall upon the roadway at any moment. The road was built hundreds of years ago by local villagers and has not been repaired over the decades.

Only wide enough for one jeep at a time and having no guardrails, this dirt-and-gravel road is terrifyingly unstable in places. One false move by a driver could send a vehicle 2,000 feet down a vertical cliff. This road is so frightening that it¡¯s hard to watch videos of people driving on it.

4. Nathu La Pass

Standing at an impressive elevation of over 14,000-ft, Nathu La is located on the Indo-China border in the East Sikkim district. This road becomes risky to travel through during rain and snowfall when its condition severely deteriorates and landslides and avalanches are far too common.

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However, even in summer months, the road should only be traversed by seasoned motorists. Those with motion sickness should steer clear; this road has many twists and turns that can make anyone¡¯s stomach turn. Though you will pass by pristine Tsomgo Lake, it will make you wonder whether the risk is really worth this reward.

Apart from the heavy snowfall and the hazardous avalanches, the scarcity of oxygen is an added threat. The fact that Nathu La Pass is regarded as one of the highest motorable passes in the world should tell you everything about the task at hand for those travelling through such a stretch.

Also read: Atal Tunnel: What World's Longest High-Altitude Road Tunnel Looks Like After Inauguration

6. Sach Pass

Connecting the beautiful Chamba Valley with the Pangi Valley of Himachal Pradesh, Sach pass is one of the toughest roads to navigate. Only open between June and October, this road is extremely narrow and completely unmetalled.

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And the cherry on top of this perilous cake? The sheer drop on one side leading straight into the freezing waters of the Chenab River. On the way, one will need to steer through several water crossings and absolutely nightmarish road conditions.

Located at an altitude of 14,500 feet, this mountain pass is covered with snow that makes the travel more difficult and dangerous. The narrow and unmetalled road adds more to the risk. This road is majorly used by the Indian Army.

7. Khardung La Pass

Not only is Khardung La Pass one of the most difficult routes to cover, but is also the highest drivable road in India. This route stretches from Leh region to Kashgar in China.

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Even though the Indian Army-staffed Border Roads Organisation (BRO) had worked hard to make a road which is being used by thousands of tourists every year, you just can't strike it off from the list of India's most dangerous roads -after all, it is the highest motorable road in the world at an altitude of 18,380 feet.

And with that, come its own dangers - the air being thin, the weather being cold, and oxygen levels being low.

Also read: 13 Most Dangerous And Extreme Railways In The World