I guess you can find much more detailed and better info about this well travelled route For ex. on David Leatham's excellent site on the topic. Here's a crude graph and some info.
The Route: From Sost there's a long gradual uphill to Barkhon, from there on there are a couple of km of steeper ascent. The road flattens out a bit before the pass. Downhills and flat to Tashkurgan. If you wanna go straight for Mazar and East Tibet, turn off approx. 10 km after Tashkurgan. Difficult to find the right road and be careful in the villages, the PSB doesn't like cyclists going through without a permit. Rough roads. Another easy climb to Ulugrabat Pass, downhill to plateau and then a long, in the beginning steepish downhill to Kashi. An easy and enjoyable route: good road condition, easy to find food and water.
Location | Distance | Altitude |
Sost | 0 | 2880 |
X | 25 | 3075 |
Dih, CP | 36 | 3345 |
X | 50 | 3590 |
Barkhon CP | 54 | 3585 |
Gogskil, ruins | 62 | 3845 |
Koksil, climb start | 72 | 4040 |
X | 75 | 4150 |
Ruins | 82 | 4440 |
Army camp | 86 | 4600 |
Khunjerab Pass | 87 | 4610 |
CP | 90 | 4500 |
RCC | 96 | 4285 |
Army camp | 107 | 4095 |
Pirali | 122 | 3815 |
X | 125 | 3805 |
TO, vill. | 130 | 3700 |
X | 150 | 3570 |
X | 175 | 3365 |
Tashkurgan | 211 | 3110 |
TO Datong (Mazar ect.) | 223 | 3030 |
X | 232 | 3120 |
CP | 249 | 3310 |
X | 252 | 3350 |
X | 277 | 3860 |
Ulugrabat Pass | 283 | 4035 |
Steep end | 289 | 3780 |
Karakul yurts etc. | 312 | 3660 |
X | 327 | 3420 |
HP | 341 | 3395 |
Ruins | 349 | 3305 |
Top of gorge | 350 | 3380 |
X | 377 | 2600 |
Ghez, rest, shops, CP | 382 | 2420 |
X | 402 | 2130 |
X | 427 | 1835 |
X | 452 | 1605 |
Upal | 461 | 1555 |
Kashi | 510 | 1445 |
Photos from KKH: 1994, 1997, 1999 and 2000.