What is the longest road in the world ?
When you love driving, you want the road to be endless! This article brings together the longest roads in the world: they are not endless but still, some are almost.
Some of these routes cross several countries and even several continents and are therefore several thousand kilometers. If you are looking for long road trip ideas, just read the article!
We let you discover here the 10 longest roads on the earth:
10. Tarim Desert Road in China
About 550 kilometers (340 miles) through China.
This road is situated in China and passes through the Taklamakan Desert in the Xinjiang Region.
If the length of the road seems short, the feeling of being far away from civilization will be there. Indeed this road doesn’t cross any town or village and it will be just you and the desert. It’s the longest road in the world without crossing any civilization signs.
9. Road 66 in the USA
About 3500 kilometers (2175 miles) through the USA.
Road 66 is maybe not the longest road in the US but it is definitely the most iconic one!
The road traverses the country from Chicago in Illinois and goes to Santa Monica in California.
Many people choose this road for their road trips in the US because it gives a great overview of the country and allows travelers to discover many different areas, states, and towns along the route. It’s indeed one of the longest drivable road in the world.
8. Road 40 in Argentina, a long road through the country
About 5000 kilometers (3100 miles) through Argentina.
This road links La Quiaca near the Bolivian border with La Quiaca in the south of the country. This road is a perfect road trip idea if you want to discover Argentina from the south to the north!
Indeed, the road offers a great diversity of landscapes. On the itinerary, you will climb a mountain pass that is higher than 5000 meters (16404 feet) above the sea level, cross glaciers, vineyards but also deserts and cactus forests.
Also, this road is a mix of Asphalted and non-paved roads (only 30% is asphalted). It’s one of the longest drivable road in the world.
7. Road 20 in the USA
About 5400 kilometers (3350 miles) through the USA.
Road 20 is as iconic as road 66 is in the United States, it crosses all the country from east coast to west coast. It starts in Boston and ends in Newport.
You will need a lot of time to drive this road and enjoy all the steps on this road like Lake Michigan or the Yellow Stone National Park! It’s one of the longest highway in the world.
6. Tongsan Expressway in China
About 5700 kilometers (3500 miles) through China.
This road passes through well known Chinese regions, and you will discover amazing and various landscapes on your way: forests, mountains, and rice terraces.
Today the Tongsan Expressway (also known as the national road 010) is composed of the different roads so it’s quite difficult to find the itinerary.
Here is a map which roughly traces the route:
5. Trans-Canada Highway, the longest road in Canada
About 8000 kilometers (5000 miles) trough Canada.
You will need several days to cross the country from Victoria on the Pacific coast to Saint-Jean de Terre-Neuve on the Atlantic coast. This road crosses the 10 provinces of Canada and the main cities: Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Regina, Winnipeg, Ottawa, Montréal, and Québec.
The Trans-Canadian road passes through mountains, lakes, rivers, canyons, and also other dope landscapes!
4. Trans-Siberian road in Russia, a road through two continents.
About 11000 kilometers (6800 miles) crossing Russia.
Russians started to build this road at the end of the 19th century. You will drive from the capital of the Tsars, Saint Petersburg on the baltic sea to Vladivostok on the Pacific coast!
One the most mythical road in the world, you will pass Moscow, the Oural mountains, then in Asia, you’ll drive near the Lake Baikal and near the Mongolian and Chinese border.
On your way, you’ll find big plains, forests, mountains, steppes, rivers and other natural treasures.
3. Highway 1 in Australia, the longest road without interruption
About 14500 kilometers (9000 miles) around Australia.
Highway 1 makes the full turn off the country so, it is the longest national road in the world! The road crosses different landscapes: cities, forests, deserts. It will be an amazing experience!
You will drive through the main cities of the country such as Adelaïde, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Cairn, Darwin, and Perth.
It is one of the longest roads in the world that you can drive without any interruption.
2. Asian Highway 1, an utopia road
About 20000 kilometers (12500 miles) through all Asian continent.
This a mythical itinerary that is quite a utopia, indeed you’ll need to drive through such countries as North Korea or Afganistan that is impossible today. You can still travel a portion of this road.
1. Pan-American Highway, the longest road in the World.
About 30000 kilometers (18600 miles) through all the American continent.
Also known as the Trans-American, it is the longest road trip in the world and the perfect itinerary if you are planning a long road trip. You will start in Prudhoe Bay in Alaska and will drive across North, Central, and then South America to Quellón in Chilli.
There is only one passage in Panama where there are tropical forests and swamps where you can’t drive so, you should “transfer” your car or bike on the other side of the Darien Gap.
As you just read in this article the 10th longest roads in the world are located everywhere on earth and on all continents. So if you are looking for the road trip of your life you know now where you can pick up one!
You can also read our article about one of the widest road in the world.
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Discover our article about the most known roads in the world: click here or see our road map!
Pictures credit: By Pravit – Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3575961 / Par Dietmar Rabich, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=30298357 / By Dario Alpern – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5406542 / Par Fredddie — USA map(GIS data), roads (GIS data), maps to help locate the route in GIS data, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12499286 / google maps / palestrina55 flickr / By Evad37Original author of GIS data:© Commonwealth of Australia (Geoscience Australia) 2013. – Own work;GIS data sources: “GEODATA TOPO 5M 2004” from Geoscience Australia, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=33124065 / By Created by en:User:Seaweege and released to PD – Own work, Copyrighted free use, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1503793
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