Not for Beginners: 5 Indian Road Trips That Can Challenge Even Experienced Drivers

New Delhi: When talking about a holiday on wheels, many envision pictures of landscapes in the hills, wide open spaces and memorable experiences. However, there are enough all-rounder drivers around who find some of the roads in India to be quite tough to drive on as well as offer great scenic beauty to enjoy! 

Here is the list a few of the roads that require extreme care, experience and enthusiasm to drive on!!

Manali-Leh Highway 

The Manali-Leh highway is the road that sums up the excitement and challenging road travels. This highway winds itself through the snow-capped mountains and across the valleys of the Himalayas, by many is considered to be the holy grail of prospective travelers. But it offers significant challenges because of low oxygen levels at altitude, rough and at times, bumpy roads along with constantly changing weather conditions. The lack of petrol stations along this route can also make long-distance driving quite difficult! 

Srinagar-Leh Highway 

The Srinagar-Leh highway has an excellent reputation for offering a very scenic route for travel. However, the main difficulty in this route is provided for travelers by the Zoji-Pass. Narrow winding roads and steep sided ravines, along with the very real possibility of rock slides makes this a very dangerous place to drive. 

Kinnaur-Spiti Route in Himachal Pradesh 

The Kinnaur-Spiti route offers an equally amazing experience as well. Located along the Himalayan mountain range in Himachal Pradesh, this route provides stunning views of long, rugged mountains and deep valleys. The roads in some parts of Kinnaur are known for being narrow mountain roads that wind along the massive rock faces.

Zuluk Loop Road, Sikkim

The road around Zuluk (in Sikkim) has many sharp turns and some areas with very steep inclines and lots of switchbacks which makes it a challenging road to drive for novice drivers who are not used to drive on mountain roads or for new drivers. The conditions on this road can change quickly. 

Sach Pass route 

Another challenging mountain road is the Sach Pass road located in Himachal Pradesh. The Rocky Mountains around Sach Pass can be muddy, rocky and wet due to natural weather and climatic changes often in just minutes. Driving on these types of roads makes them difficult to drive and, as a result, it is important that anyone planning to drive these types of roads be properly prepared in advance, such as the condition of the driving vehicle, any weather information that would affect road conditions, and safety precautions (to avoid possible accidents).