Hi,

I will be traveling by bike from Nepal back to Germany in about 1 Month and I have to decide between the following two routes:

>>The dots on the map have no meaning<<

The first option seems to be the more popular one among bikers:



But this is the one an Iranian friend of mine recommended:

(I forgot to add that I will also travel from Tabriz to Urmia - like in the first route - in the second option)

He said it will be less desert and its very nice to drive along the Caspian See


What do you guys think what are the pros and cons here?


Thanks in advance,

Chris

Hello,
1-Definitely do the first map ride as all foreign vehicles must do.
2-Three international and safe bordergates available between Turkey and Iran.The one in your planned route is the most northern one,doğubeyazıt.
If you are planning to visit Mount Nemrut or Meditarrenean coast line, other gates will be more economical for you.(Gas is most expensive here)

Wish you all the best.

__________________
Mehmet Zeki Avar
''Borderlines divide countries,HU friendship finds a way to reunited"
https://www.facebook.com/mehmet.avar.12?ref=tn_tnmn

Hi,

thanks for your answer.

Are you a 100% sure that it is not possible to take the route shown on the second map?

Because I would really love to see Mashad - Isfahan is a little bit to touristy for my taste

If it were to be possible to do the second route, which one do you think will be more interesting?


Thanks Chris

Chris, I've been to Iran but not on a bike. I really don't think anything in Iran can be describes as to touristy"
Also, I would suggest you really should visit Shiraz and Isfahan. the southern route also takes you to Bam which must still be worth a visit even after it was largely demolished by an earthquake 10 years ago.

Whichever way you go, enjoy - I'm really envious. Iran is a wonderful country with some of the friendliest people I've ever met.

__________________

The routes further east to Mashhad, and onwards to Zahedan, I´d find out more about safety situation there. Not many travellers choose that route. Actually I´m not sure if you even need permits for some areas there (one more thing to find out).

At least on the “main route”, that most people follow, from Bam to Pakistani border is a bit sketchy. I don´t know, if that extends to the north, but on that route, you would stay quite close to the Afghan border after Mashhad. Proximity to that border is one source of various sorts of trouble in the southeast of Iran.

Thanks you for your answer - I know that this will be the riskier route but we are in Iran which I myself perceive as very safe!

Yes I know that it is an uncommon choice, but thats what is intriguing about it

And Mashhad is supposed to be beautiful

But what would really interest me if I am allowed to go via Mashhad - I guess I have to call the Iranian embassy - and if anyone has ever considered this route.

Thanks Chris

Hello,

I meet about 10 bikers personally each month(about 50 on internet and many tks.mesages on my facebook page) in istanbul at our pit-stop who are heading to asia or visa versa and exchange and update our tips and experiences here during tea and chat parties every evening.

In this area, you must definitely obey what escort says, dont escape from the group while following escort police..

Last May Mr.x,(north of zahedan) last April Mrs.x (west of Kerman and additionally her gas tank bag was stolen so all documents,too)did so and both were stopped and questioned for 2-3 days..I never give names for unpleasant memories but henryuk(was on this route a few months ago) knows one of the stories.

So all is for our safety, nothing else..Do what all other vehicles are doing until you are in Kerman..Esfahan is one of the best places of ıran with gardens, hospitable locals and delicious Iran cuisine same as it is in small towns around caspian sea..

Highly recommend keep yourself updated for situation in Iran after june.14.(elections) if you are planning to enter Iran afterwards..

wish you all the best and good luck..

__________________
Mehmet Zeki Avar
''Borderlines divide countries,HU friendship finds a way to reunited"
https://www.facebook.com/mehmet.avar.12?ref=tn_tnmn

So here is what may happen if you dont take the main international roads in Iran..They are the shortest and direct ones between towns and many checkpoints on side roads.....

Thats why HU.Newsletter is also very important for us.
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/newsletter/2013-05

""""""
After riding about 40km with nothing but desert around me I reached a checkpoint. I didn't think of anything bad, so I just asked the guy if I could pass. He looked a bit surprised and asked me to write down my name and sit in his little hut. I should wait he said. After about an hour someone who looked important but couldn't speak english came by, a few phone calls and about 30 min later someone with fair english came to ask me some basic questions, who am I, where do I go, where do I come from...

...a bit later I got an escort back to Semnan (I was not happy about that but did not really understand what was going on yet). After getting carried to many different police/military buildings around Semnan, meeting different people that got more and more unfriendly, telling my story all over again, it appeared to me that I'm in some kind of trouble. Yes I was, in the last place they brought me to (I call it the interrogation station), people got really unfriendly, all my electronics got confiscated and I had a 3 hour interrogation with 2 guys from the secret service (at least I believe they were). This was NOT nice, I got asked about every photo on my camera, 'where is this', 'who is this, name!', 'Why did you take this road?''. I told them what they wanted to know (except for other persons names), 10 times, 1 time was apparently not enough, and my answer 'This is the obvious road to take if I want to go through the desert!'' seemed not to be understood.

At some point, when I was explaining my planned route, they asked me for my Pakistan Visa. Right, that is a valid question as I should have one. And I had one, but it was in my second German Passport (under certain circumstances it's possible to get a second valid passport in Germany). The situation was tense already, I really didn't want to show them that I have a second passport. But what should I do, so I showed them. One guy freaked out completely, took my second passport and threw it into the corner of the room. He was angry, he said he has never seen such a thing before. After a bit more 'talking' he said he is gonna call my embassy and left. After some time someone came to bring me my electronics, but not that I could take them back, I should put them into a locker. I really thought I'm going to jail now, but luckily another hour later someone told me I'm free to go, and hell yeah I left as fast as I could.

The whole thing took about 8 hours! I forgot to turn on my GPS when I left, that's why there is no GPS track of the road to Damghan.

After checking a bit on the internet it seems like this road leads to one of the most sensitive military zones in Iran, where they have aerospace programs and long range missile tests. Also I've not been the first who blundered into this. The German embassy issued a warning about exactly that road and I found another motorbike traveller blogging about this. If they would put a simple sign on the beginning of this road nobody would take it, but there is none.

...2 Days later in Yazd i was just writing about the incident in Semnan, a staff of the hotel pointed at me, two well dressed guys standing next to her. Hello again. All my electronics got confiscated. This time they were quite friendly and explained me 'you went through the desert, it's illegal to take pictures of the desert, we have to check everything'. They said this has nothing to do with what happened 2 days earlier. So after all, this was not so bad, I just had to stay longer as planned and all my storages (MMC's, USB's, HDD's...) got infected with viruses. But I'm a programmer, so not a big deal for me.

From here on I didn't get into problem with the police anymore, so I could fully enjoy beautiful magical Persia."""""
************************************************** *******
Great Blog Moritz..
Thanks a lot for writing your memories sincere and honest
and also for the nice friendly words about me..

""In Istanbul i also met Mehmet, many of you proably know him. I really loved it there, got some spareparts for my bike that i would most likely not get after Istanbul (rear breakpads) and Mehmet helped me to plan my route. Or i better say he planned my route :P. As Turkey is the most expensive country in the world for fuel (2Euro/liter) i told him to draw me the nicest fuel-saving route through turkey, that's what he came up with:"""

MAP INCLUDED...

Wish you all happy,safe,lucky trips...

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__________________
Mehmet Zeki Avar
''Borderlines divide countries,HU friendship finds a way to reunited"
https://www.facebook.com/mehmet.avar.12?ref=tn_tnmn

Mehmet, thank you so much for your help - it is greatly appreciated!!!!!!

And I will defiantly follow your advice while driving through Iran - the story fits very well because I actually also have two passports

The route you added is actually very similar to mine:

The major differences are that I wont go via the black sea but rather via Van and also hit the Kemaliye Stone Road one question I have though:

Between Eazig and Malatya why are you dropping down into the mountains?



Routes where I will have to decide are marked in green and blue!



Thanks you so much for your help,

Chris

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I agree that Chrisvw's route #1 is preferable to route #2 (via Mashhad).

Aside from what Iran authorities might "allow" or not--the main route via
Ishfahan, Shiraz, Yazd etc really should not be missed--yes Ishfahan is perhaps a bit touristy, but extraordinary anyway.

But
(Mehmet)--in fairness, western tourists are allowed to go to Mashhad, and it is indeed reputed to be a wonderful city to visit (I don't know this from experience, as I've only followed the main route).

The security problem that Moritz describes in blog quote above is not about any of the roads that Chrisvw is considering. If you dig deeply into Moritz's actual route map, 1World2Go |, he ran into security issues by taking a deep desert road, not anywhere near Mashhad, or any of the roads into/ out of Mashhad.

That still leaves open the question whether it is safe or allowed to ride the
route between Mashhad parallel to the Afghan border to Zahedan. If Chrisvw
really wants to consider the route via Mashhad, it's probably at least worth
asking his Iranian embassy.

I'd still recommend route #1, or time permitting, go to Mashhad and "backtrack" to the main/ allowed route.

good luck.

Because Mount Nemrut (definitely worth to visit before it gets lost)and göbeklitepe (first temple of humans)is there..Highly recommend take the south climb up to nemrut via Adıyaman..

Also lands of kebabs,just ask locals for the best place...

Nemrut Dağ - UNESCO World Heritage Centre
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%B6bekli_Tepe

On the other thread for Pakistan, you have questions for Pakistan..

You will have to follow escorts to Multan, Sukkur and Quetta then to Taftan bordergate, no other choice..Road parallel to afgan borderlines are prohibited for foreigners..

Also you must have a NOC certificate to ride through the desert..

All details available in a different thread about Pakistan..

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http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...101#post420555
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Thanks for all the advice on this.

After reading your comments, speaking to Mehmet's friend Muhammad and chatting with some other guys here in Multan - it sounds like the Loralai route is out of the question for foreigners - even the locals are hesitating to drive that road!

I'm going to go to Sukkur instead - anyone have any accommodation suggestions here?

So, you guys have saved me from possibly being turned around by the army or kidnapped - thanks again.

- David
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Important Tip....: be careful for gas tank bag if you have..

Hope all clear and helps.
All the best.

__________________
Mehmet Zeki Avar
''Borderlines divide countries,HU friendship finds a way to reunited"
https://www.facebook.com/mehmet.avar.12?ref=tn_tnmn