40. Pan American Highway, Panama Section
Constructed: 1963
Risk Factor: Landslides, animals, impassable sections, crime
The Pan-American Highway stretches 19,000 miles from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska to Ushuaia, Argentina. The route is generally continuous, minus one section: the Darien Gap. The Darien Gap is the reason the Pan-American Highway makes this list. What isn’t there to worry about on this small, inhospitable stretch?
Pan American Highway, Panama Section ©Rainer Lesniewski / Shutterstock.com
The Darien Gap runs through Panama, and it consists of mountainous jungles, landslide-prone areas, and swamps. Animals, from livestock to deadly creatures, can sometimes get on the road and cause delays (or worse). There is also a human element to the danger—armed guerillas and drug traffickers have been known to waylay cars on this murky section of the Pan-American.