Reproduced with permission from Epic Drives of the World, © 2017 Lonely Planet
This beautifully illustrated hardcover book (RRP: US$35) is the second instalment in Lonely Planet’s Epic series, following last year’s best-selling Epic Bike Rides of the World.
It features 50 classic driving routes across the world (from Argentina to Zambia) and 200 ideas for great drives, ranging from easy-going cruises to back-country adventures.
Asia is represented by five driving routes highlighted in the chapters “Hightailing from Thimphu to Gangtey (Bhutan)”, “The Road from Srinagar to Manali (India)”, “On The Trail of Ho Chi Minh (Vietnam)”, “Crossing the Kathmandu Loop (Nepal)”, and “South Korea: From Top to Toe”.
The main stories in each regional chapter feature first-hand accounts of fantastic drives in that continent. Each includes a fact box to start the planning of a trip – when is the best time of year, how to get there, where to stay.
But beyond that, these stories should spark other ideas, such as the ‘more like this’ section following each story, which offers other ideas along a similar theme, not necessarily on the same continent.
The drives are colour-coded according to difficulty, which takes into account not just how long, remote and challenging they are, but also the logistics and local conditions. The index collects different types of drive for a variety of interests.
Read about our epic road trip to the northern end of the world in an Audi SQ7.
Check out Land Rover’s epic self-drive holidays in Utah and Namibia.
