TOP 5 ROAD TRIPS THROUGH THE MOST FANTASTIC DESTINATIONS

The name itself sounds dreamlike. Beyond the labels found in tourist brochures, travel experts recommend a very personal trip that will reveal a new side of places like Khiva, Bukhara and Samarkand. By car or motorcycle, the adventure road goes through Central Asia, crossing Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. You might simply visit the Eastern cities of One Thousand and One Nights.

Great falls, steep slopes, impressive cascades, deep fjords, and fertile valleys… all of this is Norway’s Trollstigen. The 106-kilometer route, located in the west of the country, is made of 9% slope and 11% sharp turns. Everything around it showcases splendor and majesty, starting with the names of the peaks surrounding the road: ‘Kongen’ (the king), ‘Dronningen’ (the queen) and ‘Bispen’ (the bishop). Opened in 1936, the road connects Trollstigfoten and Stigerøra, and includes authentic natural spectacles along the road. And of course, the expertise of the engineers and builders is also a nice surprise, including the Geiranger Fjord, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Verdon Gorge road, halfway between Provence, the French Riviera and the southern French Alps, takes us into one of the most impressive canyons in the world, where the steep, almost vertical walls contrast with the spectacular turquoise waters. This road trip is a great way to see sharp curves, waterfalls of up to 700 meters, and unique landscapes. It is also known as ‘the Corniche Sublime’, is 140 kilometers long and starts in Castellane (French Riviera) if we travel from the east or in Moustiers-Sainte-Marie (Luberon) from the west. In any case, the route is circular and also allows stops at Moustiers (it’s recommended visit the 12th century Notre Dame de Beauvoir chapel), Castellane, Rougon and La Palud-sur-Verdon.

This highway leads to one of the most impressive landscapes across the United States: a sea of ​​red canyons that looks like a setting for a movie about Mars. The Zion National Park in Utah is a road that can be crossed by car or public transport (arranged by the park so visitors can travel in the busiest months), and includes nine stops so that you don’t miss out the most incredible views nor the starting points of the main hiking routes, such as The Narrows, a gorge that runs through the Virgin River, or Angels Landing, an elevated viewpoint that offers 360-degree views of the park.

The already iconic Route 1, also known as the Ring Road, is a route that surrounds the entirety of Iceland and allows you to take a look at most of its attractions. This 1,340-kilometer road trip is a good chance to get closer to the Icelandic nature; it starts and ends in Reykjavik. Glaciers, volcanoes, waterfalls, black sand beaches and otherworldly landscapes are amongst the most notorious natural attractions. In addition to the main ring, an extension through the Snaefellsnes Peninsula allows adding another 400 kilometers of natural wonders, in addition to the opportunity to watch whales, admire puffin colonies or visit the Snæfellsjökull volcano.