West Tibet road notes
The notes on the Kashgar - Kathmandu southern road was originally collected by Uli Sertl during his bicycle trip in year 2000. I have made some small corrections + updated it - e.g. GPS, rivers, the new shortcut near Ali and the changed shortcut to the Friendship Highway. The altitudes were measured by Uli.
In all: I biked some 2520 km. Ascends adds up to more than 20 km (16.6 km from Xaidulla there I finally got the time and energy to make my bicycle computer with altimeter work).
See also Janne Corax's notes and altitude maps on West Tibet.
| abs. | KM-marker | distance (km) | description | altitude (m) | remarks |
| 0 | 0 | 0 | KASHGAR | 1300 | highway 315 |
| 214 | - | 214 | yarkand | 1300 | turn left for this big town. |
| 250 | 250 | 36 | yecheng | 1300 | end of highway 315, now highway 219. Turn right just after end of town |
| 275 | 25 | 25 | army base | - | - |
| 307 | 56 | 32 | village | - | - |
| 308 | 57 | 1 | end of asfalt | 1850 | - |
| 312 | 61 | 4 | village | - | basic food and beverage, shops, not friendly |
| 322 | 71 | 10 | village | - | basic food and beverage, shops |
| 325 | 74 | 3 | begin asfalt | - | - |
| 344 | 93 | 19 | end of asfalt | - | until kilometer (abs): 2462 (barabhise) |
| 351 | 100 | 7 | akmeqit | - | nothing to buy |
| 355 | 104 | 4 | begin ascending to pass | - | - |
| 363 | 112 | 8 | pass | 3150 | - |
| 377 | 126 | 14 | village | 2400 | road-repair-station, end descending |
| 382 | 131 | 5 | army base | - | - |
| 413 | 161 | 31 | village | - | basic food and beverage, shops, army base, road-repair-station, restaurants |
| 431 | 179 | 18 | small army base | 3280 | Now abandoned? |
| 446 | 194 | 15 | begin ascend of pass | 3900 | - |
| 458 | 206 | 12 | small road repair station | 4300 | - |
| 469 | 217 | 11 | pass | 4740 | 4993 by GPS, swichboard road |
| 493 | 241 | 24 | mazar | 3600 | restaurants, small! shops, dormitory, turn left for Ali, right for K2. |
| 506 | 254 | 13 | truck stop | - | Small restaurant, small shop in main building |
| 542 | 289 | 36 | road-repair-station | 3860 | 3992 by GPS, uigur food, dirty dormitory |
| 545 | 292 | 3 | begin ascending pass | - | - |
| 562 | 309 | 17 | pass | 4670 | 4955 by GPS, Swichboard |
| 577 | 324 | 15 | road-repair-station | - | not in use |
| 593 | 340 | 16 | road-repair-station | - | very friendly guys, play volleyball or China chess with them! |
| 607 | 354 | 14 | end of descending | 3430 | - |
| 617 | 364 | 10 | xaidulla | 3450 | only important town until rutok xian, restaurants, shops, chocolate! |
| 680 | 425 | 63 | pass | 4100 | 4305 by GPS |
| 692 | 437 | 12 | kangxiwar | 3800 | road-repair-station, end descending |
| 744 | 487 | 52 | dahongliutan | 4000 | restaurants, shops but not much, domitory |
| 770 | 512 | 26 | road-repair-station | 4500 | road-repair-station, truck driver will tell you it´s KM 509 |
| 792 | 534 | 22 | pass | 5200 | 5215 by GPS, flat uphill |
| 795 | 537 | 3 | end of descending | 4940 | - |
| 801 | 543 | 6 | tent | - | basic food and beverage, very good |
| 836 | 577 | 35 | tianshuihai | - | military base, basic food in shelter near road |
| 891 | 630 | 55 | begin ascending to pass | - | - |
| 934 | 672 | 43 | tielong | 5200 | basic food and beverage, shops |
| 950 | 688 | 16 | pass | 5350 | 5356 by GPS |
| 974 | 712 | 22 | begin ascending pass | 4850 | - |
| 977 | 715 | 3 | 1' pass | 5100 | 5206 by GPS, border between Xinjiang and Tibet. |
| 982 | 720 | 5 | 2' pass | 5272 | by GPS |
| 992 | 730 | 10 | sumxi | - | basic food and beverage, dormitory, ask prices for everything, ripoff-place! River before town. |
| 1002 | 740 | 10 | pass | 5401 | by GPS, normads around.Highest pass on the west tibet southern route. |
| 1094 | 829 | 102 | domar | 4350 | military base, basic food and beverage, restaurants, domitory |
| 1110 | 845 | 16 | pass | 5000 | 4664 by GPS, flat uphill |
| 1159 | 893 | 49 | house | - | basic food and beverage when open |
| 1161 | 895 | 2 | reaching nyak lake | - | - |
| 1184 | 918 | 23 | village | - | basic food and beverage, boats, dormitory. you can eat fish from the lake here! |
| 1199 | 933 | 15 | rutok xian | 4160 | occasional checkpoint. PSB!, international calls, bank of china, market, shops, turn left after the city for Ali |
| 1227 | 960 | 28 | nomad tents | - | - |
| 1229 | 962 | 2 | tibetan houses | - | - |
| 1289 | 1020 | 60 | pass | 4800 | flat uphill until 1 km before top. |
| 1330 | 1060 | 41 | ALI | 4370 | capital of ali prefecture, everything, hot shower, backpacker girls.$US cash to yuan - not travellers checks or VISA |
| 1354 | missing | 24 | pass | 4735 | by GPS. Turn left after Ali for shortcut. Don't follow telephone poles for 41 km longer nightmare road! |
| 1359 | missing | 5 | main road | 4285 | by GPS. Very sandy and steep! decend of pass |
| 1365 | missing | 6 | basic food and beverage | - | - |
| 1387 | missing | 22 | basic food and beverage | - | - |
| 1395 | 1164 | 8 | bridge | - | End of short cut. |
| 1406 | 1175 | 11 | namru | - | old village, turn off to thölling |
| 1409 | 1178 | 3 | namru | - | new village, noodles, drinks, dormitory |
| 1415 | 1184 | 6 | pass | 4670 | 4632 by GPS. More like 7 km to pass. |
| 1425 | 1194 | 10 | - | 4480 | - |
| 1436 | 1205 | 11 | basic food and beverage | - | - |
| 1469 | 1237 | 33 | army base | - | basic food and beverage, shop, dormitory |
| 1477 | 1245 | 8 | basic food and beverage | - | - |
| 1486 | 1246 | 9 | pass | 4720 | - |
| 1500 | 1260 | 14 | pass | 4820 | - |
| 1526 | 1285 | 26 | misar | - | important town. restaurants and shops. turn off to tirthapuri hot springs. Checkpoint at beginning of town. |
| 1561 | missing | 35 | river | - | difficult to cross |
| 1562 | missing | 2 | basic food and beverage | - | - |
| 1569 | missing | 7 | pass | 4900 | 4820 by GPS |
| 1584 | missing | 15 | turn off darchen | - | after rivercrossing. Very bad road on downhill section. |
| 1590 | missing | 6 | darchen | 4600 | restaurants, shops, clothes, big rivercrossing just before town, small ones after town |
| 1610 | missing | 20 | turn off to purang | - | - |
| 1613 | missing | 3 | checkpoint | - | turnoff to purang |
| 1614 | missing | 1 | barga | - | shops, restaurant, gazoline station. |
| 1639 | missing | 25 | horqu | - | shops, restaurant, stuck up with supplies here. Turn left into the vally after town, not around the lake. |
| 1701 | missing | 62 | lake | - | Catch fish by hand. Very sandy road |
| 1737 | missing | 36 | mayun pass | 5250 | 5215 by GPS |
| 1757 | missing | 20 | tents and house | - | basic food and beverage |
| 1809 | missing | 52 | tents | - | basic food and beverage, shops, guesthouse, rivercrossing |
| 1852 | missing | 43 | checkpoint | - | just after crossing the bridge |
| 1873 | missing | 21 | paryang | 4630 | basic food and beverage, hotels |
| 1896 | missing | 23 | pass | 4800 | 4777 by GPS |
| 1910 | missing | 14 | basic food and beverage | - | - |
| 1917 | missing | 7 | pass | 4800 | 4727 by GPS |
| 1945 | missing | 28? | turn off to new zhongba | - | Big shops, restaurants, road-repair-station, internat. calls. 7 km. detour. |
| 1967 | 1703 | 22 | first marker after misar | - | l----> N. Z. Turn left for town just after entering the big plauteau. 5 km to town, shortcut back to main road. |
| 1968 | 1703 | 1 | old zhongba | - | basic food and beverage, shop, road-repair-station |
| 1986 | 1721 | 18 | road-repair-station | - | - |
| 1991 | 1726 | 5 | pass | 5000 | 4912 by GPS |
| 2000 | 1735 | 9 | end of descend | 4580 | by GPS |
| 2019 | 1745 | 19 | road-repair-station | - | - |
| 2029 | 1755 | 10 | road-repair-station | - | - |
| 2033 | 1759 | 4 | niugu | - | basic food and beverage, shop, road-repair-station |
| 2063 | 1800 | 30 | road-repair-station | - | - |
| 2074 | 1810 | 11 | road-repair-station | - | - |
| 2083 | 1819 | 9 | village | - | basic food and beverage, ambulance |
| 2086 | 1822 | 3 | road-repair-station | - | - |
| 2099 | 1835 | 13 | road-repair-station | - | - |
| 2101 | 1837 | 2 | pass | 4930 | 4811 by GPS |
| 2109 | 1845 | 8 | saga | 4510 | important town. restaurants and shops, etc. turn off to zhangmu. end of highway 219 |
| 2111 | missing | 2 | ferry crossing | - | 2,5 Y per vehicle or free |
| 2132 | missing | 21 | pass | 4830 | 4768 by GPS |
| 2137 | missing | 5 | end descending | 4530 | - |
| 2144 | missing | 7 | pass | 4860 | Very bad road! |
| 2149 | missing | 5 | first marker: 53 | - | - |
| 2177 | 59 | 28 | road-repair-station | - | - |
| 2184 | 66 | 7 | turn off to zhangmu | - | - |
| 2192 | missing | 8 | pass | 4946 | by GPS |
| 2244 | missing | 52 | nature preserve center | - | basic food and beverage, sleep when open, checkpoint? |
| 2268 | missing | 24 | roadsplit | - | Turn left up into the pass just after the bridge |
| 2275 | missing | 7 | pass | 5011 | by GPS |
| 2279 | 5266 | 4 | reaching highway 318 | 4600 | Entering between a dobbeltpass |
| 2290 | 5277 | 11 | pass | 5150 | 5025 by GPS |
| 2295 | 5282 | 5 | road-repair-station | 4900 | end of descending, begin of ascending. basic food and beverage. sleep. 4882 by GPS |
| 2302 | 5289 | 7 | pass | 5120 | - |
| 2316 | 5303 | 14 | village | 4580 | road-repair-station |
| 2324 | 5311 | 8 | village | - | shop |
| 2331 | 5318 | 7 | road-repair-station | - | - |
| 2339 | 5326 | 8 | road-repair-station | - | army base |
| 2350 | 5337 | 11 | road-repair-station | - | - |
| 2358 | 5345 | 8 | nyalam | 3810 | important town, checkpoint before entering town |
| 2389 | 5375 | 31 | checkpoint | - | - |
| 2390 | 5376 | 1 | zhangmu | 2800 | important town, chinese border. |
| 2398 | 8 | 8 | kodari | - | nepalese border town |
| 2412 | 98 | 14 | begin of asfalt | - | small sections without asfalt |
| 2437 | 60 | 25 | pass | - | - |
| 2441 | 56 | 4 | bridge | 640 | by GPS. Lowest point on the entire route. |
| 2452 | 45 | 11 | pass | - | - |
| 2467 | 30 | 15 | pass | - | - |
| 2497 | 0 | 30 | KATHMANDU | 1200 | - |
© Martin Adserballe 2001