You'll get dizzy just looking at the Three Level Zigzag road, allegedly the most zig-zagging road in the world. Set in India's Sikkim state within the lower Himalayan mountains, the curvy road has a staggering amount of hairpin turns and sheer drops along the way too. It goes from the village of Dzuluk and climbs up the mountain to Thambi View Point, reaching an altitude of 11,200 feet (3,413m). 

Made famous by the TV show Ice Road Truckers, the James W. Dalton Highway in the wilds of northern Alaska is one of the US’s most deadly roads. Over its 414-mile stretch, the long and lonely gravel road presents a gruelling drive with numerous perils in store for those who brave it: fog, snow, potholes, bears, thundering trucks and fatigue among them. Be sure to go prepared as the highway has the longest stretch of un-serviced road on the North American continent – 240 miles. 

An old hand-carved mining route, Skippers Canyon Road offers those behind the wheel stunning scenery and scary driving. The 14.2 mile gravel road near Queenstown on New Zealand's South Island was built in 1888 to give mining companies access to the upper Shotover River, which the road overhangs in places. It’s narrow, bendy and peppered with sheer drops. Unsurprisingly, rental cars are not usually insured to take on this daredevil drive, so go with a pro. 

Remote, majestic and really tricky to get to, the Tusheti region is located on the northern slopes of the Great Caucasus Mountains. The only way to get there is by taking on the treacherous Abano Pass, a narrow, steep, winding and unpaved mountain route leading from Pashvili up to the village of Omalo. As well as facing oncoming traffic, your drive could be hampered by mist and the odd waterfall flowing across the track. If you want to tackle this high-altitude drive, be sure to visit from late May to early October as it’s closed for the rest of the year.

There’s good reason North Yungas Road is commonly known as Death Road. Before a newer and safer road was built between La Paz and Coroico, there were hundreds of deaths here a year. Bolivia’s most formidable route is notorious for its many and inherent dangers: it’s extremely narrow, has steep curves, and over-hanging rocks. There are no guardrails to protect against the steep cliffside plunges and landslides and tumbling rocks are commonplace. Add to that the road is now a hot spot for groups of cyclists. 

Ominously known as the Road of Bones, the Kolyma Highway connects the isolated town of Magadan on the Pacific Coast with Yakutsk (one of the coldest cities on earth) in far-east Russia. Construction began in 1932, but its moniker remembers the thousands of Gulag prisoners who died finishing the road in the frigid tundra during Stalin’s era in the 1950s. The highway goes through some of Siberia’s harshest but most incredible scenery and is a punishing journey year-round. Although winter brings extreme weather, the road is more dangerous in summer due to rain and mud.  

Striking through the stunning Kimberley Plateau in Western Australia, the 410-mile Gibb River Road is a tough but beguiling drive. A combination of unsealed and corrugated surfaces, vision-obscuring red dust and a series of floodways, creeks and river crossings make this remote road a no-go for non-experienced drivers. During the wet season it's impassable. Not to mention, if you happen to break down the searing heat, vast distances between facilities, and crocodiles will open up a whole host of new problems. Pictured is the Pentecost River crossing.

It might be less than a mile but driving along the terrifying Guoliang Tunnel will feel like one of the longest drives in your life. The rocky tunnel was carved into China's Taihang Mountains by 13 villagers in the 1970s who wanted a link to the rest of the Huixian, Xinxiang, Henan Province of China. Previously there had been only been steep, narrow and dangerous stairs from Guoliang. Uneven and twisty, the tunnel has various “windows” where you can peer down the mountain...if you dare.

When it comes to dramatic landscapes, Norway has it covered. It’s also got dramatic drives nailed too. Trollstigen is a beauty of road, sending drivers around 11 hairpin bends as it climbs up to the summit of Stigrøra (2,756 feet/840m above sea level). The road passes through the mountain in sections and across the Stigfossen waterfall over a stone bridge. Be sure to visit the viewpoints at the top to gaze down the mountain and what you’ve achieved. Due to adverse weather the road is closed in winter.

You won’t want to find yourself on this terrifying bridge in Maryland during bad weather. Stretching 4.3 miles across Chesapeake Bay, on stormy days cars are buffeted by strong winds as they make their way across the choppy water. Add to that poor visibility and the reassuring sight of land is often obscured. Some people are so scared of driving across Chesapeake Bay Bridge that there are dedicated taxi services to ferry people across in their own cars. Discover more beautiful bridges around the world.

When it comes to challenging road trips, it’s hard to beat a journey along the Karakoram Highway. The long-distance road connects China and Pakistan across the Karakoram mountain range. With high elevations, tight bends, precipitous drops and a risk of landslides, flooding and heavy snowfalls to boot you’re in for one white-knuckle ride. But the scenery is out of this world.

Great drives: more of the world's most stunning roads

If that’s not quite tough enough for you, take a detour along the Fairy Meadows Road, or Nanga Parbat Pass, which goes off the Karakoram Highway in Pakistan’s Gilgit-Baltistan region. The steep, gravelly and extremely narrow mountain “road” leads up to the village of Tato at the base of Nanga Parbat mountain. There are no barriers so one wrong move could be disastrous. 

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This spectacular road in the Tianmen Mountain National Park is as beautiful as it is deadly. Snaking around the Tianmen Mountain (Heaven Gate Mountain) for seven miles, it boasts 99 nerve-wracking bends as well as plenty of precipitous drops. Unsurprisingly, driving up the hair-raising road in China's Hunan Province has become a big tourist draw.

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