Northern Cape
ExpertRichtersveld Eksteenfontein to Sanddrift — Orange River Desert Canyon Rim via Helskloof Pass and Groot Derm
'Hell's Gorge' into Africa's river canyon.
Surface: Gravel
China
DifficultSichuan–Tibet Highway — Litang to Batang via the Tibetan Plateau High Spine and Haizi Mountain Divide (G318 High Plateau Segment)
Yak country, prayer flags, and 4,700m passes.
Møre og Romsdal
ModerateTrollstigen — Åndalsnes to Valldal via the Troll’s Ladder Mountain Road
Eleven hairpins above a waterfall. Norway's best.
Australia
ModerateGibb River Road — Galvans Gorge to Imintji via King Leopold Ranges Western Approach (Dry Season Classic)
Corrugations, boabs, and the Kimberley gate.
USA
ModerateTrans-America Trail — Lewisburg to Seneca Rocks via the Allegheny Highland Divide and Pocahontas County Backcountry
Appalachian mud and the fins of Seneca Rocks.
Australia
DifficultGibb River Road — Home Valley Station to El Questro via Pentecost River Crossing and Cockburn Range (Wet Season Approach, Dry Season Classic)
The Pentecost crossing earns its reputation.
Drâa-Tafilalet
ModeratePiste de Tichka — Marrakech to Ouarzazate via Tizi n’Tichka High Atlas Pass
Morocco's roof road to the edge of the Sahara.
New Mexico
ModerateTrans-America Trail — Hachita to Lordsburg via the New Mexico Boot Heel Desert Flats
Emptiest corner of America. No mercy, no crowds.
Japan
ModerateTateyama Kurobe Alpine Route — Murodo to Ogizawa via the Northern Japan Alps Snow Corridor
Snow walls 20m high. Japan's alpine impossible.
Alaska
ExpertTatshenshini River Road — Haines to Dry Bay via Dalton Post and the Alsek River Wilderness (Inner Corridor Traverse)
Gulf of Alaska or bust — no bail-outs.