Ladies & Gents,



I was wondering if there’s any update re. getting from the Stans to Northern Pakistan. Other than dicing with death through Afghanistan, one obviously has to go via Xinchiang, China, but is it still the case that the only overland option is through the Torug Art pass, Kyrgyzstan, and only
if you have pre-arranged an expensive guide-escort to meet you (arranged through Kashgar) and accompany you the Pakistan border?

I had read that the ‘locals-only’ rule for passage from Tajikistan into Xinchiang via the more southerly Kulma pass might be lifted.

Having read the previous threads, I certainly don’t plant to miss Kyrgyzstan. It’s a question of keeping the being-fleeced to a minimum. If the Kulma pass is now open, then instead of being in the Pamirs/TJ in August and Kyrgyzstan Sept to get the best of the mountain weather then, in theory, it could be done the other way round, given the shared border with Uzbekistan.

Any thoughts would be gratefully received.

All the best,

Luckro

because of all the problems in Northern Pakistan we took the route from Torug Art pass, Kyrgyzstan, into Tajikistan (great place to ride) Uzbekistan also not to be missed in my opinion - Turkmenistan (5 day transit no comment) iran - Pakistan....escorted all the way from the border with Iran to Lahore. that was at the end of 2009.
personally with all of the problems being suffered in northern Pakistan our decision would still be the same - take the long way round (no pun intended!) and give it a miss. infact you get to ride most of beautiful (and somtimes demanding!) Tajikistan!
aug and Sept is fine for these areas. you may get some early snow high up....and it may be cold....it may be wetish .you will get bad roads...you will get fantastic scenary....
not 'fleeced' once in our entire time.

cheers

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Lisa
www.2ridetheworld.com

Thanks, Lisa. I've clearly had my head in the sand for too long
and missed the seismic shifts in N.Pak at the end of last year.
I have heard about the new lake that has blocked the KKH, though
haven't yet got a good feel for how bad the situtation is.

Nevertheless, I don't plan to be arriving into N.Pak/Sost from KG
via Xinjiang until the around early Oct. I'm willing to bet that
the Pakistani authorities are doing all they can to open the KKH if
they haven't done so already.

I understand there are already boats transporting vehicles across
this lake.

Either way, the situation can be re-assessed from KG. If it's
possible, then as you suggest, a second visit to UZ is possible and,
visas permitting, into Pakistan/Baluchistan via Iran.

I love the Hunza Valley and its warm and hardy people too much
not to give it a go.

All the best to one and all,

Bob

P.S. The 'fleeced' comment was only with regard to the CHinese
bureacracy side of things (the required tourist agency escort from
KG to Pak via Kashgar, and costing, so I've heard, upto $1000). Anon

Northern Pakistan is far safer than the parts of Baluchistan you need to go through if you go va Iran. It's a big detour too (though an interesting one), and won't save you money over making the short hop through China. The big plus is that you won't get police escorts in northern Pakistan, which make it pretty miserable and frustrating to go through other parts. That said, not everyone gets guides, it depends how foreign you look.

One snag is that you can only get a Pakistani visa in your home country.

Daniel

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4.5 years around Eurasia in a Toyota Hilux|http://eurasiaoverland.wordpress.com/
Pictures Here|https://picasaweb.google.com/113619413612674951960

I rode the KKH last September (we were 7 bikes).It took us 11 days to reach Islamabad from Sost (by the way, sost is the only place where you can get a pak visa far from your home country). besides of "common troubles" you can get along the KKH (landslides, fallen bridges, etc.) there is and there will be the lake. Pakistani government (and Chinese i assume as they're rebuilding the KKH) do not want to make any effort to dry the lake. i've heard when i was up there that they are thinking to built a new road and/or a tunnel to skip the lake itself. and to do this, you know, they'll need years...

Anyway, lake or not lake, Karakoram Highway and north Pakistan are higly reccomended.

www.lungastrada.it

and, as Danielprague says, you don't need any escort to ride up there as
people were very friendly!

www.lungastrada.it

Hi,

I'm going to have to agree with Donato and Daniel. There's just no way you should miss doing the KKH (both on the Chinese and Pakistani side). Yes, it does cost money to get through- i was part of the 7 bikes group mentioned above and it worked out at about $700 each for the six days (this includes everything bar fuel and food) - but the KKH experience is worth it!

As has been said, it's an awfully long way to go round it and the saving's would be negliable, and then at the end of all that you'd end up having a police escort and often it's not just through Balochistan. We've met people who got one all the way to Lahore!! Not much fun and definitely not what you did this trip for, unlike the KKH which is everything you hoped your trip would be.

If you can, get your Pakistan visa before you leave, if you're on the road already, Sost is your only option has Donato has already said. The landslide at the southern end of the lake is being improved all of the time, it just remians to been seen what they plan to do this winter - their only choice is to try and blast a giant hole in it whilst the river is low so more water can pass through and relieve pressure on the dam when the spring melt starts.

Anyway, it doesn't really matter for you, it's all part of the experience you've signed up for - just get yourself there and you'll find a way!....

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www.motoventurers.com

Thank you, my friends, for all the info.

Just one last question:

re the visa for Pakistan, I will probably get one in London and
hopefully just scrape into N.Pakistan before the expiration of
what is a 6mth validity.

But in case I don't, re the Sost issuance, do you just tip up at
the border without a visa and they'll issue you it on the spot?

What was the length? 3 months?

Thanks again,

Bob

Once leave china, you'll meet a pakistani check point on the top of the Khunjerab pass. They didn't ask me for any pak visa, just checked for the chinese one... then you'll ride for 85 km down to Sost 'till the custom. you'll get your pak visa there in 5 minutes.
the visa is single entry and 30 days valid only.

Hi,
didnt want to start a new thread...
I'm planning a trip to nepal (maybe further dependend on my finances) and currently struggling with the pakistan borders. i am tryin do avoid the khyber pass for obvious reasons (but i'm not really keen for southern Pak neither). my most favourite way would be through the pamirs in tajikistan and then head over to china via kulma pass. i know that this has been an issue, even though its supposed to be an international border the chinese refuse to let foreigners pass. but then i read stories about people who made it (after days of struggling with border guards...)
i wouldnt mind crossing the boarder in kyrgyztan either. the problem is the fact that you have to book a guide.
as i've read different numbers i want to ask anyone who has travelled (the shortest possible way) through china to the KKH: How much money do I have to calculate for the china part? whats the news about kulma pass?