July- August / 5 days / $1245 per person
Route: Almaty – Turgen River – Assy Plateau – Zhenishke River – Kensu River – Karkara Valley – Almaty
Mountain Biking in Central Asia Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan
On this mountain bike tour in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan we take you off the grid and into the heart of the Tien Shan Mountains that include the marble pyramid of Khan Tengri (7010m) and Pobedy Peak (7439 m). Snow-capped mountains provide a stunning backdrop for our mountain biking trip through Kazakhstan’s valleys with lush pastures and up to passes and plateaus that are teeming with grasslands and wildflowers. The only traffic will be the occasional horseman and we’ll meet nomadic Kazakhs that have moved their flocks of sheep to high pastures.
This is a tough off road mountain biking tour as not only is the cycling challenging, we are riding at high altitudes and in extreme weather conditions. This all makes for a true adventure for those that want a unique biking experience with spectacular high mountain scenery.
Day 1. Almaty – Turgen Valley – Assy plateau.
AM Preparation of bikes. Drive to the Turgen River Gorge. Crossing the National Park border and change bus to 6WD truck equipped with seats after Batan village (1800 m). Start riding gently down from the top of Assy Pass (2590 m). The sky is big, the grass is a vibrant green, and the panorama is endless. We also have views here of snow-capped peaks in the distance. There are many local Kazakh yurtas and people on horseback on the Assy plateau, which is rare to see now in modern Kazakhstan. Cycling for 42 km following the Assy River down to the campsite nestled in amongst pine trees (1970m). All the riding is off road. Tented camp.
Ride 42 km. B L D.
Day 2. Assy – Batyrma Pass – Zhenishke River.
Long day ahead of us as we have to follow Assy river canyon 14 km. down to 1400 m. and then turn to 4 km. climb Batyrma Pass (1980 m) today. Once we’ve reached the top the riding is undulating 15 km. descent as we cross the green Ashyk Dala Plateau where we’ll visit Sary Tau village. Then we’ll ride on the hills and descent to Zhenishke River valley some times by the small rocky shelves. All the riding is off road.Tented camp.
Ride 59 km. B L D
Day 3. Zhenishke – Algabas village – Kensu River
Today starts descent 17 km. to Algabas village where we’ll meet our bus again and we follow the off road 18 km. to Zhalanash village (1700 m). We’ll ride through the big villages with their white and blue picket fences and have time to pop into a local store where abacuses are still used. The riding will be mostly flat today with a few undulations and though we are on roads, they are in a good condition, and we will see very little traffic. We camp near Kensu river (1580m). Tented camp.
Ride 60 km. B L D
Day 4. Kensu River – Kegen Village – Karkara BC (2200 m)
We start to ride along Kegen River and cross it by big bridge and ascent 6 km. up to Kegen Plateau. There are many agriculture fields there and we’ll ride after 19 km. by the asphalted route through regional town Kegen. Then we ride 12 km. to Karkara village where we’ll cross river by a bridge and 10 km. more on off road to the frontier check point to Kyrgyzstan. Here we’ll spend an hour for border formalities, pack our bikes to the truck, take a bus transfer 15 km. to Karkara Base camp (Kyrgyzstan) 2200 m., where we’ll see our helicopter MI 17. After dinner, we can get hot sauna near a river. Fixed tented camp near small Kirgiz village.
Ride 65 km. B L D
Day 5. Karkara BC – Heli-biking! – Karkara BC – Almaty
Today morning we put our bikes to the wide body of helicopter, take a rest seats and fly 20 min. to Dzhalanach Pass 3510. On good weather conditions we can see a Great Tien Shan Range with a highest peaks Khan Tengri(7010) and Pobeda (7439) – very well known among climbers and trekkers. Helicopter will leave us and we start to ride down 45 km to Karkara BC. Off road along Dzhalanach river, with green glades full of domestic animals, Kirgiz yurtas, follow us to green Karkara river Canyon with nice rocks and pine forest. We can stop somewhere to visit local nomads and their families. Arternoon arrival to Karkara BC. Lunch. Transfer to Almaty 280 km. 6 hrs.
BL
Price: $1245 per person
50% discount for children under 15 years old
Minimum group size – 8 persons
Local mountain bike with spare parts 5 days hire $100 (32 000 KZT)
