Why this ride
A named mountain-road corridor with sustained elevation change and pass scenery. It links naturally to Tian Shan and Suusamyr Valley.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Too Ashuu Pass
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 152 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 36
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Editorial context
Coordinates are curated start-via-end route seeds. They are not a surveyed centreline or navigation geometry. Run road snapping, topology checks, access checks and a live-status review before publication.
Access context
Do not auto-publish. Snap to a routable road network, verify current closures, legal motorcycle access, surface, permits, border controls and local safety information.
Seasonal context
Jun-Sep
Scenic road chapters
Too Ashuu Pass
This is where a day makes up time without anyone trying. Third and fourth, and very little else. 23 km that neither climbs nor drops much. The road settles into the ground rather than fighting it.
Rider note
Check the pass is open before you commit to it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 23 km
- Pass
- Too Ashuu Pass
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Bishkek
Bishkek lies at the foot of the Kyrgyz Ala-Too, the northern range of the Tian Shan, and on a clear morning the snow peaks seem close enough to touch from the city's long boulevards. The capital of Kyrgyzstan was a small fort and trading post in the nineteenth century, and was then rebuilt as a Soviet city named Frunze, after the Bolshevik commander born nearby. The legacy is a grid of broad, straight streets lined with poplars and elms, Soviet apartment blocks, wide squares, and statues, including the one of Manas, the hero of the national epic, who stands in front of the main square, Ala-Too.
Read the complete Bishkek write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Bishkek sits at 0 km, early in the day. Next is Too Ashuu Pass.
2. Too Ashuu Pass
Too Ashuu is the point on the main road south from Bishkek where the country changes character. North of the pass, the highway crosses the Chuy plain with its fields, towns and traffic. South of it, you drop into a high, empty world of grass, yurts and sheep, the Suusamyr valley, with the Ala-Too wall rolling on in every direction. The pass lies at about 3,500 metres on the Kyrgyz Ala-Too, and the road across it is the central artery of the north-south link that joins Bishkek to Osh, built in the Soviet period when nobody was counting the cost.
Read the complete Too Ashuu Pass write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Too Ashuu Pass comes up 55 km in. Next is Suusamyr.
3. Suusamyr
Suusamyr is a high, wide, windy valley in the heart of Kyrgyzstan, a long green bowl at more than two thousand metres between the Suusamyr-Too and Kyrgyz ranges, and in summer it is one of the best places in Central Asia to see a pastoral way of life that has hardly changed in centuries. The valley is famous for being cold: snow can fall in any month, and winter temperatures drop far below freezing.
Read the complete Suusamyr write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
152 km in you reach Suusamyr.
Recorded source links
More motorcycle rides nearby
- Bishkek to Ala Archa · 31 km
- Site of Aktobe and City of Suyab · 376 km
- Site of Aktobe and City of Balasagun · 394 km