Why this ride
The highest point is about 3,400 m. Hashilegen Pass is open in summer only - check it is open before you set off. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Duku Highway: Hashilegen Pass to Bayinbuluke
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 214 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 53
- Journey
- One way; return travel is separate
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Scenic road chapters
Hashilegen Pass → Nalati
The ride follows Hashilegen Pass → Nalati for 83 km.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 83 km
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Hashilegen Pass
Hashilegen Pass lies high in the central Tian Shan at roughly 3,400 metres, where the Duku Highway climbs to the divide and the world turns to rock, snow and sky. The scenery is wide and austere, with glaciers on the high peaks, meltwater streams across the alpine meadows and the occasional herder's felt tent.
Read the complete Hashilegen Pass write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Hashilegen Pass is where the day begins. Nothing on this route is higher. Next is Nalati, mostly downhill.
2. Nalati
Nalati, known in Kazakh as Narat, is a high grassland on the northern slopes of the Tian Shan in Xinjiang, in the far west of China, and it is one of those landscapes that looks like a painter's idea of mountain summer pasture. Rolling green meadows spread beneath snowy peaks, dotted with spruce forest and herders' yurts, and the air is cool and thin at around two thousand metres. The Kazakh herders who move their sheep, horses and cattle up here every summer are the people who made the grasslands what they are.
Read the complete Nalati write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Nalati comes up 89 km in. Next is Bayinbuluke.
3. Bayinbuluke
Bayinbuluke is a vast, high grassland basin in the Tian Shan of Xinjiang, around two and a half thousand metres up, and the second largest grassland in China. The Kaidu River winds across it in great loops, and in evening light it looks like a silver snake draped over an emerald carpet. The Torghut Mongols graze their sheep and horses here, and herds of yaks and cattle dot the slopes.
Read the complete Bayinbuluke write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 214 km.
Leg by leg
Hashilegen Pass to Nalati
Hashilegen Pass → Nalati is 83 km. Brakes and eyes forward; the views are behind the corners, not in them.
Nalati to Bayinbuluke
Nalati → Bayinbuluke is 95 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
More motorcycle rides nearby
- Duku Highway · 645 km
- Duku Highway: Dushanzi to Bayinbuluke · 385 km
- Duku Highway: Dushanzi to Nalati · 264 km
- Duku Highway: Nalati to Kuqa · 371 km