10 Most Spectacular Drives in the World

June 15, 2009 — -- Love the great outdoors? Want to see sights that will make you swoon? Or maybe you just really like being behind the wheel.

Whatever your reason, here are ten of the world's most spectacular drives, so good they're worth getting on a plane to get to.

Nestled at the foot of the Himalayan Mountains, winding its way from desert landscapes to snow-capped peaks, the Karakoram Highway is an otherworldly ascent into a rugged paradise.

Not for the faint-hearted, the alpine highway reaches up to 15,000 feet above sea level. It starts in the Western province of Xinjiang, China, and ends in Islamabad, Pakistan.

Some of the show-stopping sights include Karakul Lake, a 12,000-foot-high lake at the foot of the Tian Shan mountain range, whose crystal clear waters perfectly reflect the alien purple, pinks, and whites of the never-ending peaks of Mt. Kongur. If the thin alpine air doesn't take your breath away, the sight of blue skies and clouds on both ends of the horizon will do the trick.