Our Top 5 Wildest Roads in the World
Roads are designed to connect people and places, but some have to contend with conditions that are anything but ordinary. From crocodile-filled waterways and sheer mountain drops to roads that disappear beneath the tide, these five routes show just how unpredictable the environment around our infrastructure can be.
Cahills Crossing, Australia
In Kakadu National Park, Cahills Crossing, or Kamung Injdjinakka in the local language, is famous for its high-water flow and abundance of saltwater crocodiles. The tidal crossing is impassable during the wet season and should only be attempted at low tide during the dry season.
At the right time, 50 or more crocodiles can be seen within a 400-metre stretch of river, thanks to the abundance of fish brought in by the tides.
It is also the only road access between Kakadu National Park and western Arnhem Land, making the crossing an important link despite its challenging conditions.
Skippers Canyon, New Zealand
Unpaved and carved by miners more than 140 years ago, Skippers Canyon Road is both beautiful and terrifying. The narrow, winding road takes you 17.4km from Coronet Peak Road to Skippers Campground, with most of the route being one-way and dangerous drop-offs extending several hundred metres below.
Built during the gold rush between 1883 and 1890, the road was carved out of solid schist rock by hand.
Yungas Road, Bolivia
Known as ‘Death Road’, Yungas Road is considered one of the most dangerous roads in the world. In the early twentieth century, nearly 300 people lost their lives every year on the 64km single-lane road.
Bolivia even changed its traffic laws for the road, requiring drivers to keep to the left so they could more easily navigate the drop-off.
Paraguayan prisoners of war carved the road out of the cliff by hand in the 1930s. They worked in constant rain, and the number of men who died during construction was never recorded.
The road climbs to La Cumbre Pass at approximately 4,650 metres before plunging to around 1,200 metres at Coroico in less than 64km. Drops beside the road reach 600 metres, with no guardrails.
The Passage du Gois, France
If it’s flooded, forget it. Especially when that ‘flood’ is the rising tide of the Atlantic Ocean.
Twice a day, the tide recedes enough to reveal a cobblestone causeway connecting the mainland in the Vendée region to the island of Noirmoutier. When the water returns, the 4.2km passage is once again covered by up to four metres of water.
The first known crossing dates back to 843, when prisoners escaped from the Île d’Her and returned on foot when the tide receded.
Taroko Gorge Road, Taiwan
Carved through the marble cliffs of Taroko Gorge, Taiwan’s Central Cross-Island Highway is a remarkable piece of infrastructure, but it is also a road that has to contend with an extremely active natural environment.
The Liwu River has carved its way through the marble over time, creating the steep gorge that the highway follows. The surrounding geology is also prone to landslides, while Taiwan’s high seismic activity means earthquakes can trigger rockfalls and rockslides along the route.
When nature sets the rules
These roads might look very different, but they have one thing in common: the environment plays a major role in how they are used.
Whether it’s a road disappearing beneath the tide, a river shared with dozens of crocodiles or a route carved directly into a mountain, they demonstrate that infrastructure doesn’t always get the final say.
For those working in civil infrastructure, that interaction between engineering, environment and community is part of what makes the industry so interesting. It shows that, sometimes, the challenge is building a road that can withstand the world around it.
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