Cycling High Asia: The Mountains of Asia

From Heaven Lake to the Golden Earth

12 months 15,000kms 5 major mountain ranges & 9 countries
A cycling odyssey from the Tien Shan range in Xinjiang, China to the last gasp of the Himalayas in Burma/Myanmar.

A satellite image of High Asia and my planned cycling route
(click on the map to enlarge)

Geographical and political map of the region, showing the five main mountain ranges

The projected route over the Mountains of Asia

From Urumqi (China) to Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan).
I will start the cycle trip at Heaven Lake, high in the Tien Shan and then ride across the broad plains of Xinjiang in the shadow of the Tien Shan range. Cross the Kazakh border at Korgas and onto Issyk Kol (lake) in Kyrgyzstan. Arriving in Bishkek late April. I'll try to explore some of the Tien Shan range in Kyrgyzstan but it may be too early with too much snow on the passes.

The Pamirs - Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan

From Bishkek, there are 2 options.

#1 To Osh in Kyrgystan, then 2 high level routes with a loop through the Pamirs of Tajikistan.

#2 To Tashkent (Uzbekistan) and a low-level route to Samarkand and Dushanbe (Tajikistan) and onto the Pamirs for a high level early summer ride along the Pamir highway.

The route chosen all depends on the amount of snow still lying on the passes. Both routes cross the Chinese border at Irkestam pass and head down to Kashgar.