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GPS Maps for the Stans, Mongolia and Siberia GPS Maps for the Stans, Mongolia and Siberia
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Northern and Central Asia Topics specific to Russia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Mongolia, China, Japan and Korea
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  #1  
Old 22 Aug 2018
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GPS Maps for the Stans, Mongolia and Siberia
Dear All,


Can you advise what are the best GPS maps for the above regions and where they are available. I intend doing mainly dirt road where available and only highways when they are the only option, which in general I will use paper maps for? I`m not super technical, so the idea of making my own routes with Google Earth doesn't appeal. I`m also interested in the GPS units people are using, I currently have a Garmin Zumo, which is good for road maps, but I`m not so sure for topographical ?


Many thanks for your help.
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  #2  
Old 22 Aug 2018
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I use osmand+ (8€ once for Android) .
You can download maps by country/region and the relief of the area. When calculating routes you can have it display the height profile of the Route. It does not know if an "orange" road is perfect tarmac or loose gravel, though.

Otherwise I use maps.me (free for Android). It has better data on Hotels/hostels.

Also iOverlander helps with finding things (hostels, repair shops, banks, etc...)

If I'm unsure about which road to take I usually compare osmand+ and maps.me and ask the locals.

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  #3  
Old 5 Dec 2019
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Niklas974 View Post
I use osmand+ (8€ once for Android) .
You can download maps by country/region and the relief of the area. When calculating routes you can have it display the height profile of the Route. It does not know if an "orange" road is perfect tarmac or loose gravel, though.

Otherwise I use maps.me (free for Android). It has better data on Hotels/hostels.

Also iOverlander helps with finding things (hostels, repair shops, banks, etc...)

If I'm unsure about which road to take I usually compare osmand+ and maps.me and ask the locals.

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I have also used OsmAnd+ in Central Asia and the maps were pretty accurate. I'm not fond of their interface it looked cumbersome after TomTom GO colors and lack of 3D which is useful on curvy mountain roads. The other painful part that if you lay out long route it takes forever to calculate it. On positive side you can block road you don't want to take instead of plotting intermediate points.

Maps.me seems to be very popular with locals and if you have phone service Google Maps is good for finding businesses.. YMMV.

@OP there's really no reason to carry something like Zumo; cheap rugged waterproof Android phone like Kyocera would do everything you need and for $60 you can afford to carry a spare just in case.

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  #4  
Old 22 Aug 2018
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I use http://garmin.openstreetmap.nl
Select the maps (tiles) you need, put in your email and they send you a download link.
Put the gmapsupp file in a folder named GARMIN on an sd card.
Put card in your zumo, and hey presto, detailed maps worldwide for free.

Use it now for many years and I am very pleased with it.

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  #5  
Old 22 Aug 2018
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Titbird View Post
I use http://garmin.openstreetmap.nl
Select the maps (tiles) you need, put in your email and they send you a download link.
Put the gmapsupp file in a folder named GARMIN on an sd card.
Put card in your zumo, and hey presto, detailed maps worldwide for free.

Use it now for many years and I am very pleased with it.

Verstuurd vanaf mijn SM-T715 met Tapatalk
I'd second that. OSM is about the best you'll get, very easy to get onto a Garmin using the above link, and free! What's not to like?

Maps.Me is also worth putting on a smartphone, and it uses the same OSM data, so handy for off-bike planning.

I'd supplement also with Walter Colebatch's POI's, which you can add to both of the above devices.
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  #6  
Old 23 Aug 2018
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Yep, OSM and map.me. Used them on both my trips on my Montana 600 and iphone repectively with no problems.
OSM works great with Basecamp
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  #7  
Old 27 Aug 2018
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Cheers guys, I really appreciate your replies
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  #8  
Old 20 Nov 2019
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glonass ??
We are riding to Stans in may 2020.
Question ;
f( for people who have been there) , Is glonass better in these regions ?
Important because the maps, paper or not, are not so accurate .
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