Why this ride
The stored terrain estimate reaches about 2,750 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Duku Highway: Nalati to Kuqa
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 371 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 57
- Journey
- One way; return travel is separate
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. 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.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. 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 is where the day begins. Next is Bayinbuluke.
2. 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
Bayinbuluke comes up about 111 km into the recorded legs. Next is Kuqa.
3. Kuqa
Kuqa lies on the northern rim of the Taklamakan Desert, in Xinjiang, at the southern foot of the Tian Shan, and it has been a stop on the Silk Road for two thousand years. Known in Chinese chronicles as Kucha, it was the capital of an oasis kingdom that grew rich on trade and became a major centre of Buddhism in the first millennium. Its musicians and dancers were famous across Asia, and the monk Kumarajiva, born here in the fourth century, became one of the great translators of Buddhist texts into Chinese. Today the Uyghur town has a rebuilt old quarter, a big mosque, a Sunday market and a good deal of melons, apricots and grapes.
Read the complete Kuqa 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 371 km.
Leg by leg
Nalati to Bayinbuluke
Nalati → Bayinbuluke is 111 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Bayinbuluke to Kuqa
Bayinbuluke → Kuqa is 260 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.