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Topics: World News, Travel
Joe Harker
There are many contenders for the title of 'world's most dangerous road', but the Karakoram Highway might just take that dubious honour.
The Karakoram Highway is an 810 mile long stretch of road connecting China to Pakistan, though after learning what dangers lie in wait on this dangerous road it might be much safer to find another way around.
Killing more than 1,000 people before it even opened, this road can take a claim to being the most dangerous in the world as motorists have to navigate thin roads and sheer deadly drops.
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On top of that is the risk of a landslide, falling rocks tumbling down the cliffs can land on cars, cause blockages that only the most deft drivers could safely get around or even sweep cars right off the road.
Even if none of this were the case the thin road is one of the highest in the world as it passes through the Karakoram mountain range, meaning even the slightest mistake can be punished by death.
Occasionally referred to as the 'Eighth Wonder of the World', the road is hard to admire when you're spending the drive constantly trying not to die.
Built by the governments of Pakistan and China, the highway took almost 20 years to construct and claimed the lives of 810 Pakistani workers along with 200 from China.
With over 1,000 people killed before it was even completed in 1978, the Karakoram Highway has since proved to be a deathtrap for many unfortunate motorists.
Incredibly, the highway has become a popular tourist destination for adventurers and thrill seekers who want to see what it's like to travel on one of the world's most dangerous roads.
The road is so prone to landslides that in 2010 a serious one blocked a nearby river for months and eventually formed a new lake.
Heavy snow can shut down the road in some places during the winter, while monsoon rains in July and August can cause even more landslides.
Not quite getting the message from Mother Nature to stay the hell away from this particular part of the world, the Chinese and Pakistan governments are planning to renovate the road.
Perhaps realising that an incredibly high and thin road which often gets landslides is just going to get more people killed, they intend to make it three times wider.
Then again that could just mean more traffic to be bombarded by landslides and get in the way of other cars.
I think this is one part of the world I can do with staying away from forever.
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