Naurzum State Nature Reserve - NSNR Main A and Naurzum State Nature Reserve - NSNR Tersek
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
271 km
Riding-time estimate
4 h 40
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.
The stops in between: Naurzum State Nature Reserve - NSNR Eco-Co, Naurzum State Nature Reserve - NSNR Sypsyn, Naurzum State Nature Reserve - NSNR Tersek and back through Naurzum State Nature Reserve - NSNR Sypsyn. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Naurzum State Nature Reserve - NSNR Main A
Kazakhstan is mostly steppe, and this is the northern part of it, an enormous open country of feather grass, lakes and wind. The Naurzum reserve, in the Kostanay region, protects a patch of that landscape, together with an oddity that surprises everyone, an island of ancient pine forest sitting in the steppe. The pines grow on sandy ground left by an old river, and they form a relict stand that survived when the climate changed. Together with the nearby Korgalzhyn reserve it was recognised by UNESCO as the Saryarka, the Steppe and Lakes of Northern Kazakhstan, and the lakes are a major stopover for migratory birds on the flyway from Africa and India to Siberia.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Naurzum State Nature Reserve - NSNR Main A is where the day begins. Next is Naurzum State Nature Reserve - NSNR Eco-Co.
2. Naurzum State Nature Reserve - NSNR Eco-Co
In the steppes of northern Kazakhstan, in the Kostanay region, islands of pine forest rise out of the open grassland like a mirage, and between them lie shallow lakes full of birds. The Naurzum State Nature Reserve is one of the two parts of Saryarka – Steppe and Lakes of Northern Kazakhstan, listed by UNESCO in 2008 together with the Korgalzhyn reserve far to the east.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Naurzum State Nature Reserve - NSNR Eco-Co comes up about 36 km into the recorded legs. Next is Naurzum State Nature Reserve - NSNR Sypsyn.
3. Naurzum State Nature Reserve - NSNR Sypsyn
The steppe at Naurzum is the kind of place where the horizon is a straight line in every direction. This is northern Kazakhstan, in Kostanay region, a flat country of feather grass, salt lakes and shimmering heat, and in the middle of it a protected area that holds one of the last stretches of unploughed steppe, together with a pine forest that has no right to be there. The reserve was listed by UNESCO as part of Saryarka, Steppe and Lakes of Northern Kazakhstan, in 2008.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 75 km into the recorded legs you reach Naurzum State Nature Reserve - NSNR Sypsyn. Next is Naurzum State Nature Reserve - NSNR Tersek.
4. Naurzum State Nature Reserve - NSNR Tersek
In the steppe of northern Kazakhstan, the Naurzum reserve covers a patch of country that, from a distance, looks like nothing and, from close up, turns out to be a world of its own. It lies in the Kostanay region, in the dry heart of the Turgay plains, and is made of grassland, salt lakes, birch groves and, remarkably, a strip of old pine forest called Naurzum Karagai that survives here, far south of the main taiga. Tersek is one of the separate sectors of the reserve. Together with Korgalzhyn it forms a UNESCO site, the steppe and lakes of northern Kazakhstan, inscribed in 2008.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Naurzum State Nature Reserve - NSNR Sypsyn sits at 181 km, about halfway. Next is back through Naurzum State Nature Reserve - NSNR Eco-Co.
6. back through Naurzum State Nature Reserve - NSNR Eco-Co
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Naurzum State Nature Reserve - NSNR Eco-Co comes up about 234 km into the recorded legs. Next is Naurzum State Nature Reserve - NSNR Main A.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Naurzum State Nature Reserve - NSNR Main A closes the day.
Leg by leg
Naurzum State Nature Reserve - NSNR Main A to Naurzum State Nature Reserve - NSNR Eco-Co
Naurzum State Nature Reserve - NSNR Main A → Naurzum State Nature Reserve - NSNR Eco-Co is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Naurzum State Nature Reserve - NSNR Eco-Co to Naurzum State Nature Reserve - NSNR Sypsyn
Naurzum State Nature Reserve - NSNR Eco-Co → Naurzum State Nature Reserve - NSNR Sypsyn is 39 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Naurzum State Nature Reserve - NSNR Sypsyn to Naurzum State Nature Reserve - NSNR Tersek
Naurzum State Nature Reserve - NSNR Sypsyn → Naurzum State Nature Reserve - NSNR Tersek is 60 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Naurzum State Nature Reserve - NSNR Tersek to back through Naurzum State Nature Reserve - NSNR Sypsyn
Naurzum State Nature Reserve - NSNR Tersek → back through Naurzum State Nature Reserve - NSNR Sypsyn is 60 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Naurzum State Nature Reserve - NSNR Sypsyn to back through Naurzum State Nature Reserve - NSNR Eco-Co
back through Naurzum State Nature Reserve - NSNR Sypsyn → back through Naurzum State Nature Reserve - NSNR Eco-Co is 39 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Naurzum State Nature Reserve - NSNR Eco-Co to Naurzum State Nature Reserve - NSNR Main A
back through Naurzum State Nature Reserve - NSNR Eco-Co → Naurzum State Nature Reserve - NSNR Main A is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.