We (Eva and Thomas) plan to go to Nepal from Germany in August 2009. Our route will be Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, KKH, India, and in the end Nepal. We will ride with 2 KTM Adventure bikes.
We heard a lot of bad things about Iran and Pakistan in the last weeks, so our most concern is about safety on the road. If anybody is at Iran/Pakistan border at the moment, we would love to hear some (good ) news from there. Also information about the situation at the KKH would be very helpful.
We heard about police escorts the whole way through Pakistan, is that true?
Another possibility would be, the group together some more people and make the trip through Pakistan with more people (let’s say, make our own escort ). So if anybody has similar plans, would be great to hear from you and share some information.

Hey,

I'm doing the same trip but will be leaving from Turkey around may 1st.
I'll stop for a week around Esfahan/Yadz (end off may) and do a check with the local people/embasy/news.
When there I will also be looking for other overlanders to group up. After I team up it will be ' Inch Allah '.


Greetings from Belgium.

PM me if there around the same time.

Eva Thomas Look up a thread I posted 2 days ago to Andea. HUBB Planing Trip/ Travelers seeking Travelers, Title:Overland to Italy from India. (might help)The only problem with escort in Iran (They insist yes Iran, close to Pakistan border only). In Pakistan (Your choice, sevice ofered to trevelers just for the asking) they are a little slow, to ovecome this problem just overtake them they will keep up with you. Police /Military escort is a pain but recomended in some areas, I have good reason for saying so. Keep well. Kenski

Hi Eva and Thomas,

We are currently in Iran (Tehran) and plan on going into Pakistan in about 3 weeks or less. We will certainly post what the situation in Balochistan is like once we go there. But from what we have read here on the Hubb, tourists are generally safe in Paksitan (depending on the route you take of course). When we were at the Pakistani embassy yesterday we were asked which route we would take from Quetta to Multan. Nods of approval were given when we indicated that we would avoid going too close to Afghanistan. As for Iran, no problems so far (quite the contrary in fact, amazing people here). Have heard that escorts past Bam to the Pakistan border are probable.

We'll keep you posted!

__________________
Brian

www.2uprtw.com

Thanks for all the infos!
Have heard some bad news about the situation at the iran/pakistan border, some pakistan people who are in pakistan now told us, it is very dangerous at the moment between the border and Quetta, some people were kidnapped, don't have more detailed infos.

So Brian and Marie, please be very careful when crossing to pakistan, we love to hear fro you directly, how the situation is!

Best wishes
Eva and Thomas

Hi I should be heading east to west across that border in three weeks. How upto date is your info ? It's not just the UNHCR guy who got kidnapped a few weeks ago is it ? I've not heard of anything since him, and he was returned.

Morinipete
Moto Morini - using yesterdays technology to create tomorrows problems today

Hi Morinipete,
I heard this info yesterday, but not directly from the pakistani guy, only via a third person, but I trust the source of this info.

I will try to get some more detailed infos and post it here, let us hear how you are going.

Good luck!

When we were in Esfahan, Iran, in November -07, we heard from many of the locals, that it is oh so dangerous near the border with Pakistan, and that they´d never, ever go anywhere near that region.

We did, however, go there, and had absolutely no security-related problems either in Iran, or in Pakistan. Quite the contrary - the people in these two countries are among the most friendly and welcoming we have ever met.

Not meaning to underestimate the threats at all, and no doubt are threats in that region today. If bad luck strikes, you may get in deep trouble. Still the probability of something like this is very small, especially for the normal tourists, who move along the main routes, taken care by the police, and usually get to go through without any problems.

The locals usually only know about the area that they live in, and just like us, are scared of the unknown, that´s why ´the other´ areas easily get a negative reputation.

Just like the travel warnings, if you didnt filter their information anyhow, you would not dare go anywhere. But the final decision, whether or not a region is safe enough to travel at any given time, will be up to you. We skipped East Timor, because our visit would´ve been just after they tried to kill the president&prime minister. Probably would not have gone to Pakistan right after Benazir Bhutto was killed, either, but luckily we were already in India, when that happened.

edit. you plan to go in August? The heat in the Dasht-e Lut and Baluchistani deserts in Iran&Pakistan may be your real threat, as it can really get unbearably hot over there; its one of the hottest areas on the whole planet at that time, with temperatures well over +50C.

We plan to start in mid of August in Germany, so we will be probably in mid/end of September in the border region Iran/Pakistan. Hopefully the heat isn't that hard at that time.

I think the filtering of information out of the bunch of opinions you get is the most difficult thing when planning a trip into that region. We don't want to get in danger (well, motorbike riding is dangerous, of course), but we don't want to get in some great huzzle ourselves, nor put anyone else in such situations, just because we want to make a holiday (in fact, it is a dream, not only a holiday...).

So, any in-time informations are welcome, thanks a lot for sharing, we are looking forward to hear anything that we can get...

Thomas

Look at the 'best way to cross pakistan' thread in the South Asia regional forum

Border is safe, escort usually, but not always madatory for bikers in Pakistan, mandatory in Iran (if they catch you) from Zahedan to border.

Currently big trouble in Pakistani - Baluchestan

DAWN.COM | - Balochistan | Balochistan violence claims five more lives

but august is a long way away, things change.

Police escort is probably a good idea, though it draws attention, and they're not exactly the SAS either...

Good luck, don't be scared of Pakistan


Daniel (in Hyderabad, Pakistan)

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

hallo Eva and Thomas,

I also start my trip to nepal in mid of august09! (so maybe one more bike in your escort through pakistan)
but I think also about a PlanB to avoid pakistan, maybe I´ll get there in a dead-end because of the situation on site. I don´t need sleepless nights all along my trip... are you going to cross pakistan in any case? do you have already the visa for pakistan?

are you going to visit the hu meeting in Ober-Liebersbach, I think I´ll be there...

so on...

We are currently in Bam and plan on crossing into Pakistan tomorrow (stopping in Taftan tomorrow then onto Dalbandin then... who knows). We are traveling with 2 other bikers and a 4x4. We will post results of our foray into Pakistan as soon as we can.

__________________
Brian

www.2uprtw.com

Brian and Mary
thanks for posting, wish you all the best, good luck, we are looking forward to here from you on the other side.
We got some more infos about the situation, most of them are positive, in fact there is a danger but the whole situation is always described as calm.
So, keep on movin'!!

Best wishes from
Eva and Thomas

(you will follow on your way in August!)

We just arrived in Lahore after yet another very very hot day and as promised, here is an update on crossing Pakistan. Like many people we were hesitant to cross but are happy we did. We encountered no problems at all. The route was the following:

Taftan to Dalbandin (nice road, no escorts, 3 hours)
Dalbandin to Quetta (road not so nice but still not too bad, no escorts, 7 hours, lots of pics)
Quetta to Sukkur (first part through Bolan pass was was potholed then good for about 200 kilometers then potholed again until Sukkur, 10 hours, received escorts just after Bolan pass)
Sukkur to Multan (good highway, 7 hours, escorts all the way)
Multan to Lahore (good highway, 5 hours, escorts when they could keep up!)

During this crossing we took the time to wave at just about everybody. The most enthusiastic responses were by far from the people of Balochistan. Every time we stopped for gas or something to drink we encountered very friendly people in this province. People were also nice elsewhere in Pakistan but they really stood out in Balochistan.

For the crossing we tried to get a little convoy together. In retrospect, this was overkill and complicated. We ended up being 4 people on 3 motorcycles and 2 people in one car. But to get these vehicles to leave at the same time proved impossible so we seperated on the first day.

If I were to do it again I would prefer going with just one other bike or car assuming both vehicles go at the same pace. Not wanting to do it alone would have more to do with moral support in the event of breakdown than any security concern.

And speaking of security, we saw nothing unusual but some of the escorts kept on telling us that there were 'security problems' further up the road. In reality, the way some of these escorts drove coupled with the 45 degree heat was far more dangerous than anything else we could have encountered!

If anybody is coming through Pakistan, just keep an eye on local news in the days leading up to your crossing as things change fast. I would not hesitate to do it again, just as long as the weather would be a little cooler!

Hope this helps!

__________________
Brian

www.2uprtw.com

Sounds very similar to my experience in September last year - so not much has changed despite the media beat-up. The only trouble we had(I joined up with 2 other bikers) was a few bombs going off while we were in Quetta.

Happy Travels

__________________
Just Ride!
www.rocktravels.blogspot.com