5 facts about the most dangerous road in India (the death road); not for the faint hearted

Are you up for adventure? If yes is your answer, then think twice because what I am about to tell you, you might want to change your decision. I am a killer for thrills and this experience has surely changed my entire perspective of adventure. I have covered one of the nine most dangerous roads in India, the road between Kishtwar and Killar.

If someone talks about the death road of India, do not think twice, it is definitely this one. Calling it one of the scariest roads In India would be an injustice, it is surely the most dangerous road in the world. The road is cramped up tightly that it is impossible for more than one vehicle to pass through it at a time. Extending from Jammu and Kashmir to the Himachal, this path is filled with rocks and soil. The famous Pangi Valley can be approached via this road. When you go past this road, you will see how the two sides of the road are different from each other and will surely give you goose bumps.

Any wrong move and you might fall into the river Chandrabhaga which is approximately 1000ft below from the point where you’ll be falling. Now you know why I said you will rethink your decision of wanting an adventure. This trail is surely not for the faint hearted.

Here are 5 facts that you need to know about this death trail

If you have vertigo, just run away as going for this trip will be a bad decision. If you are a daredevil like I am, then looking over the edges would be slightly less disturbing. Well you will ask me why it can be disturbing. Imagine standing on a road and if you look on the sides you can just see a drastic vertical drop which might be like hundreds of metres down. Exactly! It can numb you, especially when there are no guard rails and only stones and gravels on the road. If you are not good with driving, then do not attempt to go along this, as you will surely fall into the death trap. The road runs along the river, Chenab and is a sector of the NH26.

Reaching the starting point of this road in Himachal Pradesh is no big deal. The road is the key point to reach the base camp to a famous mountain, the Kishtwar Kailash. For reaching the road one has to come from the West and take the way over the Rohtang Pass in Manali to the Valley of Chenab and finally succeeding the Darang Valley, one can reach the base camp. The way up can be a really bad experience if you have breathing problems, as scarcity of oxygen is added in this trail. The last part of the road till the ascent is really scary, it might seem that I am exaggerating, but being travelled the road I know how deadly things can get.

If you want to test yourself, your fears, your strength, just go for this thriller trail. There can be no bigger test of your skills and your emotions than this one. If you claim yourself to be an amazing driver, go along and test yourself in that category too. The starting point of this road is itself 8,280 ft above sea level and it begins from Killar, which is located in Lahaul and the spiti district in Himachal Pradesh and the road ends in Kishtwar, Jammu and Kashmir which is a village, around 5,374 ft above the sea level.

The road as I have mentioned above, is pretty dry and full of loose soil, hence when it rains, you can imagine how muddy it might get. Mud adds the danger of slipping as well. Frequent landslides occur in this area and hence after any storm accompanied by rain, going through this path can end up risking your life. There are some spaces which are so narrow which might just make it hard for more than one vehicle to pass at a time. And let us not get into how difficult it gets when darkness ascends.

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This route is not for everyone. If you have a faint heart, please do not go ahead. I am not discouraging you but the risk level is really high. At one point of time even I contemplated my decision of going along this path. Vertigo, claustrophobia and breathing problems along with anxiety and fear can lead to a lot of unwanted accidents. The whole path does not have enough guard rails which makes it even harder to take turns.

The Khillar-khistwar road is undoubtedly the death road of India. Apart from this one, there are other deadly roads in the world as well. Here is a list of nine most dangerous roads in India:

1. Gata loops

This road consists of 21 hairpin loops and leads to the highest motorable road in Ladakh.

2. Koli hill road

Situated in the state of Tamil Nadu this road has a shocking number of 70 continuous hairpin bends.

3. Zigzag road in Sikkim

This road passes along three levels that spin across a mountain valley in Sikkim.

4. National highway 22

This road is very scary and spans for over 459kms, featured in different series as well.

5. Zoji la pass

This passes located on the NH1 and leads one from Srinagar to Leh.

6. Sangla road

This road in the Himachal is so dangerous that one can fall right into nowhere with a wrong step.

7. Bum la pass

This pass is located at an elevation of above 16 ft on the mountain ranges of Arunachal Pradesh, it is really deadly and has sharp edges and roadways.

8. Rohtang Pass

Even though this pass is a great holiday destination for Indians, it is very dangerous due to the numerous landslides.

9. Leh-Manali highway

Last but definitely not the least we have this highway which is prone to landslides and suffers a lot of navigation problems during winters.

If you love the thrill and danger that these roadways offer in abundant measure, then go ahead and experience it yourself. The adrenaline rush that these Himalayan roads in India give you will seldom be found elsewhere!

Rebecca John