Only recommended for fit, ambitious cyclists looking for a serious challenge. Cradle Mountain - Nationa Park Lake St Clair, Tasmania, Australia © Shutterstock.

Ascending to an altitude of m, the Pamir Highway offers some of the finest views of any bike ride on the planet. Prepare to be plied with countless cups of home-brewed tea from locals along the way. Now something of a national institution, this thousand-mile journey spanning the length of the UK is undertaken by thousands of cyclists, walkers and motorists every year.

Starting in Cornwall — widely considered to be the most challenging leg of the cycle — the route passes over the Clifton Suspension Bridge, cuts through isolated Lake District villages and traverses the mammoth Scottish Highlands.

The road cuts through the highest mountain range on the planet — the Himalayas — so it should come as no surprise that cyclists face some monumentally tough uphill climbs.

The hard work is rewarded with some of the longest, most exhilarating downhills around, plus the opportunity to take a detour to Everest Base Camp.

The mile journey is now also popular among cyclists, whether in search of spiritual enlightenment or simply to visit the rolling vineyards and medieval villages that punctuate the route. More a network than an A to B journey, La Route Verte opened in to become the most extensive biking trail in the Americas, comprising over miles of excellently signposted paths.

The route from Bariloche to Ushuaia is adventure cycling at its finest, and a fine way to explore this remote part of the world. The Argentine sections of the 1,mile route promise long, desolate roads cutting through arid Patagonian Steppe, with queues of mountain peaks and glaciers dominating the horizon.

The greener Chilean sections of the route are equally scenic but generally considered to be far tougher, with fierce Pacific weather fronts often bringing wind and rain. Few people can claim to have cycled alongside elephants or to have free-wheeled down desert sand dunes; these are just a couple of the thrills on offer when cycling through southern Africa.

There is no better way of exploring Cuba than on two wheels, whether you ship your bike from home or ask a local to build one from scratch.

Cyclists embarking on this mile adventure from the Caribbean Sea to the Gulf of Mexico will pass through forgotten villages, ride alongside spluttering s cars and stay overnight at homely casa particulars.

Be sure to cycle from west to east to avoid the colossal headwind. The world's most epic cycle routes. Tailor-made Travel. Book your individual trip , stress-free with local travel experts I WANT TO TRAVEL IN:.

plan my trip. com blog epic-cycle-routes. written by Greg Dickinson updated The Death Road , Bolivia Widely considered to be the most dangerous road in the world, the forty-mile route connecting La Paz and Coroico has become the stuff of legend among downhill cyclists and thrill-seeking backpackers.

Route des Grandes Alpes , France The classic Route des Grandes Alpes tackles some of the most scenic mountain passes in Europe. Elephant, Congo Basin, Congo Shutterstock. Related articles from the blog. Dead Sea to Red Sea, Jordan This is a cross-country cycle of biblical proportions.

The Great Ocean Road , Australia The iconic coastal road connecting the southeastern Australian towns of Allansford and Torquay is the largest war memorial in the world, built by returned servicemen after World War I. Australia, Twelve Apostles Shutterstock. Highlands to the coast, Madagascar This stunning, manageable route through the heart of Madagascar should be top of the list for pedalling wildlife enthusiasts.

The Pamir Highway, Tajikistan Ascending to an altitude of m, the Pamir Highway offers some of the finest views of any bike ride on the planet. James cathedral Santiago de Compostela, Spain Shutterstock. As for where to go, well, there are lots of factors that feed into that decision.

Time, money, equipment, experience level and fitness are all obviously crucial. There's no point setting off to cycle across the Sahara if you've only got five days of annual leave, and a rusty old road bike from Halfords.

The ten routes we've listed below cover a range, from a short route across the UK, to a plus mile trek through the Himalayan plateau. What connects them all, is that they all pass through scenery that is truly spectacular.

So if you're planning on a cycling holiday to tackle one of these routes, whatever else you pack, make sure you take a camera. You won't regret it. Heaven in a road trip. This mile route snakes all around the edge of Cape Breton Island, the most easterly point of Nova Scotia, in Canada.

It's named after John Cabot, the Italian explorer who was the first European to sail to continental North America since the Vikings centuries earlier. If you're thinking that John Cabot doesn't sound particularly Italian, you're right - his real name was Giovanni Caboto, but he used the anglicised version to make things easier for his patron and sponsor, the English King Henry VII.

Cape Breton itself is a wonderful wild place, where whales frolic in the ocean, and bears and moose roam the woods. The undulating - but not unduly challenging - coastal road passes through pretty clapboard villages that all boast excellent pubs - and yes, in Nova Scotia they call them pubs, not bars.

Pack your camping kit in your panniers - once you're in the National Park, you can bed down at a series of lovely state-run campsites in the woods. The local river, the Margaree, hides secret deep pools that perfect for a post-cycle swim, or if you're looking to rest the legs, a day off in a kayak.

BOOK IT: FreeWheeling offer a six-day guided ride for £1, including food, accommodation and rider support. You'll pass through both the Lake District and Peak District National Parks, so you can expect some pretty serious climbs, but the views from the top of each mountain pass will more than make up for the leg-burn taken to get up there.

If you're fast, you should be able to complete this inside two days without too much effort, but some people take up to five - and why not, the scenery is more than spectacular enough to merit lingering over. BOOK IT: Trail Bikes offer a two to five-day cycle from Whitehaven to Tynemouth from £, including accommodation, luggage transfer and rider support.

RIDING HIGHS: Plan your cycle between June and and you might spot migrating humpback whales from your saddle, or go in March to join a leg of the Argus Cape Town cycle tour race. Ride from Mossel Bay in the west to Storms River in the east for a relaxed mile potter, or start in Port Elizabeth and head to Cape Town for a challenging, seven-day ride over miles.

There are so many beautiful places to stop off that it can be hard to know where to start, but make sure you plan on spending at least one night in Knysna, where wetlands and rainforest meet the ocean.

This is long distance cycling at its absolute best. BOOK IT: Bike Adventures offer a two-week Garden Route cycle for £2, including all food, accommodation and rider support.

RIDING HIGHS: Riding through the spectacular moorland of Mackenzie Basin, ringed by snow-capped mountains. The Southern Alps have always been great for mountain biking, and Rotorua is, of course, a global hotspot for the sport.

But increasingly the infrastructure has been put in place for long distance cycle touring too. The longest and arguably best trail in the whole country is the enticingly-named Alps to Ocean, a jaw-droppingly beautiful cycle from the mountains that run down to spine of South Island to the Pacific.

It passes Lake Pukaki, the majestic Mount Cook, and more locations from The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings than you could shake a bike pump at. The route itself is a mainly flat and smooth trail with some road segments, and thus suitable for beginners.

If you're looking for long-distance cycle routes with incredible mountain scenery that you don't have to work too hard to conquer, they don't come much better than this. BOOK IT: Pure Trails New Zealand offer two six-day rides, one of easy and one of medium difficulty, from £ including rider support, food and accommodation.

RIDING HIGHS: Pedalling miles of relaxed beachside roads and stopping for fresh, locally-grown coffee in the mountains. The Coast to Coast cycle path takes in rainforest, volcanoes and coastline on its way from San Jose, on the Pacific side to Tortuguero on the Caribbean.

You'll cross over the 3, metre-high Cerro de la Muerte pass and meander through the coffee and banana plantations of the Orosi valley, making this simultaneously one of the best cycle paths on this list both in terms of diversity of landscape, and metres climbed.

If you're new to cycling, we're probably recommend starting elsewhere however. BOOK IT: Exodus offer a day coast to coast ride from £3, including flights, food, accommodation and rider support this misses out the taxing Cerro de la Muerte climb.

Arriving at the lip of the Grand Canyon on your own steam will fill you with pride. Imagine epic, car-free miles stretching across the state of Arizona, reaching from Mexico in the south west to Utah in the north. It links mountains, forests, the Sonoran Desert and the Grand Canyon, and is only passable in the friendlier temperatures of spring and autumn - in the summer it's simply too hot.

The route is almost all singletrack, and calls for a decent mountain bike - and a decent level of mountain biking skill - to master it. Some of the sections get quite seriously technical, so this is one cycle route that's definitely not for beginners.