Why this ride
It goes by way of Landscapes of Dauria, Mongol Daguur SPNA, Chuh-Nuur Lake cluster and back through Mongol Daguur SPNA. It crosses from Russia into Mongolia - carry ID and check the toll rules. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Forest steppe part of Daursky SNBR and Chuh-Nuur Lake cluster
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 66 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 1 h 08
- 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.
Scenic road chapters
Chita to Dauria Reserve
For about 38 km this is Chita to Dauria Reserve, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it — expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 38 km
- Named road
- Chita to Dauria Reserve
Mongol Daguur SPNA → Chuh-Nuur Lake cluster
Water arrives beside the road and stays for 59 km. The line follows the shore because there is nowhere else for it to go. Slow enough to look. The surface follows the shoreline, so the corners arrive where the water decided, not where an engineer did.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 59 km
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Forest steppe part of Daursky SNBR
Dauria is the name for the open steppe where Siberia runs into Mongolia and China, and it is one of the last great undisturbed grasslands in Asia. The reserve called Daursky protects a slice of it in the far south of Zabaykalsky Krai, in an area of rolling hills, shallow salt lakes, and a sky that feels twice as large as normal. Forest steppe is the term for the zone where patches of larch and birch push out into the grass, and here the mixture is dry, windy and bright, with long winters of fierce cold and short summers that can be surprisingly hot.
Read the complete Forest steppe part of Daursky SNBR write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Forest steppe part of Daursky SNBR is where the day begins. Next is Landscapes of Dauria.
2. Landscapes of Dauria
Dauria is the great steppe that straddles the border between Russia's Zabaykalsky region and northeastern Mongolia, and it is one of the last places on earth where you can see a grassland ecosystem working on its own terms. UNESCO listed the landscapes of Dauria in 2017 as a joint Russian and Mongolian site, recognising the importance of its steppe, wetlands and wildlife. The scale is vast: rolling grasslands stretching to the horizon, dotted with lakes, under a sky that seems to go on forever.
Read the complete Landscapes of Dauria write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Landscapes of Dauria comes up about 13 km into the recorded legs. Next is Mongol Daguur SPNA.
3. Mongol Daguur SPNA
Mongol Daguur is a strictly protected area in the far east of Mongolia, in Dornod province, where the steppe rolls away towards the Russian and Chinese borders under a sky that seems twice the size of any other. Together with Russia's Daursky reserve across the border, it forms the Landscapes of Dauria, a World Heritage site covering one of the last great intact steppe ecosystems on Earth. There are no fences, no villages, barely any tracks, just grass, lakes, wind and wildlife.
Read the complete Mongol Daguur SPNA write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 21 km into the recorded legs you reach Mongol Daguur SPNA. Next is Chuh-Nuur Lake cluster.
4. Chuh-Nuur Lake cluster
Open steppe, a few shallow lakes and a very large sky: that is the landscape of Dauria, the borderland where eastern Mongolia meets Russia and China. The Chuh-Nuur lakes lie in the Mongolian part of it, a region of rolling grassland dotted with salt-edged basins that fill and shrink with the rains. UNESCO lists the Landscapes of Dauria as a transboundary site, because it is the migration crossroads that matters, not the border drawn across it.
Read the complete Chuh-Nuur Lake cluster write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Chuh-Nuur Lake cluster, about halfway. Next is back through Mongol Daguur SPNA.
5. back through Mongol Daguur SPNA
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Mongol Daguur SPNA write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Mongol Daguur SPNA sits at 44 km, about halfway. Next is back through Landscapes of Dauria.
6. back through Landscapes of Dauria
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Landscapes of Dauria write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Landscapes of Dauria comes up about 52 km into the recorded legs. Next is Forest steppe part of Daursky SNBR.
7. Forest steppe part of Daursky SNBR
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Forest steppe part of Daursky SNBR write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Forest steppe part of Daursky SNBR closes the day.
Leg by leg
Forest steppe part of Daursky SNBR to Landscapes of Dauria
Forest steppe part of Daursky SNBR → Landscapes of Dauria is 13 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Landscapes of Dauria to Mongol Daguur SPNA
Landscapes of Dauria → Mongol Daguur SPNA is 8 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Mongol Daguur SPNA to Chuh-Nuur Lake cluster
Mongol Daguur SPNA → Chuh-Nuur Lake cluster is 12 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Chuh-Nuur Lake cluster to back through Mongol Daguur SPNA
Chuh-Nuur Lake cluster → back through Mongol Daguur SPNA is 12 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Mongol Daguur SPNA to back through Landscapes of Dauria
back through Mongol Daguur SPNA → back through Landscapes of Dauria is 8 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Landscapes of Dauria to Forest steppe part of Daursky SNBR
back through Landscapes of Dauria → Forest steppe part of Daursky SNBR is 13 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.