Chadan is a town of about nine thousand people in western Tuva, on the Khemchik River, in a wide valley where dry steppe meets the first forested ridges of the Sayan mountains. Tuva is a place apart: a republic in the middle of Asia, once independent and absorbed into the Soviet Union only in 1944, with its own Turkic language and a culture of nomadic herders, Buddhist temples and throat singing. Sut-Khol, a smaller place, lies about twenty-four kilometres away, and the town is the natural halfway stop between Kyzyl and Ak-Dovurak.
The ride here is quiet and wide. The road follows the Khemchik valley, running through open steppe with low bare hills on both sides, and the sky seems enormous. Tarmac is variable, with good sections and rough patches, and the corners are mostly gentle. Traffic is light, but trucks and livestock can appear anywhere, so keep your eyes open. The best seasons are late spring, when the steppe is green, and early autumn, when the air is clear and the light golden. Midsummer can be very hot and dry, and winter is brutally cold.
Chadan has a history tied to mining. Nearby, the Khovu-Aksy mine produced cobalt and nickel in the Soviet period, and the town grew around it, which explains its scale and its blocks of flats set against the open landscape. Today, the town is a base for people from the surrounding villages, with shops, a market and a few cafes. Tuvan food is simple and meaty: boiled mutton, dumplings and salty milk tea, often served with a bowl of dairy products. The yurts you see on the hillsides are used by herders in summer.
The surrounding landscape is spectacular in its emptiness. Dry steppe gives way to rolling hills dotted with larch, and in the distance the Sayan mountains form a dark line. Eagles and hawks circle above, and the air smells of warm grass and dust. Tuva has thousands of ancient burial mounds and carved stones, some from the Scythian era, scattered across the steppe, though most are away from the road.
Fill the tank here, since fuel is scarce beyond the larger towns. Bring water, snacks and warm layers, and expect to share the road with sheep, horses and cattle.