Sacaycacha-Pallasca Road
Carretera Sacaycacha-Pallasca is one of the scariest roads in the world. Located in the Pallasca Province of the Ancash region in Peru, the road has countless hazards: narrow, severe drops, very steep, without protections and a terrible weather.
The road is 17.8km long, with 100 turns. It links the small towns of Sacaycacha and Pallasca. The road is asphalted but extremely narrow, impassable for 2 cars at the same time. It’s a single lane 2 ways road. Stay away if you're scared of heights due the severe drops off (some of them higher than 600m). The weather in the area is terrible. Avalanches, heavy snowfalls and landslides can occur anytime, being extremely dangerous due to frequent patches of ice. It has a well-deserved reputation for being dangerous because of unpredictable snowstorms and blizzards, and driving under these conditions, can be extremely challenging.
The road is very steep. Starting from Sacaycacha (at an elevation of 1.850m above the sea level), the road is 17.8 km long. Over this distance, the elevation gain is 1.234 meters. The average percentage is 6.93% but the maximum slope is 10.2 %. This road tests the skill, and courage, of any driver. It’s definitely not for anyone suffering from vertigo or a fear of landslides. Only the suicidal, the insane, or the paid-to-do-this should ever drive down. One mistake and it's a free fall to your death.