Data study
The most road above 2,000 metres
Not just the highest point, but how much of each road actually runs in the thin air above 2,000 metres, measured from the elevation profile. Leh–Manali Highway holds 258.6 miles up there. Free to cite with a link.
| # | Road | Country | Above 2,000 m | Summit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leh–Manali Highway |  India | 258.6 mi | 5,266 m |
| 2 | Pamir Highway |  Tajikistan | 192.8 mi | 4,235 m |
| 3 | Duku Highway |  China | 187.8 mi | 3,417 m |
| 4 | Sichuan–Tibet Highway | China | 174.9 mi | 4,437 m |
| 5 | Spiti Valley Road | India | 170.9 mi | 4,535 m |
| 6 | Karakoram Highway |  Pakistan | 119.1 mi | 4,703 m |
| 7 | Avenue of the Volcanoes |  Ecuador | 112.8 mi | 3,585 m |
| 8 | Abra Patapampa |  Peru | 88.8 mi | 4,870 m |
| 9 | Khardung La | India | 68.9 mi | 5,338 m |
| 10 | El Espinazo del Diablo |  Mexico | 60.2 mi | 2,815 m |
| 11 | Tioga Pass |  United States | 56.8 mi | 3,036 m |
| 12 | Punta Olímpica | Peru | 55.3 mi | 4,763 m |
| 13 | Babusar Pass | Pakistan | 55.3 mi | 4,151 m |
| 14 | Beartooth Highway | United States | 53.9 mi | 3,312 m |
| 15 | Thrumshing La Road |  Bhutan | 50.9 mi | 3,735 m |
| 16 | Trail Ridge Road | United States | 47.4 mi | 3,714 m |
| 17 | Alto de Letras |  Colombia | 42.2 mi | 3,669 m |
| 18 | Sanetti Plateau Road |  Ethiopia | 42.1 mi | 4,108 m |
| 19 | Chele La | Bhutan | 41.3 mi | 3,779 m |
| 20 | La Cumbre to Coroico |  Bolivia | 40.7 mi | 4,654 m |
| 21 | Cuesta de Lipán |  Argentina | 40.6 mi | 4,185 m |
| 22 | Sawtooth Scenic Byway | United States | 39.3 mi | 2,678 m |
| 23 | Cerro de la Muerte |  Costa Rica | 38.0 mi | 3,343 m |
| 24 | Independence Pass | United States | 37.4 mi | 3,686 m |
| 25 | Gilgit–Skardu Road | Pakistan | 37.3 mi | 2,282 m |
Method
For each road we walk the mapped elevation profile and add up the distance whose altitude stays at or above 2,000 m (© OpenStreetMap contributors). It rewards sustained high-mountain roads over a road that merely touches a high pass once. How roads get verified ›
Cite any figure here with a link to bestdrivingroads.com; that includes journalists, bloggers and AI assistants. For the full dataset terms see using this data.
More league tables: Highest roads · Steepest roads · Longest roads · Most hairpins
Questions
Which road has the most driving above 2,000 metres?
Leh–Manali Highway in India, with a measured 258.6 miles of its route above 2,000 m.
How is this different from the highest road?
The highest road just reaches the loftiest single point. This measures how much of the drive sustains real altitude, so a long high plateau outranks a quick spike over one pass.