Mongolia: Middle route in July with heavy motorbikes
 

Hi,
A group of friends with heavy motorbikes (Africa Twin, GS1200, etc.) will ride through Mongolia for 9 days in July.
We start the trip in Prague and enter through the Altai mountains.
We have all experience in Africa and we have hired a support car in Mongolia to carry our luggage.
We will do the Middle route in 6 stages and 2 days of rest...
Do you think is possible this route with these bikes?
Do you recommend some place especially for sightseeing and see something interesting?
Do you think the south is worth visiting?
Thank you so much!!

https://photos.google.com/search/_tr...UREf-5HuT_hJ7T

This is the planned itinerary:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/XT...8=w415-h220-no

Hi,

I live in Western Mongolia Altai you can do easily 5 days on middle road without any hassle if it doesn't rain. Even if it does rain you can make it since the road from UB-Tosontsengel 800 km is paved you can also ride 170 Km south of Khyargas lake.
Southern road is much boring then middle or Northern road there aren't any major river crossings on the middle road now. There is a newly build bridge on Shivert river near Hovd sum use to be notorious river for bikers.



Chinzo,

In 2013 I have done the route shown below.

From the scenery I like ist more than the northern route.

Olgii to Khovd is mountains and nice valleys, 1 river crossing but you can avoid that, there is a bridge.

After Khovd to Altai you cross parts of the stone gobi, which is nice to see, but after a while you are happy to get out of it and turn into the mountains to Altai city.

From there to Uliastay you have stunning sceneries and high mountains with passes up to 2600 meter.
In this area of center Mongolia you have the 2nd highest mountains of Mongolia

After Altai to Tosontsengel, Kharkhorin you pass the "white lake" Tsaagannur, which is an old vulcano area.

beautiful.

In Kharkorin you should visit Erdenezuu on old monastary and the Olchron river valey.

From there to UB.

It depends on the driver, and this road is doable by heavy bikes too.

https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/1...922/mwoLUt.jpg

Hi Chinzo, thanks a lot for your response.
Yes, everybody tells me it's kind of boring so we'll not go there

thank you so much klausmong1.
A friend and his couple did the middle route in 2016 on a BMW F800GS:

Ulgii - Ulaangom - Bayantes - Songino - Tosontsengel - Khorgo - Karkhorin - Ulaanbaatar

They only had some problems with some areas of sand and some rivers, but in general they did not have great difficulties, and he did not have great experience in off road.
I think there are less ger camps on this route and even none in certain areas like Songino. We would like to stay every night in ger camps with a good shower and a good dinner, so I think it's better also the route you propose besides the landscapes

Rode a bit of a combination of middle/north kind of, but definitely not southern route in 2012. Generally straight forward on a bigger bike if you know how to ride (appropriate tyres and suspension also an advantage).

Watch out for the speed of rivers after 36 hours of rain... :D

Page 5 onwards at Adventures between a Cliff and a Wet Place. Brighty in Central Asia and Mongolia | Page 5 | Adventure Rider will give you a taste...

Enjoy your trip!

In 2015 I did the red route in 2 days to Ulaangom.
had about 30 water crossings. some very easy, some a bit challenging.

A friend of mine did the pink route in 2015 and it was kind of easy, but he had luck with the water, the crossings were not so deep because no rain.

And the green one is the nasty one.

There are ger camps in Ulaangom, but I do not remember later on.

You find ger camps in Olgii, Khovd and Altay and all smaller cities.

https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/1...923/n6gn71.jpg

Hi chris bier
We are used to riding bikes in Africa. In the sand we already have a certain practice but maybe a couple of bikes will go with 2 up so we don't want to risk too much...
thanks for the link, awesome !!

Yes, the pink one is that my friend did. They did this route following the advice of the locals, because they thought to do the green one... :(

I've been looking at the waypoints file and there are ger camps at each stage.

Thanks

Does anyone know which parts are paved and which are not?

I think as I read:

Ulgii - Khovd is paved only the first half.
Khovd - Altai the same as before.
Altai - Tosontsengel?
Tosontsengel - Ulaanbaatar is fully paved.

According to my latest information Khovd - Altai is completely paved, so the only doubt I have left is the status of Altai - Tosontsengel, which is not paved.

klausmong1, can you tell me how was this stage in 2013, is it possible to do it in a day?

Thanks bier

Altai - Uliastay I would consider possible in 1 day if it is the same as 2013.

And then another day to Tosontsengel

Crossing Mongolia
 

I am looking for the best way across Mongolia from Olgi to Ulan Batoor. I am a solo female on a Dakar 650 so looking for the route with least river crossings as I will have trouble lifting the bike.
I will have come from Ireland via Central Asia so will have some miles behind me but want to take the route of least resistance.
Mud and sand are not such a problem but river crossings will be,
I will be crossing Mongolia mid to late July.
Appreciate any replies.
:(

Either the southern route from Olgii to UB or center from Altai to Uliasty and then Tosontsengel and Kharkhorin - UB

Thanks you so much for your info klausmong, we are still deciding whether to do the north route, which is the one we like the most, or the central one to avoid problems.
I will report everything here bier

hi pat, we'll be on the same dates over there, maybe we'll see each other

Sounds really nice this route. Last year I made the same with a Honda Transalp. :welcome:
In summer 2018 I will be in Barnaul cause I live now there, so let me know if you need some help or make some service before entering Mongolia as last big city before it. bierbier

Thanks very much for your reply. I like the sound of the centre route best. I wonder if you would mind telling me the towns i will go through so that i can plot it on a map. Also whether you would know which bits of the road are paved.
Thanks again.....

Hi
I was interested in your post as i will be travelling across Mongolia in July and August. I am unsure of the route and wonder if you could tell me what towns i would travel through if i were to do the middle route from Olgi. I will be travelling by myself by motorcycle, solo female and want to avoid as many river crossings as possible because i will be difficult for me to lift the bike on my own. I would appreciate hearing from you.

Tashanta - Olgii - Khovd - Altai - Uliastaay - Tosontsengel - Jargalant - Tsertseleg Kharkhorin - UB

Across Mongolia
 

Excellent thanks!:

Great!
I think I will be in Olgii around July 25th - 30th.

Yes I know you and your travel. I've seen your videos in youtube :thumbup1:
Thanks a lot for your help, maybe we can see each other when we get to Altai

Sorry Pat, I return just now from Africa and I've barely had time.
The route is the one indicated by klausmong1 (thanks again).
If you need any information let me know

Exactly, that was our route and mostly overwhelming!
Best campspots I ever had!

When you say -> Khovd -> Altai, which Khovd do you mean? Do you mean this Khovd:
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Kh...2!4d90.9091187
and then over Ulgii and from there south to continu to Altai?

Or do you mean, from Olgi, over Tolbo -> Hovd -> Altai?

I was thinking to stick a bit more North as we wanted to visit the Ulaagchiin Khar Lake park / bioreserve (not to be confused with the Khar Us Lake!). This one:
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Ul...2!4d95.6167603
That would mean Khovd - Naranbulag - Kyargas Lake, turning south on a track to Urgamal.
Continuing east from there, we wanted to pickup the same route as you guys mentioned to Ulaanbataar, picking up from Uliastaj.

And probably later do a loop from Ulaanbataar to the southern desert and back.
We are travelling with 4x4 (with snorkel) so we do not have the same issues as on a bike. I don't mean to say we can just do anything, it is just that real sandy tracks and water crossing should give less problems hopefully.

No, this Khovd:

https://goo.gl/maps/EcWNKTZMnxn

And this would be the route to Uliastay

https://goo.gl/maps/NNC5YZCRiCP2

Thanks for the info. I've been looking at what I could find of the scenery, and your suggested route over Hovd (your first link) looks nice.
Probably the second part from Hovd to Uliastay (as your second link), I want to do the Northern part. So from Hovd north again via Khyargas lake into Ulaagchin. Then pickup your route from Uliastay again.

Anyway, whichever road, I think it will be fun :)

Hi there. During this summer, probably mid-July, I'm planning to go through the same route already mentioned here: Tashanta - Olgii - Khovd - Altai - Uliastaay - Tosontsengel - Jargalant - Tsertseleg Kharkhorin - UB.
If you will be available in the area, I would be very glad to exchange a few words, ideas and not least some beers :D. I will be coming from Romania, through part of the "stans", and before entering Mongolia it would be really great to get some new and fresh info about the route ahead.
Thanks and enjoy the summer :).

If you need fresh infos about the route, you need to ask someone who drove it recently and it does not help to ask someone who lives 1500km away from that.

just my 2 cents

I agree and I'll also try to get in touch, along the way, with travelers coming from where I'm going, but someone who lives nearby has a very big chance to have fresh (and maybe more detailed) info, from the same source.
At least that's my thinking :).

Well, what do you understand with "nearby" ??

If someone is about 1200 - 1500 km away from the tracks in Mongolia I would not consider it nearby.

I dont know him, maybe he knows the roads very well.
But usually it makes more sense to ask people who just drove that, and not "hearing from someone who was told"

And even if someone tells you about the road, it depends on his driving skills and preferences.

I remember when we asked car drivers, they said "good road" and it was nasty tracked sand. Perfect for a car to avoid potholes, but sometimes hard for a biker who is not an experienced offroad driver.

So I rather would have some "bad" potholed gravel road which is easy to drive for bikes.

And by the way, nearby is if you ask someone in London how the roads are in Swizzerland

Hello everyone, we finally postpone the trip until next July and we keep the idea of doing the route: Tashanta - Olgii - Khovd - Altai - Uliastaay - Tosontsengel - Jargalant - Tsertseleg Kharkhorin - UB.
We have modified the route to Mongolia through Georgia and Kazakhstan from Turkey.
Any comments or recent info will be welcome.
Thanks in advance!!

Did the route 2 weeks ago on a 1150GS

Olgii to Altai is almost everything paved except 70 km between Olgii and Khovd.

Altai to Uliastay is good gravel road ( was completely different 2013 )

Uliastay to Telmen is prepared gravel and normal gravel, ok to drive.

Then again mostely asphalt, except some detours ( sometimes 20km ) for construction.

So most of the middle route is also asphalt now.

Thank you very much klausmong1.
In spite of not being a complicated trip our group will be composed of experienced pilots in off road and long trips and we will take tires type Mitas E07 or similar.
How is the theme of gas stations from Altai to Tosontsengel? I think there's one in Uliastai, isn't it? And from Khovd to Altai I think there's no

Gas is not the big Problem anymore.

From Olgii to Altai you find it in the cities and inbetween

Then again in Ulaistay ( less then 200km ) and then in the cities again, also Telmen, Tosontsengel, Tariat, Tsertseleg, Kharkhorin.

So at maximum it can be that you need gas für 250km, but usually you find benzin before that

Thanks klausmong1 :mchappy:
How long the wait is going to be after having to postpone it!!
This first trip will help me making contact with the country because my dream is to do the north route in maxitrail, but for that I will have to select 1 or 2 riders with good off road level and very used to solve problems on the fly...

Trip report
 

I've just returned from this year's trip, including Mongolia. Here is the relevant part, written just after crossing Mongolia, as advise for a friend:

"About Mongolia: from the border to Olgii you have 100Km, half it's good gravel, half is asphalt. After Olgii to Khovd you have the first 70Km asphalt and than gravel until the last 50-60Km where you have asphalt again. Roughly in the middle there are some sandy sections, not too bad but annoying and you need to go slow. After Khovd you have 2 options: go to Altai, the road is only asphalt, or to Ulaangom, 250Km of gravel road. We took the road to Ulaangom, it was not bad at all but around half, before a small village called Ulgii, there are again some sandy sections. If you take this road, do not go all the way to Ulaangom: 20Km before the city there is a small road to right, you can see it on Maps.me - take it and in 15Km you are on the asphalt again. Than you can go to Ulaangom for gas, on the asphalt road. From here to Songino you have very good asphalt until 47Km before Songino. From here you have gravel and packed dirt all the way to Tosonongel, 190Km between Songino and here. From here it's asphalt all the way to Ulaabataar, with maybe 10-15 Km in total of gravel on some parts.
All along this way you will ride next to the new roads that are being built. You can try and go up the roads but take care, some sections are blocked and you need to find a way around the blocks or even return a few Kms.
If you go to Altai, from Altai to Uliastay it's a bad gravel road, some friends took that part with a car. After Uliastay to Tosonongel it's OK gravel road and then asphalt all the way to UB."

I hope this helps :D.

Be careful.

As already mentioned, as a biker never ask someone with a car how the road is.
If the cardriver says "good road" in Mongolia that usually means sandy parts, because a car likes that.

If they say "bad road" they mean gravel with stones or potholes.
And biker can get easier on that than on sand .
Except you are an experienced sandrider :scooter:

Thank you very much for your answer, it's very useful for us.
I don't worry about there being sandy parts, almost all of us have experience in Africa, nor do I worry if there are a couple of stages in bad conditions, Ulaangom is a very interesting option... Can this route be more attractive than by Uliastai?

No, in my opinion the route from Atail to Uliastay and then Telme, Tosntsengel and Kharkhorin is much nicer than the route in the north.

I have don both of them and would ever advice the middle route .
Nicer landscape.

If you want more selective offroad, take the nothern route

If you have plenty of times and skills, i would recommend that from Ulaangoom to continue North and take the North route all the way, skipping Songino, Tosontsengel, etc. Go to the big lakes in the North. I haven't took that route but from what info I have gathered it seems to be the most captivating one - also the hardest. If you take that route, make sure to check the river crossings status at the time.

I have been there and I have done other routes also, with the bike.

And in my opinion it is not the most boutiful and scienic one.
it is also much deeper from the seelevel than the middle route and also at the middle route you have big mountains and also lakes like the Tsaagan Nur ( white lake ) which is built by a vulcano which you also see there....

But iv you heard that it is the more beautiful route, it must be true what you heard......

I think both would be spectacular for those who have not yet visited Mongolia, but we are not going to change anything by now, I think we already have a very compensated and contrasted route with travelers, so ... here we go.
Thanks!!

Well, trip finished, Barcelona - Ulaanbatar 2019. Any questions about the route, border crossings, etc., I will be happy to answer.
The route was:
Spain - Italy - Greece - Turkey - Gerorgia - Russia - Kazakhstan - Russia (Altai Mountains) - Mongolia.
Next year we will ride from Spain to Turkey like this year and then through Irán, Turkmenistan, Kyrguistan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Mongolia.
bier

Hi there Pat

How did the mongolia trip go? A friend and I are thinking about a tour next summer and would love to know your experience of the roads and route. We are two women and are both very experienced tarmac tourers so any advice would be very much appreciated. We have had some basic off road training but little experience so any advice on whether this will be sufficient would also be welcome. :thumbup1:

Ride Safe
Pádraigín

Most of this route is asphalt now. maybe 250 km with gravel

Middle means Olgii - Khovd - Altai - Uliastai - Tosontsengel - Kharkhorin - UB

Sorry Pat!!
If you want to do the middle route you will not have excessive problems with the paths, I think that the worst can be the sections in works, because the rest is not in very bad condition. I recommend doing some off road course and practice from here to summer, it will be enough. I can also recommend a local guide with support car for those 2 stages. As Klaus says, of those 400 km between Altai and Tosontsengel there will be 250 or less with gravel.
I still haven't had time to download the route from gps and review it, but ask me what you want