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CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE

Altan els and Aryskannyg

Plan this ride

Recorded distance
934 km
Riding-time estimate
16 h 06
Journey
Recorded itinerary
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: planning record, not independently verified geometry.

Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.

Distances and riding times are planning figures. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.

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Why this ride

It goes by way of Tsugeer els, Jamaalyg, Aryskannyg and back through Jamaalyg. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 1,650 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available. It crosses from Mongolia into Russia - carry ID and check the toll rules. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

  1. 1. Altan els

    Sand dunes are the last thing you expect to find at the edge of a great freshwater-looking lake in the mountains of Mongolia, but the Uvs Nuur basin is a place of surprises. Altan Els, the Golden Sands, is a belt of dunes and sandy steppe on the shore of Uvs Nuur, the largest lake in Mongolia by area, a shallow, salty inland sea that sits in a closed basin between the Altai and the Tannu-Ola ranges, and shares its watershed with the Russian republic of Tuva. The whole basin, in two countries, was inscribed on the World Heritage list in 2003 as one of the best examples of Central Asian steppe, desert and mountain ecosystems.

    Read the complete Altan els write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    Altan els is where the day begins. Next is Tsugeer els.

  2. 2. Tsugeer els

    In the far south of Tuva, a Russian republic on the border with Mongolia, sand dunes appear among the steppe and the mountains as if they had wandered north out of the Gobi. Tsugeer Els is one of these dune fields, near the village of Erzin, and it belongs to the Uvs Nuur Basin, a UNESCO site shared by Russia and Mongolia since 2003. The basin is a closed depression around the salt lake of Uvs Nuur, and within it you can find almost every landscape of Central Asia: glaciers, alpine meadows, taiga, steppe, semi-desert and sand dunes, all in a relatively small area.

    Read the complete Tsugeer els write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    Tsugeer els comes up about 130 km into the recorded legs. Next is Jamaalyg.

  3. 3. Jamaalyg

    Tuva sits at the geographic heart of Asia, a Russian republic wedged between Siberia and Mongolia, and its south-west corner is a country of salt lakes, steppe and drifting sand. The village of Erzin lies near the Mongolian border in the Ubsunur hollow, a vast basin ringed by mountains, and the dunes of Tsugeer Els are part of a shared World Heritage site with Mongolia, listed in 2003. Jamaalyg is a spot on this wide plain, in the emptiest part of a thinly populated republic.

    Read the complete Jamaalyg write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    about 286 km into the recorded legs you reach Jamaalyg. Next is Aryskannyg.

  4. 4. Aryskannyg

    Tuva sits in the heart of Asia, in a basin enclosed by the Sayan and Tannu-Ola ranges, and its geographical centre was once marked by a monument at Kyzyl, where the Yenisei begins its long journey north. This point lies in the western half of the republic, near Samagaltay, in country of steppe, river terraces and dry hills. Tuva is known for throat singing, for felt yurts and horses, and for a landscape strewn with the stone mounds and carved slabs of people who herded here thousands of years ago. The Scythian-era burial mound at Arzhan, in the east of the republic, held gold animal figures that rank among the glories of ancient steppe art.

    Read the complete Aryskannyg write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    Aryskannyg, about halfway. Next is back through Jamaalyg.

  5. 5. back through Jamaalyg

    Return visit. Read the place description above.

    Read the complete Jamaalyg write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    back through Jamaalyg sits at 622 km, about halfway. Next is back through Tsugeer els.

  6. 6. back through Tsugeer els

    Return visit. Read the place description above.

    Read the complete Tsugeer els write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    back through Tsugeer els comes up about 807 km into the recorded legs. Next is Altan els.

  7. 7. Altan els

    Return visit. Read the place description above.

    Read the complete Altan els write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    Altan els closes the day.

Leg by leg

Altan els to Tsugeer els

Altan els → Tsugeer els is 130 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

Tsugeer els to Jamaalyg

Tsugeer els → Jamaalyg is 156 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

Jamaalyg to Aryskannyg

Jamaalyg → Aryskannyg is 182 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

Aryskannyg to back through Jamaalyg

Aryskannyg → back through Jamaalyg is 182 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

back through Jamaalyg to back through Tsugeer els

back through Jamaalyg → back through Tsugeer els is 156 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

back through Tsugeer els to Altan els

back through Tsugeer els → Altan els is 130 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

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