CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
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: Petroglyphic Complexes of the Mongolian Al, Ukok Quiet Zone on the Ukok Plateau and back through Petroglyphic Complexes of the Mongolian Al. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 2,950 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available. It crosses from Mongolia into Russia - carry ID and check the toll rules. Open plateau country, wide and exposed.
Far out in Mongolia's westernmost corner, where the country wedges itself between Russia, China and Kazakhstan, the Altai mountains rise to the glaciated crown of Tavan Bogd. Below them the Tsagaan Gol, the White River, runs through valleys of larch and bare rock, and on the walls above the water prehistoric hunters carved some of the finest petroglyphs in Central Asia. They are part of the Petroglyphic Complexes of the Mongolian Altai, a UNESCO listing that spans thousands of years, from around the end of the Ice Age through the Bronze Age to the early Turkic era. The images show ibex, aurochs, deer, camels, hunters with bows, and in the later layers horsemen and chariots.
Read the complete Upper Tsagaan Gol write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Upper Tsagaan Gol is where the day begins. Next is Petroglyphic Complexes of the Mongolian Al.
The Mongolian Altai does not look like the landscape of a rock-art gallery. It looks like open ground, grey and gold in the light, with snow mountains standing far off along the border of China and Russia. And yet near here, in the far west of Bayan-Ulgii province, the rocks hold thousands of petroglyphs, some of them thought to be many thousands of years old. Tsagaan Salaa and Baga Oigor are the best known. Aral Tolgoi is a neighbouring part of the same inscribed group.
Read the complete Petroglyphic Complexes of the Mongolian Al write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Petroglyphic Complexes of the Mongolian Al comes up about 38 km into the recorded legs. Next is Ukok Quiet Zone on the Ukok Plateau.
The Ukok Plateau is where Russia runs out of room. At around two thousand meters, in the far south of the Altai Republic, a wide cold steppe lies pinned between the borders of Kazakhstan, China and Mongolia, with snow peaks on the horizon and permafrost under the grass. It is part of the Golden Mountains of Altai, a UNESCO site listed in 1998, and the Russian authorities named it a Quiet Zone to protect the landscape and the traditions of the people who live and herd animals here.
Read the complete Ukok Quiet Zone on the Ukok Plateau write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
about 126 km into the recorded legs you reach Ukok Quiet Zone on the Ukok Plateau. Next is back through Petroglyphic Complexes of the Mongolian Al.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Petroglyphic Complexes of the Mongolian Al write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Petroglyphic Complexes of the Mongolian Al, late in the day. Next is Upper Tsagaan Gol.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Upper Tsagaan Gol write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Back at Upper Tsagaan Gol. That is the ride.
Upper Tsagaan Gol → Petroglyphic Complexes of the Mongolian Al is 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Petroglyphic Complexes of the Mongolian Al → Ukok Quiet Zone on the Ukok Plateau is 88 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Ukok Quiet Zone on the Ukok Plateau → back through Petroglyphic Complexes of the Mongolian Al is 88 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Petroglyphic Complexes of the Mongolian Al → Upper Tsagaan Gol is 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.