Provided you have some sense of direction, it’s pretty difficult to get lost in the UK. Take a wrong turn here, and before you know it you’ll come across a handy road sign or helpful local to point you in the right direction once more.
Travel further afield however, and your chances of getting lost will greatly increase. Some countries are home to some worryingly remote roads, where even the most map-savvy would struggle to find their way back to civilisation.
Here, we’ll explore 6 of the most far-flung roads in the world where you definitely wouldn’t want to make a wrong turn.
1. Longyearbyen, Norway
If, for whatever reason, you find yourself on Norway’s Svalbard Island anytime soon, try not to get lost on Longyearbyen — a strip of tarmac that comes within touching distance of the North Pole. If you lose your way here, don’t be tempted to get out of your car; polar bears outnumber locals in this lonely part of the world.
2. Trans Taiga, Canada
Check your fuel gauge carefully before setting out on the Trans Taiga highway in Northern Canada, because the next fuel station isn’t for another 375km. In fact, it’s best if you pack lunch too, as you won’t find many cafes by the side of this country-spanning freeway. What you will find however is some of the most beautiful landscapes in all of Canada.
3. The Atacama Highway, Chile
Slap bang in the middle of the driest desert on earth, where not even bacteria can survive, is the Atacama Highway. Stretching for 600 miles across Chile, this seemingly endless road is about as off-the-beaten-track as it gets, and should only be attempted by those really into their adventuring. Trust us — you don’t want to get lost out here without the proper equipment.
4. Dalton Highway, Alaska
Thanks to its abundance of oilrigs, Alaska is covered in lonely highways leading to pretty much nothing — as is the case with the Dalton Highway, a 414-mile road that’s covered in ice for much of the year. Stray onto this particularly hazardous freeway, and you’ll find nothing but ice, snow and hardened truck drivers making their way to and from the oil fields.
5. Eyre Highway, Australian Outback
If you’ve ever wanted to drive across Australia, do it in style on the Eyre Highway, which spans Australia’s brutal Nullabor Plain. Most people choose to fly from one side of the outback to the other — and for good reason. This is one of the country’s most inhospitable regions, home to nothing but blistering heat, deadly snakes and the odd kangaroo. Like most of the roads on this shortlist, drivers should approach the Eyre Highway with caution.
6. Kolyma Highway, Russia
As the world’s largest country, you’d expect Russia to have some long, isolated roads — and you’d be right. Of all the country’s inaccessible roads, the Kolyma Highway is by far the most infamous. Stretching from Magadan to Yakutsk, this desolate road crosses several time zones and is home to just a scattering of service stations and shops. Choose to drive from one end to the other, and you’ll be able to count passing cars on your fingers.
Whether you’re planning a trip to one of these remote roads or just want to get safely from A to B, Prestone’s range of car care and maintenance products are developed to work in all extremes. To find out more, visit the Prestone website.
Images sourced via Flickr Creative Commons and Wikimedia Commons. Credit: Bernt Rostad, peupleloup, Pato Novoa, Mike Juvrud, Chris Fithall, smerikal, Laika ac from USA [CC BY-SA 2.0].