H ighly R ecommended ,
T o T h e A d v e n t u r o u s T r a v e ll e r
I
am sitting in a stone hut, 6 x 3
foot, it is steaming hot and an old
bloke is stoking a fire to heat it
from the small room outside.
I am at 3,200 metres and the
small room has four other sweaty
people in it. It is getting cold outside.
We pour water over our overheat-
ing heads and wonder at the amazing
day that has led us to this place. A
traditional Russian Banya (sauna) is
an experience within itself but after
an amazing day of riding through re-
mote Kyrgyzstan it is almost surreal.
Tash Rabat is known for its stone,
12th century, silk road caravanserai
that is still in remarkable condition
for being at altitude and subject to
the deepest Kyrgyzstan winters and
burning summer sun.
We have ridden from our very odd
but comfortable lodgings in Naryn,
about 200 kilometres away, via a cou-
ple of spectacular mountain passes
on twisting dirt roads. The rest of
the route was through green valleys
TRAVERSE 55
and river flats, finally climbing to our
current altitude.
Lunch was under the shade of a
future service station canopy, the
spectacular view and the fact that we
had shade in this epic but bare land-
scape made the picnic spread before
us so much more appealing.
The morning ride had been great,
a combination of well-maintained
gravel roads and super smooth sealed
main roads. We belted along the
valley floor beside the spectacular,
snow-capped At Bashy mountain
range. China was on the other side
of those mountains, but that wasn’t
our destination. The afternoon’s
short route was something out of this
world, riding through a canyon with
rocky cliffs on either side and a crys-
tal-clear creek running briskly beside
the tight and twisty track. The walls
of the canyon closed in then spread
out to reveal grand and spectacular
valleys, spotted with rocky outcrops
on incredibly steep green slopes.