Khancoban is a town built for a purpose and still faintly wearing it. It was created in the 1950s to house the workers of the Snowy Mountains Scheme, the vast hydroelectric project that diverted rivers through the mountains and employed tens of thousands, many of them migrants from Europe. Today it is a small, tidy place on the western side of the range, close to the Murray River and the Khancoban Pondage, with a population of only a few hundred. It has what a rider needs, a pub, a shop, a place to eat and a few beds, but not much more, and the larger town of Corryong lies about twenty kilometres further west over the border in Victoria.
Most people arrive here by the Alpine Way, which is the point. The road descends from the high country in a long run of curves and tightening bends, with a lookout at Scammells Spur that gives a wide view of the Upper Murray valley. The final descent is steep, so use engine braking rather than leaning on your front brake, and watch for gravel in the corners after rain. The surface is generally good, but the road is remote, and in winter the high sections can be icy.
The landscape on this side of the divide is warmer and drier than around Jindabyne, with tall eucalypt forest, grassy flats and the occasional wedge-tailed eagle circling overhead. The Murray, which rises not far to the south, is still small and clear here, and the pondage is a pleasant place to stop and watch the light go golden. Wildlife is plentiful; kangaroos, wallabies and the odd echidna cross the road at dawn and dusk, so take it easy then.
Corryong has a particular literary pull. It is the home of the legend of the Man from Snowy River, and the grave of Jack Riley, the stockman said to have inspired Banjo Paterson's famous poem, lies in the cemetery there. Whether or not the poem was really about him is argued about, but the story gives the town a good reason to stop. If you need fuel, check your range before you leave the Alpine Way, and expect to pay a premium in a remote place.