Why this ride
It goes by way of Mansaf Caravanserai, Akja Gala Caravanserai, Gyzylja Gala Caravanserai and back through Mansaf Caravanserai. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Repetek and Gyzylja Gala Caravanserai
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 1853 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 31 h 59
- 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.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Repetek
Repetek has the reputation of being one of the hottest places in the former Soviet Union, and on a summer afternoon in the Karakum desert, standing among the dunes with the air shimmering, you will not doubt it. A desert research station was founded here in 1912, and the surrounding area became a nature reserve, later a biosphere reserve, protecting a typical stretch of the sandy desert of Turkmenistan. Scientists have studied the plants, animals and dunes here for over a century, and the station has been a pioneer in understanding how life survives in extreme heat and drought.
Read the complete Repetek write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Repetek is where the day begins. Next is Mansaf Caravanserai.
2. Mansaf Caravanserai
Out in the Karakum, the great black-sand desert that covers most of Turkmenistan, the old caravan route between Merv and Amul on the Amu Darya crossed some two hundred kilometres of sand, and along it, at intervals of a day's march, stood caravanserais where travellers could rest, water their animals and find shelter. The ruins of the Mansaf caravanserai lie on this route, a crumbling square of brick walls and gateways in an empty landscape of dunes and saxaul shrubs. They are part of the Silk Roads heritage of Central Asia, and the corridor is on Turkmenistan's list of sites proposed for UNESCO recognition.
Read the complete Mansaf Caravanserai write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Mansaf Caravanserai comes up about 371 km into the recorded legs. Next is Akja Gala Caravanserai.
3. Akja Gala Caravanserai
The Silk Road across the Karakum was never a single road. It was a series of wells, forts and caravanserais, a day's travel apart, where camels could drink and merchants could sleep behind walls. Akja Gala is one of these shelters, a square brick building with a central courtyard and rooms around it, set in sand and saxaul scrub between Merv and the Amu Darya, the river called the Oxus by the Greeks.
Read the complete Akja Gala Caravanserai write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 543 km into the recorded legs you reach Akja Gala Caravanserai.
4. Mansaf Caravanserai
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Mansaf Caravanserai write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Mansaf Caravanserai, about halfway. Next is Gyzylja Gala Caravanserai.
5. Gyzylja Gala Caravanserai
The Karakum desert covers most of Turkmenistan, and its eastern edge is where the Murghab river fans out into the oasis of Merv, one of the great cities of the ancient world. In the Seljuk age, in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, Merv was said to be among the largest cities on earth, and the countryside around it was threaded with canals, fortresses and the roadside inns the Persians called caravanserais. This point lies in that old orbit, in the plain near Bayramaly, where the desert and the irrigated fields meet.
Read the complete Gyzylja Gala Caravanserai write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Gyzylja Gala Caravanserai sits at 929 km, about halfway. Next is back through Mansaf Caravanserai.
6. back through Mansaf Caravanserai
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Mansaf Caravanserai write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Mansaf Caravanserai comes up about 1132 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Akja Gala Caravanserai.
7. back through Akja Gala Caravanserai
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Akja Gala Caravanserai write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 1305 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Akja Gala Caravanserai.
8. back through Mansaf Caravanserai
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Mansaf Caravanserai write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Mansaf Caravanserai, late in the day. Next is Repetek.
9. Repetek
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Repetek write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 1853 km.
Leg by leg
Repetek to Mansaf Caravanserai
Repetek → Mansaf Caravanserai is 371 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Mansaf Caravanserai to Akja Gala Caravanserai
Mansaf Caravanserai → Akja Gala Caravanserai is 173 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Akja Gala Caravanserai to Mansaf Caravanserai
Akja Gala Caravanserai → Mansaf Caravanserai is 173 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Mansaf Caravanserai to Gyzylja Gala Caravanserai
Mansaf Caravanserai → Gyzylja Gala Caravanserai is 208 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Gyzylja Gala Caravanserai to back through Mansaf Caravanserai
Gyzylja Gala Caravanserai → back through Mansaf Caravanserai is 208 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Mansaf Caravanserai to back through Akja Gala Caravanserai
back through Mansaf Caravanserai → back through Akja Gala Caravanserai is 173 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Akja Gala Caravanserai to back through Mansaf Caravanserai
back through Akja Gala Caravanserai → back through Mansaf Caravanserai is 173 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Mansaf Caravanserai to Repetek
back through Mansaf Caravanserai → Repetek is 371 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
More motorcycle rides nearby
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