North or South in Kazakhstan?
 

Hi

I have read endless reports but I am yet to get a feeling for what route to take across Kazakhstan, I am in Ulan Ude at the minute and about to ride through Mongolia, i know that in Mongolia the North Route is Slower but more scenic and interesting and the south is faster with more bridges, but I can't seem to gain any knowledge on what the routes are like in Kazakhstan?

I will be there in early June, on my own with very small amount of off road skill. So probably don't want anything hardcore! Also I have about 200 mile range. (riding a Triumph Scrambler)

So what will be best for me - Ability, time of year and limited time, I'm heading East to West.

I just want a general feel so I don't bite of more than I can chew and miss anything worth seeing!

Thanks in Advance

Paul

Kazakhstan: the main routes that appear on maps of the country are asphalt. Kazakhstan is a reasonable wealthy country with a similar GDP per head as Russia (about USD 15k per person annually - i.e. an average family of 4 would have $60,000 to play with each year) ... Its not like Mongolia which is much much less developed. See following chart for full details of comparative economic development of many of the Eurasian states illustrating the purchasing power per person in US dollars. You will see Russia and Kazakhstan are in a different league to the others, up to 8 times the level of economic development of some of the other countries in the region.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7457/8...53fe03ec_o.jpg

Having said that, the country (KZ) is vast, and many old soviet era roads are only now getting around to being repaved. Many of the soviet era paving jobs are very rough asphalt roads.

You really have to make a conscious effort to find off-road in Kazakhstan. Its not something that you have to worry about accidentally stumbling across. Its much more like Russia in most ways, than like Mongolia. Similar level of economic development, but the infrastructure is probably not up to Russian levels. Mongolia in comparison has very limited infrastructure - tho the sudden and rapid rise in incomes in the last 3-5 years has seen a huge amount of roadbuilding going on.

As for choosing main routes (they are all asphalt) ... there is not a lot to see in Kazakhstan. If there is stuff you particularly want to see, then ask around on the Northern Asia section.

The geography is pretty boring, there are no real historical or cultural cities (Uzbekistan has all of those), food is a cross between Russian and Uzbek but worse than both of the above. Almaty is a pleasant city but is expensive - A nice place to visit but no real reason to go there unless its on your route to Kyrgyzstan or Tajikistan - which are both spectacular.

In general, a journey to visit central asia should focus on Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan ... for food, culture, history and stunning scenery. Kazakhstan doesnt really have any of the above.

Thanks Walter, from the posts I have read I was thinking of doing this

Border Semey
Pavlodar
Ekibastuz
Astana
Atyrau
Border Astrakhan
Then onto Volgograd.

This looks like a fast(isn) route so I can spend some more time exploring Europe before I arrive back in London

Any thoughts?

First thought is to think about your route through the Altai.

There are a couple of nice alternatives through scenic countryside than can be planned as all asphalt roads or some gravel roads that avoids the main highway. The main highway is typically boring after Gorno Altaisk to Barnaul and then down to Rubtsovsk and the border between Rubtsovsk and Semey can be hot, crowded and take a while. I would take some time to think about a nice route through the Altai as it is very scenic and beautiful.

Try these threads for more info:
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...mongolia-37872

And this one has maps for shortest routes:
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...khstan-58239-2

Note that if you look at the map image below, if you take the route section highlighted red before rejoining the yellow line, your route will be all on asphalt. Beautiful rural countryside.
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6136/...82d85b0a_o.jpg

Those routes also avoid the highway border between Rubtsovsk and Semey.

As for Kazakhstan ... your route is all good and straightforward with the exception of Astana to Atyrau ... I guess the easiest routing for that is Astana - Kostanai - Aktobe - Atyrau .... the last part of that, Aktobe-Atyrau is a bit of a bombed out old asphalted track.

If you wanted to do some gravel roads, other routing possibilities between Astana and Atyrau would open up, and youcould basically do the exact reverse of this trip I helped route plan for in 2011: http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=715670
Have a read of that to get an idea if those road conditions in Kazakhstan are suitable. Basically, after you have ridden across Mongolia, they shouldnt be anything to worry about.

Parts of the Kaz roads before and after Astana are, or were under repair. The way they do it is bulldoze 30km of scrub and that is the detour while they repair 30km of highway.

The side road is atrocious and heavily rutted and stuffed by bogged trucks as it may be in place for a whole season and NEVER gets maintained

But in saying that, it is usually better than the paved road which is basically a series if potholes joined by tar

This was in July 2012, I doubt if it is any better now but there should be some nice finished bits

The southern road in Mongolia was being built when I went through in August. They said it would be paved all the way to UB by the close of season last year. I seriously doubt that and would be interested in any later reports than mine

I agree with many of the post above. There is really not much to see in between the cities and the roads are in less than desirable conditions.

My wife's family is from Ekibastuz-Pavlodar area. The ride to and from Astana was approximate 5 hours on a 4x4 (last year). You will probably average around 45-50 KPH. Fuel and food are plenty around, just don't expect any quality stuff. There are plenty of check points and since motorcycles are an oddity outside the cities, expect to be stop at everyone of them (paperwork check)

The west side of Astana was nice. Very modern, clean and organized. There are a few places and structures that are worth stopping and taking a picture of, but a decent hotel will definitely cost you a pretty penny.

Good luck and enjoy your trip.