Mongol Daguur SPNA and Daursky SNBR and Valley of Dzeren Nature R
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
311 km
Riding-time estimate
5 h 22
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.
On the way it passes Forest steppe part of Daursky SNBR, Daursky SNBR and Valley of Dzeren Nature R and back through Forest steppe part of Daursky SNBR. It crosses from Mongolia into Russia - carry ID and check the toll rules. Rivers set the line for much of the day.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. 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.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Mongol Daguur SPNA is where the day begins. Next is Forest steppe part of Daursky SNBR.
2. 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.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Forest steppe part of Daursky SNBR comes up about 83 km into the recorded legs. Next is Daursky SNBR and Valley of Dzeren Nature R.
3. Daursky SNBR and Valley of Dzeren Nature R
Dauria is a grassland that does not care about borders. Here, where Russia's Zabaykalsky region meets Mongolia and China, the steppe rolls away in pale gold waves toward the horizon, broken by salt lakes and low hills. The name on this point stands for two Russian reserves, the Daursky Biosphere Reserve and the Valley of Dzeren, which together with the Mongolian reserves nearby form a protected landscape recognised by UNESCO in 2017. Dzeren is the Mongolian gazelle, a pale, fast antelope, and the valley is named after the herds that come and go across the frontier in search of better grass.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Mongol Daguur SPNA. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Mongol Daguur SPNA to Forest steppe part of Daursky SNBR
Mongol Daguur SPNA → Forest steppe part of Daursky SNBR is 83 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Forest steppe part of Daursky SNBR to Daursky SNBR and Valley of Dzeren Nature R
Forest steppe part of Daursky SNBR → Daursky SNBR and Valley of Dzeren Nature R is 73 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Daursky SNBR and Valley of Dzeren Nature R to back through Forest steppe part of Daursky SNBR
Daursky SNBR and Valley of Dzeren Nature R → back through Forest steppe part of Daursky SNBR is 73 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Forest steppe part of Daursky SNBR to Mongol Daguur SPNA
back through Forest steppe part of Daursky SNBR → Mongol Daguur SPNA is 83 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.