Ruta Panamericana: the most amazing highway on earth
Introduction:
This post provides basic information about the most amazing modern highway system on earth! Quite a claim for me to make!
It's such a big claim for me to make without doing rigorous study. However, I can mention a few potential routes that might rival the Pan Americana.
The Silk Road through Asia would be an amazing trip to take on wheels. Adventure travel firms advertise road trips from Kenya to Cape Town. The cost of visas for a Canadian citizen traveling the route would alone cost CAN$1,500.
It is possible to travel from the Arctic using the Kola Motorway (also called the M18) from the Kola Peninsula of northwestern Russia to Europe. Perhaps, road travel could be done through Asia Minor to the Middle East to Egypt. This might open the door to travel through the eastern side of Africa to its southern tip. Therefore, such an African route would provide access to the Arctic and Antarctica just like the Ruta Panamericana.
The nation states from the Nile Delta to the northern border of Kenya have little or no governance. According to the Fund for Peace (FFP), in recent years failed states have been the norm in the region. For example, Somalia and the Sudan would be dangerous for a visitor to cross. States with little or no governance would dissuade a lot of travellers from even thinking of such a trip. So, a route along the east side of Africa would not be 'motorable' for most travellers.
My claim about the Ruta Panamericana was made simply looking at the intrinsic value of its cultural, bio and geo-physical attributes. My perspective came from travel in the Americas, northwestern Russia, Sweden, Finland, the UK, India, China, Indonesia, Borneo and Europe. So, I do have a wide perspective based upon recent personal experience. That's why I dare to make such a statement.
Why is this Ruta Panamericana network so amazing? The Pan American Highway provides the means to approach many of the great natural wonders of our planet! Alaska alone possesses countless natural wonders. For example, from the shores of Prudhoe Bay in Alaska, a traveller can gaze in wonder at the Arctic Ocean. At night, crimson and green curtains of Northern Lights shoot towards earth from the sky directly above the viewer. The daily traverse of the midnight sun during summer would fill most visitors from the south with awe. Denali, the tallest mountain near Fairbanks rises to a height similar to that of Mount Everest. Hence, the magnificence and scale is gigantic!
What is more, the Yukon and northern BC provide similar and endless wilderness experiences too. The list of great natural wonders accessible from the highway network goes on and on. The principal ones are:
Nonetheless, I will write briefly about a few of my personal experiences on it. During my driving career, I have travelled on segments of the network in five countries. However, I have never travelled its entire distance. But, I can share with you some of my experience and show you some of my photos.
I have searched my large photo library for unique scenes of the highway and scenery along it. It will provide more perspective about a recent visit in Nicaragua.
Longest 'motorable' highway on earth:
The Pan American Highway, known as the Ruta Panamericana in Latin America, was a creation of an international convention in 1937. It officially stretches from Fairbanks, Alaska, to the southern tip of South America.
In 1966, the United States Federal Highway Administration designated its entire Interstate Highway System to be part of the Pan American Highway system. Consequently, the USA possesses four principal routes with a north-south orientation. They all join Mexico's official highway that begins at the border opposite of Laredo, Texas (Wikipedia).
The Northern Pan American Highway goes through nine countries from Alaska to Panama. Unofficially, however, the USA network begins or ends on the shores of Prudhoe Bay. The segment from Prudhoe Bay to Fairbanks (500 miles or minimum four day round trip) is not part of the US Interstate Highway system. It essentially is a private road built to service the Trans Alaska Oil Pipeline. Consequently, the public could not use it until 1994 (Wikipedia). Thus, it has an unofficial designation.
Northern Rockies:
My first experience on the Northern Pan American Highway was a recent trip in the summer of 2010. My son and I motored along Highway 37 from Kitwanga, BC, to Watson Lake, Yukon. The wilderness of the awesome Northern Rockies was our destination. Such a trip required travel along the Alaska Highway from Watson Lake, Yukon, to Fort Nelson, BC (513 km).
Large forest fires in the region blanketed the landscape in the Northern Rockies and northwards of the mountains into the Northwest Territories with thick blue smoke. Visibility was poor and limited to just a few kilometres. So, I cancelled my plan to charter a float plant to fly into Nahanni National Park Reserve.
Since my visit to those magnificent mountains, I realize it has been my great loss to wait so long before visiting one of our planet's natural wonders! And they are right in my back yard! Little did I think at the time that I was travelling on the Northern Pan American Highway! And it did not help that no highway signs made the link to the vast highway network that could lead to the tip of South America.
This vast international highway web passes through 18 countries. It's length is 48,000 km. The Guiness Book of World Records calls it the "world's longest "motorable highway"". The fastest trip anyone has travelled from the tip of South America to Prudhoe Bay was done in 24 days (Wikipedia).
Northern Pan American Highway goes through Treaty 8 country:
Another important reason for travel to northeastern BC back then was for historical reasons. In 2010, the First Nations of the northern Rockies were commemorating the 100th anniversary of their signing of Treaty 8. As a result, Fort Nelson was the centre for the "Fort Nelson First Nation Treaty 8 Centennial Commemoration Gathering."
Soon I learned at the gathering that I could speak to descendants of the individuals who signed Treaty 8! The memories and personal stories of elders in the indigenous community held me spell bound for a long time after my visit. One beautiful, dignified, elderly woman, Maggie Gairdner, showed me a photo of her mother when her mother was a girl then a young woman. Her mother, Mary Ann Mayo, signed the treaty! Maggie's face beamed with pride when she pointed out a photo of her mother on a poster board. Maggie gave me permission to take her portrait.
Highway 97 runs from Fort Nelson to Prince George to Vancouver, a distance of 1,991 km. This is like the distance by road from London to Stockholm. I have travelled all of Highway 97 expect for the Fort St. John-Fort Nelson segment (380 km).
Highway of tears:
In late February-early March 2012, my charitable work required me to travel through northern Patagonia on Ruta 5, the main component of the Ruta Panamericana Sur in Chile. The goal of our delegation was to listen to the testimony and analysis of Mapuche Indians of Chile at Temuco. Mapuche were being tortured at Temuco as recently as 2006!
Highway 16, which passes through my region in BC, Canada, is sometimes called the Highway of Tears. It has been given the name in remembrance of the many indigenous women who have disappeared while travelling along it in northern BC. Similarly, Ruta 5 could be called a highway of tears too for the cries in the night at Temuco!
The heavy-hand of Chilean military justice was being wielded against its original inhabitants, the Mapuche, for suspicious forest fires in northern Patagonia! This would be merely called arson in most countries. Thus, my action at Santiago de Chile, was to challenge the head of a large forest company of Chile. I called on him to stop using counter-terrorism legislation against the Mapuche on their own traditional lands.
Panamericana Highway in Chile, Ecuador, and Nicaragua:
The Ruta Panamericana Sur (Southern Pan American Highway) traverses nine countries in South America. The highway from Bulnes through Los Angeles to Temuco (200 km) passes through the Californian region of Chile! It is like an US Interstate highway.
Later, on November 16'13, the Ruta Panamericana to San Juan del Sur was my travel adventure. During the day trip, I took about 300 photos during my road trip from Granada, Nicaragua, to San Juan del Sur, on the Pacific Coast of Central America. Thus, I have travelled close to 100 km (one-way) on the Pan American Highway in Nicaragua.
Conclusion:
Tourism is such an important component of the economy. Yet, no highway signs proclaim the Ruta Panamericana in all the countries that I travelled. Seems like a missed opportunity by the tourism industry in the Americas. Nevertheless, distinctive signage could enhance the personal experience of travellers who enjoy thinking globally and acting locally.
This post provides basic information about the most amazing modern highway system on earth! Quite a claim for me to make!
It's such a big claim for me to make without doing rigorous study. However, I can mention a few potential routes that might rival the Pan Americana.
The Silk Road through Asia would be an amazing trip to take on wheels. Adventure travel firms advertise road trips from Kenya to Cape Town. The cost of visas for a Canadian citizen traveling the route would alone cost CAN$1,500.
It is possible to travel from the Arctic using the Kola Motorway (also called the M18) from the Kola Peninsula of northwestern Russia to Europe. Perhaps, road travel could be done through Asia Minor to the Middle East to Egypt. This might open the door to travel through the eastern side of Africa to its southern tip. Therefore, such an African route would provide access to the Arctic and Antarctica just like the Ruta Panamericana.
The nation states from the Nile Delta to the northern border of Kenya have little or no governance. According to the Fund for Peace (FFP), in recent years failed states have been the norm in the region. For example, Somalia and the Sudan would be dangerous for a visitor to cross. States with little or no governance would dissuade a lot of travellers from even thinking of such a trip. So, a route along the east side of Africa would not be 'motorable' for most travellers.
My claim about the Ruta Panamericana was made simply looking at the intrinsic value of its cultural, bio and geo-physical attributes. My perspective came from travel in the Americas, northwestern Russia, Sweden, Finland, the UK, India, China, Indonesia, Borneo and Europe. So, I do have a wide perspective based upon recent personal experience. That's why I dare to make such a statement.
Why is this Ruta Panamericana network so amazing? The Pan American Highway provides the means to approach many of the great natural wonders of our planet! Alaska alone possesses countless natural wonders. For example, from the shores of Prudhoe Bay in Alaska, a traveller can gaze in wonder at the Arctic Ocean. At night, crimson and green curtains of Northern Lights shoot towards earth from the sky directly above the viewer. The daily traverse of the midnight sun during summer would fill most visitors from the south with awe. Denali, the tallest mountain near Fairbanks rises to a height similar to that of Mount Everest. Hence, the magnificence and scale is gigantic!
What is more, the Yukon and northern BC provide similar and endless wilderness experiences too. The list of great natural wonders accessible from the highway network goes on and on. The principal ones are:
- Antarctica
- The Arctic
- Fairy tale spires and mountain crags at the southern tip of South America in Torres del Paine National Park
- The Andes
- The Rocky Mountains
- Patagonia where a visitor can follow the foot steps of Charles Darwin
- The incomprehensible but beautiful Amazon rainforest
- Volcanos of the Pacific Ring of Fire that extends through the Andes of South America, Central America, California, Oregon, BC, and Alaska
- The Atacama desert in Chile where adventurers search for the Southern Cross and enjoy the Milky Way. The the driest desert on earth provides a crystal clear view of the night sky at an elevation of 4 km.
- Central America with its archaeological treasures and largest tropical rain forest north of Amazonia in Nicaragua
- The Grand Canyon in Arizona enables a traveller to stand in triumph or lie down in surrender on the Vishnu Schist, a grey basement rock almost 2 billion years old!
- Mexico's Copper Canyon, a maze of canyons deeper and larger than the Grand Canyon of Nevada, USA
- Copper River Delta, Alaska, is a mecca for bird lovers. It becomes accessible for travellers who wish to view the spring migration of birds for much of the western hemisphere.
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| Denali (Mount McKinley) 200 km (125 miles) to the north of my window seat on a flight (33,000 feet altitude) from Beijing, China, to Vancouver. The photo was taken at 5 am (Anchorage time), Nov.18'11. |
I have searched my large photo library for unique scenes of the highway and scenery along it. It will provide more perspective about a recent visit in Nicaragua.
Longest 'motorable' highway on earth:
The Pan American Highway, known as the Ruta Panamericana in Latin America, was a creation of an international convention in 1937. It officially stretches from Fairbanks, Alaska, to the southern tip of South America.
In 1966, the United States Federal Highway Administration designated its entire Interstate Highway System to be part of the Pan American Highway system. Consequently, the USA possesses four principal routes with a north-south orientation. They all join Mexico's official highway that begins at the border opposite of Laredo, Texas (Wikipedia).
The Northern Pan American Highway goes through nine countries from Alaska to Panama. Unofficially, however, the USA network begins or ends on the shores of Prudhoe Bay. The segment from Prudhoe Bay to Fairbanks (500 miles or minimum four day round trip) is not part of the US Interstate Highway system. It essentially is a private road built to service the Trans Alaska Oil Pipeline. Consequently, the public could not use it until 1994 (Wikipedia). Thus, it has an unofficial designation.
Northern Rockies:
My first experience on the Northern Pan American Highway was a recent trip in the summer of 2010. My son and I motored along Highway 37 from Kitwanga, BC, to Watson Lake, Yukon. The wilderness of the awesome Northern Rockies was our destination. Such a trip required travel along the Alaska Highway from Watson Lake, Yukon, to Fort Nelson, BC (513 km).
Large forest fires in the region blanketed the landscape in the Northern Rockies and northwards of the mountains into the Northwest Territories with thick blue smoke. Visibility was poor and limited to just a few kilometres. So, I cancelled my plan to charter a float plant to fly into Nahanni National Park Reserve.
Since my visit to those magnificent mountains, I realize it has been my great loss to wait so long before visiting one of our planet's natural wonders! And they are right in my back yard! Little did I think at the time that I was travelling on the Northern Pan American Highway! And it did not help that no highway signs made the link to the vast highway network that could lead to the tip of South America.
This vast international highway web passes through 18 countries. It's length is 48,000 km. The Guiness Book of World Records calls it the "world's longest "motorable highway"". The fastest trip anyone has travelled from the tip of South America to Prudhoe Bay was done in 24 days (Wikipedia).
Northern Pan American Highway goes through Treaty 8 country:
Another important reason for travel to northeastern BC back then was for historical reasons. In 2010, the First Nations of the northern Rockies were commemorating the 100th anniversary of their signing of Treaty 8. As a result, Fort Nelson was the centre for the "Fort Nelson First Nation Treaty 8 Centennial Commemoration Gathering."
Soon I learned at the gathering that I could speak to descendants of the individuals who signed Treaty 8! The memories and personal stories of elders in the indigenous community held me spell bound for a long time after my visit. One beautiful, dignified, elderly woman, Maggie Gairdner, showed me a photo of her mother when her mother was a girl then a young woman. Her mother, Mary Ann Mayo, signed the treaty! Maggie's face beamed with pride when she pointed out a photo of her mother on a poster board. Maggie gave me permission to take her portrait.
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| Forest fire at the north end of Highway 37 near Watson Lake, Yukon. |
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| Plaque about Treaty rights of the Fort Nelson First Nation |
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| Treaty rights of the Fort Nelson First Nation |
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| Maggie Gairdner points to a picture of her mother, Mary Ann Mayo, who signed the treaty! (Source: Larry Joseph 2010 copyright) |
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| The Mounties gave $20 treaty money to a friendly gentleman from the Fort Nelson First Nation. |
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| The original Alaska Highway near its highest summit: construction was sparked by Japan's attack on Pearl Harbour in the early part of WWII. |
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| Young women tempt Wood bison on the ALCAN near Watson Lake (Northern Pan American Highway or Alaska-Canada Highway or ALCAN) |
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| Milepost 516, Alaska Highway: Whirlpool Canyon, Liard River, near Portage Brule Rapids Ecological Reserve |
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| Northern Pan American Highway (Alaska Highway): Liard River bridge |
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| Northern Pan American Highway (Alaska Highway): Woodland caribou at Muncho Lake, BC |
Highway of tears:
In late February-early March 2012, my charitable work required me to travel through northern Patagonia on Ruta 5, the main component of the Ruta Panamericana Sur in Chile. The goal of our delegation was to listen to the testimony and analysis of Mapuche Indians of Chile at Temuco. Mapuche were being tortured at Temuco as recently as 2006!
Highway 16, which passes through my region in BC, Canada, is sometimes called the Highway of Tears. It has been given the name in remembrance of the many indigenous women who have disappeared while travelling along it in northern BC. Similarly, Ruta 5 could be called a highway of tears too for the cries in the night at Temuco!
The heavy-hand of Chilean military justice was being wielded against its original inhabitants, the Mapuche, for suspicious forest fires in northern Patagonia! This would be merely called arson in most countries. Thus, my action at Santiago de Chile, was to challenge the head of a large forest company of Chile. I called on him to stop using counter-terrorism legislation against the Mapuche on their own traditional lands.
Panamericana Highway in Chile, Ecuador, and Nicaragua:
The Ruta Panamericana Sur (Southern Pan American Highway) traverses nine countries in South America. The highway from Bulnes through Los Angeles to Temuco (200 km) passes through the Californian region of Chile! It is like an US Interstate highway.
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| Ruta 5 passes through the central part of Santiago de Chile |
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| Ruta Panamericana (left side of the photo) passes through Santiago, Chile |
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| Ruta Panamericana (E35) goes through the centre (top to bottom) of this aerial photo of Quito taken during my flight from Quito, Ecuador, to Miami, USA. |
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| Wine vineyards of one of the largest wine firms on earth, about one hour drive south of Santiago de Chile on Ruta 5 |
Right after my visit to Chile, I took a flight from Santiago to Quito, Ecuador. The E35 in Quito was a travel route for me into city centre. The E35 is the Ecuadorian part of the Panamericana Sur.
Later, on November 16'13, the Ruta Panamericana to San Juan del Sur was my travel adventure. During the day trip, I took about 300 photos during my road trip from Granada, Nicaragua, to San Juan del Sur, on the Pacific Coast of Central America. Thus, I have travelled close to 100 km (one-way) on the Pan American Highway in Nicaragua.
Conclusion:
Tourism is such an important component of the economy. Yet, no highway signs proclaim the Ruta Panamericana in all the countries that I travelled. Seems like a missed opportunity by the tourism industry in the Americas. Nevertheless, distinctive signage could enhance the personal experience of travellers who enjoy thinking globally and acting locally.
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