Why this ride
330 km from Kolkhozobod to Kolkhozobod, about 6 h 23 of riding. On the way it passes Ajinatepa Buddhist monastery, Cultural Heritage Sites of Ancient Khuttal and back through Ajinatepa Buddhist monastery.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Halevard and Cultural Heritage Sites of Ancient Khuttal
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 330 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 6 h 23
- 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: 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. Halevard
Southern Tajikistan is a land of wide river valleys and dry hills, where the Vakhsh and the Panj rivers flow towards the Amu Darya, the Oxus of the ancients, on the border with Afghanistan. Near the town of Kolkhozobod, known today by its newer name, lies Halevard, an archaeological site in the fertile Vakhsh valley. This region was part of ancient Bactria, a land of cities and fortresses that flourished under the Persians, the Greeks who followed Alexander the Great, and the Kushans.
Read the complete Halevard write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Halevard is where the day begins. Next is Ajinatepa Buddhist monastery.
2. Ajinatepa Buddhist monastery
In the Vakhsh valley of southern Tajikistan, near the city of Bokhtar, once called Qurghonteppa, a low mound of earth in the fields hides the remains of a Buddhist monastery from the seventh and eighth centuries. Excavations at Ajina Tepa, which means the hill of the demons in local tradition, revealed a complex of courtyards, cells, corridors and stupas, built of mud brick and decorated with paintings and clay sculptures. The most spectacular find, uncovered in 1966, was a giant reclining Buddha, around thirteen metres long, depicting the Buddha entering nirvana.
Read the complete Ajinatepa Buddhist monastery write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Ajinatepa Buddhist monastery comes up about 47 km into the recorded legs. Next is Cultural Heritage Sites of Ancient Khuttal.
3. Cultural Heritage Sites of Ancient Khuttal
Khuttal was a medieval kingdom in the south of what is now Tajikistan, centred on the fertile valleys between the Vakhsh and Panj rivers, and it flourished as a crossroads of trade and culture between Central Asia, Iran and India. The region's heritage includes the ruins of palaces, towns and religious buildings, such as the citadel of Hulbuk, near Vose', a royal residence from the ninth to the eleventh centuries, with richly decorated walls, and the town of Kulob, with the mausoleum of the fourteenth-century Sufi scholar Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani. Several of these sites have been nominated together for UNESCO recognition.
Read the complete Cultural Heritage Sites of Ancient Khuttal write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 165 km into the recorded legs you reach Cultural Heritage Sites of Ancient Khuttal. Next is back through Ajinatepa Buddhist monastery.
4. back through Ajinatepa Buddhist monastery
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Ajinatepa Buddhist monastery write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Ajinatepa Buddhist monastery, late in the day. Next is Halevard.
5. Halevard
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Halevard write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Halevard. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Halevard to Ajinatepa Buddhist monastery
Halevard → Ajinatepa Buddhist monastery is 47 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Ajinatepa Buddhist monastery to Cultural Heritage Sites of Ancient Khuttal
Ajinatepa Buddhist monastery → Cultural Heritage Sites of Ancient Khuttal is 118 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Cultural Heritage Sites of Ancient Khuttal to back through Ajinatepa Buddhist monastery
Cultural Heritage Sites of Ancient Khuttal → back through Ajinatepa Buddhist monastery is 115 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Ajinatepa Buddhist monastery to Halevard
back through Ajinatepa Buddhist monastery → Halevard is 50 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.