Mongolia/Stans - July to Sept 2017
 

Hi all,

I have come up with a route and some dates for my upcoming trip.

While I tried to keep my dates as open as possible, i have a set date on 26th September for a China crossing into Pakistan and also need to provide some dates for an Uzbek and Turkmen visa

Appreciate any advice on the below route.

Special considerations to keep in mind would be a 350km fuel range and low ground clearance on my bike

1. Seoul (22/6) to Vlad Port (26/6) - Bonded Truck & Ferry

2. Vladivostok (28/6) to Ereentsav (7/7) - Approx 3000km over 10 days

4. Ereentsav (8/7) to Tsaganuur Border (29/7) - Via UB > Uliastai (Central Route) > Altai (South) and back up to the border. Approx 3000km over 21 days

5. Tsaganuur (30/7) to Shemonaika (1/8) - Approx 1000km in 3 days

6. Shemonaika (2/8) to Almaty/Karkara Border (6/8) - Approx 1500km in 5 days

From here, the next 4 weeks or so are Pamirs down through Kyrgyzstan to Tajikistan and back up towards Uzbenistak (route map shown below for Pamirs)

7. Karkara Border to Sary Tash

8. Sary Tash to Khujand

9. Khujand (5/9) to Khiva (13/9) - Approx 1200km in 9 days on the first of my 15 day UZ 2-part visa

10. Khiva (14/9) to Turkmenabat (18/9) - Approx 1300km over 5 days on a guided tour as I cannot get a transit visa for Turkmenistan but want to see the Darvaza Crater

11. Turkmenabat (19/9) to Irketsham (25/9) - Approx 1300km over 7 days on the 2nd 15 days of my UZ visa

12. 26th September - Group crossing into China towards Pakistan

As you can see, I have pretty much all open dates prior to getting into UZ on 6th August.

A lot of time allocated to Pamirs of which a week or so may be used up earlier through Russia or Kazakhstan.

3 weeks in Mongolia seems plentiful too taking into account I may travel slower than more well suited bikes.

Thanks in advance!!

https://preview.ibb.co/njWjQa/363425...405eb304_o.jpg

Hi, look sgood.


5. Tsaganuur (30/7) to Shemonaika (1/8) - Approx 1000km in 3 days

Yes it can be done in 3 days. The roads are in good condition if you stay on the main roads. Although, the Altai on the Russian side is absolutely stunning. I went back in 2015 and spent 10 days exploring it with local friends in 2015 and it was well worth it. It would be a shame to rush through. (you can see photos on my trip reports – see links via my website below)

6. Shemonaika (2/8) to Almaty/Karkara Border (6/8) - Approx 1500km in 5 days
Yes can be done in 5 days, if you stick to the main road.
Although it is well worth it to deviate a bit.

Also, instead of going to the main border crossing near Almaty, I would recommend the very small one on the East side: i.e. Kegen on Kazakh side, to Karakol on Kyrgyz side. Magnificent rides to do there. And also Karakol (the one near lake Issyk Kul!) is a very pleasant town, with plenty of tourists and nice food, to rest a bit! Also the border crossing is tiny and very fast.


9. Khujand (5/9) to Khiva (13/9) - Approx 1200km in 9 days on the first of my 15 day UZ 2-part visa

I presume you will go via Samarkand and Bukhara to Khiva? All worth a couple of days each I would think. Make sure you have plenty of cash (USD) with you in Uzbekistan. Not many cash points at all.

3 weeks in Mongolia: depends where you want to go and what to visit. It is a big country.

4 weeks for the Pamirs: depends what you want to do (hiking? exploring further?) . If you stick to the main road (M41 and the wakhan corridor) it should be fine . Many guided tours do that in 2 weeks! check out Muztoo.ch schedule for an idea !

3 months in total is plenty of time to explore the region.

Thanks so much for your feedback Maria

Most of my dates leading upto my Uzbekistan entry are flexible as this is the only visa I had to specify a date for

The Tsaaganuur to Shemonaika route can easily have a couple more days added to appreciate the Altai region. Is there a route you would suggest? I'll check your website also

I had thought from the reports I'd read that KAZ wasn't that interesting hence the short time but I definitely plan on going around Laka Karakol form the samller multilateral border to the East

You're correct on my UZ route up to Khiva but here I had set myself another time constraint of going into Turkmenistan

I'm wondering if I should really bother with Turkmenistan as it will mean I have a fixed date and also will cost me around USD1500 for 5 days just so I can see the Darvaza Crater

Pamirs, I really don't know. I would like the idea of spending time in the small villages on homestays and taking my time

I may not be able to explore offroad tracks too much due to my bike but lets see

Will check the MuzToo schedule too

Thanks again !