What are the most spectacular roads in Mexico?

Located in North America, Mexico is a country with a wide collection of stunning drives. It’s home to about 150 roads listed as the most spectacular in the world.

With very diverse geography, comprising high mountains such as the Sierra Madre Occidental and Sierra Madre Oriental, and stunning beaches providing scenic coastal drives, when traveling to Mexico don’t forget to add to your list the infamous Espinazo del Diablo, a thrilling and challenging Mexican mountain road. This road is renowned internationally for its hairpin turns. Another notable road is Carretera Federal 1, which is full of blind corners with no barriers or hard shoulders. Spanning the length of the Baja California Peninsula, it is often called the Carretera Transpeninsular or Transpeninsular Highway.

If you prefer mountain roads, try the road to Cortes Pass, a mountain pass at an elevation of 3,692m (12,112ft) above sea level. It’s one of the highest roads in Mexico. If you like unpaved roads, try the drive to Sierra Negra volcano, an extinct volcano at 4,576m (15,013ft) in the state of Puebla.

Located in the Mexican state of Chihuahua, Cañón Pegüis is a breathtaking geological feature where the Conchos River cuts 2,000 feet through a mountain.

Mexico 16 (Chihuahua-Hermosillo Road) is both one of the most scenic and monotonous roads in northern Mexico. It offers beautiful pine forests and desert landscapes but can feel repetitive due to its long stretches of similar views.

Plan de Barrancas roads (Mexico 15 and Mexico 15D, autopista Guadalajara-Tepic) link Guadalajara to the Pacific Ocean, mainly the cities of Tepic and the resort city of Puerto Vallarta.

Autopista Mexico-Tuxpan (Mexico 132D) is another great engineering achievement. This highway was under construction for over 30 years due to scandals of corruption, insufficient funds, and the challenges posed by the rugged mountains of the Sierra Madre Oriental.

Mexico 199 is a defiant high mountain road with stunning views, located in the Mexican state of Chiapas.

Camino Rivera del Pilón is a scenic road running along the Pilon river straddling Nuevo León and Coahuila states, in Mexico.

Highway Mexico 150D is a winding, 6-lane highway that connects Mexico City and Puebla. This mountainous route reaches an elevation of 3,230m (10,597ft) above sea level.

La Ventosa (English: The Windy) is a small town in the Oaxaca state of Mexico. It lends its name to Mexico Highway 185 due to the high-speed winds that blow across the area almost year-round.

The Tuxtepec road is said to be Mexico’s most scenic road. It offers everything you could wish for on a road trip: mountains, desert, pine forest, jungle, cactus, mountain lakes, lots of curves, scenic views, hairpin curves, rivers, and canyons... Except polar or ice environments, you can find it all here.

Puerto Cancún is a small community of fishermen located on the western coast of the Mexican state of Baja California Sur.

Straddling Hidalgo and Querétaro states of Mexico, the road to Zimapán reservoir is an uncategorized state route, offering great views of the mountains, the reservoir, and canyon walls.

Carretera Federal 307 is a very scenic jungle-drive located in the state of Chiapas, in Mexico.

Bajada a Zirupa is a gravel mountain road located in the mountains of the Mexican state of Chihuahua.

La Lobera is a magnificent sea crater located on the west coast of the Mexican state of Baja California.

Calakmul is a Maya archaeological site located in the Mexican state of Campeche, deep in the jungles of the greater Petén Basin region of Mexico.

El Capulín is a high mountain town at an elevation of 3,075m (10,088ft) above sea level, located in Mexico. It’s one of the highest roads in the country.

Straddling Mexico State and Mexico City, the road from Xalatlaco to El Ajusco is one of the most scenic drives in Mexico.

Mexico City-Toluca (Mexico 15D or 134D) is a very dangerous road that links Mexico City and Toluca, in Mexico.

Located in the Mexican state of Nuevo León, the Nuevo Leon 20 runs along the San Isidro canyon.

Located southwest of Ciudad del Carmen, in the state of Campeche in Mexico, Puente El Zacatal is one of the most spectacular bridges in the world. The bridge connects the Atasta peninsula and the Isla del Carmen.

Mesa del Nayar (Road from Ixcatán-Jesús María Mexico 44) departs at Jesús María (430 masl) and goes to the coast at Ruiz, Nayarit, but it has to go up to a mountain pass of 1.780 masl near Mesa del Nayar, offering spectacular views of the coastal mountains and some canyons.

Carretera Federal 95D is a dangerous mountain road linking Mexico City and Cuernavaca. It goes up to 3.070m (10,072ft) above the sea level down to 1.600m (5,249ft) in Cuernavaca city.

Autopista del Sol (Mexico City-Acapulco, Mexico 95D) is a modern 4 lanes toll highway located in south of Mexico that communicates Mexico City with Acapulco.

Death Pass (Paso de la Muerte in Spanish) is a terrible high mountain road linking the small community of Coronado Castillo to the rest of the state of Tamaulipas. Words can’t describe the road and pictures don’t do it justice.

Cofre de Perote is an extinct volcano at an elevation of 4.160m (13,648ft) above the sea level, located in the Mexican state of Veracruz. It’s one of the highest mountain roads of the country.

Road to Guadalupe y Calvo (Mexico 24) can be a challenging long drive from Parral Chihuahua to middle of nowhere, well actually Guadalupe y Calvo town, but the road actually continues to middle of nowhere, to a zone under construction down to Sinaloa sate at Badiguarato, home of the world's famous druglord El Chapo.

Lagunas de Zempoala are several high mountain lakes at an elevation of 2.900m (9,500ft) above the sea level located between the states of Morelos and State of Mexico, Mexico.

Cerro de la Viga is a high mountain peak at an elevation of 3.556m (11,666ft) above the sea level, located in the Sierra Madre Oriental range, in the Mexican state of Coahuila. It’s one of the highest mountain roads of the country.

Some years ago, the Mexico 101 (San Luis Potosí - Cd Victoria libre road) was the only highway road route between these both major cities in Mexico. It’s a small windy, dangerous road that caused many fatal accidents. Back then many drivers decided to detour in Monterrey city to avoid this dangerous route.

With more than 40 hairpin curves, this road tests the skills of any driver. No guardrails or any security involved. This gravel road offers great views of Tolantongo canyon walls and mountains.

Baja California Road 163 is a very scenic drive running along the Gulf of California in the Mexican state of Baja California.

This segment of Mexico 105 crosses a magnificent desert landscape with huge canyons and cactus.

Camino a Rayones is a very scenic drive in the mountains of Sierra Madre Oriental in Nuevo León state, in Mexico.

Supercarretera Tehuantepec-Oaxaca (Mexico 135D) Paso de Calapa is the main highway in Oaxaca to Mexico city. Some parts of the road offer spectacular views of Sierra Madre del Sur mountains, canyons and it offers different biomes such cactus desert, oak forest, rainforest in same route.

Located in the Mexican state of Jalisco, the Road to Tapalpa (Jalisco state route 436) is a scenic paved mountain road climbing up to Tapalpa town at 2.060m (6,758ft) above the sea level.

Carretera Tolantongo-Metztitlán is a narrow and dirt dangerous road in the desert mountains of Mexico.

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