Przhevalsky: Expeditions Across Central Asia

In 1867 Przhevalsky, then a geography teacher, persuaded the Russian Geographical Society to send him to Irkutsk. His aim was the basin of the Ussuri River, a major tributary of the Amur on the Russian–Chinese frontier. This first important expedition lasted two years, and he wrote it up as Travels in the Ussuri Region, 1867–69.

Location precision: He explored the whole river basin; the pin marks the Ussuri's mouth on the Amur, not a camp or route.

Every Przhevalsky journey in this route is a separate expedition, and the first of the great ones began here. In 1870 he set out from Kyakhta, crossed the Gobi Desert to Beijing and went on to explore the upper Yangtze. He came home with 5,000 plants, 1,000 birds and 3,000 insect species. Others followed him out of this town, including Kozlov and Obruchev. Kyakhta's tea bourse (1842) and Orthodox cathedral (1807–1817) still stand.

Location precision: The sources name the town as the departure point, not a particular street; the pin marks the town centre.

On his second expedition, 1876–1877, Przhevalsky went through East Turkestan and the Tian Shan to the Tarim basin. Qing maps placed Lop Nur in the present dry basin, but he instead found the terminal lake at Kara-Koshun. The Tarim kept changing course and the lake moved with it, which left early explorers unsure where Lop Nur really was. Parts of the region are now restricted and closed to the public.

Location precision: The lake has shifted over time and Przhevalsky's own site at Kara-Koshun is an area, so the pin marks the Lop Nur region only.

The third expedition, 1879–1880, ran via Hami and across the Qaidam Basin to Qinghai Lake, a salt lake high on the Tibetan Plateau, about 100 km west of Xining. From there the caravan crossed into Tibet and got within 260 km of Lhasa before Tibetan officials turned it back. Przhevalsky estimated the lake's circuit at about eight days on horseback, or fifteen on foot.

Location precision: The route is known only as a stage between the Qaidam Basin and the lake; the pin marks the lake itself.

Between journeys, Przhevalsky lived in a remote village. He bought an estate in Sloboda in 1881 and stayed from 1881 to 1887, apart from his travels, including the 1883–1885 expedition from Kyakhta across the Gobi to Alashan and the Tian Shan. The village was renamed Przhevalskoye in 1964. Its memorial complex has his old and new houses, a bust, a pond, a garden and birch alleys.

Location precision: The pin marks the village centre; the memorial complex lies somewhere within it.

Visitor guidance: The memorial complex with his houses, garden and birch alleys is in the village of Przhevalskoye.

In 1888 Przhevalsky died of typhoid at Karakol, while preparing an expedition to Tibet. The following year Tsar Alexander III renamed the town Przhevalsk in his honour; it later went back to Karakol. His grave is now a memorial park and small museum about 9 km north of the town, overlooking the Mikhailovka Inlet of Lake Issyk-Kul.

Location precision: The pin marks the memorial park at Pristan'-Przheval'sk, about 9 km north of Karakol, where he is buried.

Visitor guidance: The memorial park and small museum are north of Karakol, on the lake shore.