Mongolia LWR Route
 

Hi,

Is there anywhere on the net to get the route the Long Way Round team took thru mongolia, we are travelling in 2 4wd's interested in travelling more challenging routes, have the roads in that area improved or is it still as it was on the dvd? would like to stay off the bitumen as much as possible.

thanks

Ooooh!!! ...LWR, ...here we go, ...open the flood gates :D
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Hey k974, just kidding, LWR has been a ...hmm, ...widely elaborated subject matter with the occasional heated debate, ending in drag out fights (virtually of course) :gunsmilie:


And, btw, :welcome:

thanks for the reply, i'm not interested in following in the footsteps of the LWR or anything like that, i'm sure some of their show was over dramatised etc plenty people have done there trip solo for yrs without the $100k budget. my reference to them was purely for the route thru mongolia i'd ideally like to do a similar route and terrain to them. i would be interested in taking their route thru mongolia, i'd ideally like some challenging routes with river crossing etc, travelling with another 4wd. most of the rest of our trip is on bitumen.

The footage was pretty representative of the conditions. They had back luck and with the rains, but also did it with to early in the season. So it was a bit wet. On our crossing (footage in the link in my signature) we had experience with Mongolia but not on a bike but had good luck with the weather. 1 rain session that stopped us in our tracks. It gets really soggy quickly, but than it dries out pretty quick as well. So just sit it out and hope for clear weather.

If you're serious about being adventurous, get a decent map and set off across the steppe. Zavkhan is in my opinion the most beautiful aimag (province) of Mongolia, from Khovd just set off east and follow tracks heading in your direction, and ask at gers. I don't know what bitumen you're refering to, but rest assured there is very little of it in the west.

The three main routes are northern: through Olgi, Ulaangom, Moron, Bulgan, UB; central: Olgi - Tosontsengel - Kharkhorin - UB and southern: Olgi - Khovd - Altai - Bayangkhongor - UB. All have their ups and downs, and all are asphalt for the last few 100 kms to UB.

There are really unlimited route-taking possiblities in Mongolia; just string together some places which interest you on a map. Don't expect any great adventure sticking to any of the main routes.

If you really want to try a tough drive, try the road from Bulgan (Bayan Olgi) to Bulgan (Khovd) in the far southwest of the country. The best adventure was just shooting around the Gobi totally off-piste, just using a GPS bearing and working out how to get to places.

Daniel

thanks daniel much appreciated it, did you go in a 4wd or a bike??

A Hilux 4x4.

Hilux
 

Is this diesel Toyota Daniel??
When you have diesels watch the news on the Diesel situation in Mongolia!

Yes, it's diesel, but it was last year that I was there, so the shortage does't affect me now.