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CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE

The Chatkal State Biosphere Nature Reserve and Big Solar Furnace

Plan this ride

Recorded distance
470 km
Riding-time estimate
8 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.

Open this ride in CurveScout

Why this ride

The stops in between: The Chatkal State Biosphere Nature Reserve, Big Solar Furnace and back through The Chatkal State Biosphere Nature Reserve. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 2,650 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available.

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

  1. 1. The Chatkal State Biosphere Nature Reserve

    East of Tashkent, the Western Tian Shan rises in a series of ridges, and the Chatkal range is one of the most accessible of them, its snowy peaks visible from the capital on a clear day. The Chatkal State Biosphere Reserve protects a part of this landscape, with forests of juniper, walnut, maple and wild fruit trees, and alpine meadows above, home to Tian Shan brown bears, snow leopards, ibex, wild boar and many birds of prey. The Western Tian Shan, shared by Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, is on the UNESCO list.

    Read the complete The Chatkal State Biosphere Nature Reserve write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    The Chatkal State Biosphere Nature Reserve is where the day begins. Next is The Chatkal State Biosphere Nature Reserve.

  2. 2. The Chatkal State Biosphere Nature Reserve

    East of Tashkent, the land rises steeply into the western ranges of the Tian Shan, and the Chatkal range forms the border with Kyrgyzstan. The Chatkal State Biosphere Reserve, established in the Soviet era, protects a stretch of these mountains, with juniper forests, walnut and wild fruit trees, alpine meadows and rocky peaks.

    Read the complete The Chatkal State Biosphere Nature Reserve write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    The Chatkal State Biosphere Nature Reserve comes up about 140 km into the recorded legs. Next is Big Solar Furnace.

  3. 3. Big Solar Furnace

    In the foothills of the Tian Shan, about an hour north-east of Tashkent, there is a building that looks as if it belongs in a science fiction film: a huge curved mirror, made of thousands of smaller mirrors, facing a field of tracking mirrors that follow the sun and focus its light onto a single point. This is the Big Solar Furnace near Parkent, built in the Soviet era in the 1980s, and still used for research into materials that can withstand extremely high temperatures.

    Read the complete Big Solar Furnace write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    about 237 km into the recorded legs you reach Big Solar Furnace. Next is back through The Chatkal State Biosphere Nature Reserve.

  4. 4. back through The Chatkal State Biosphere Nature Reserve

    Return visit. Read the place description above.

    Read the complete The Chatkal State Biosphere Nature Reserve write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    back through The Chatkal State Biosphere Nature Reserve, late in the day.

  5. 5. The Chatkal State Biosphere Nature Reserve

    Return visit. Read the place description above.

    Read the complete The Chatkal State Biosphere Nature Reserve write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    Back at The Chatkal State Biosphere Nature Reserve. That is the ride.

Leg by leg

The Chatkal State Biosphere Nature Reserve to The Chatkal State Biosphere Nature Reserve

The Chatkal State Biosphere Nature Reserve → The Chatkal State Biosphere Nature Reserve is 140 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

The Chatkal State Biosphere Nature Reserve to Big Solar Furnace

The Chatkal State Biosphere Nature Reserve → Big Solar Furnace is 97 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

Big Solar Furnace to back through The Chatkal State Biosphere Nature Reserve

Big Solar Furnace → back through The Chatkal State Biosphere Nature Reserve is 97 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

back through The Chatkal State Biosphere Nature Reserve to The Chatkal State Biosphere Nature Reserve

back through The Chatkal State Biosphere Nature Reserve → The Chatkal State Biosphere Nature Reserve is 140 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

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