Iran and Pakistan Guides / Police / Escorts
 

As I start to put together an itinerary and arrange visas and borders for crossing from India to Pakistan, Iran and then Turkey, I'm wondering if somebody can shed some light on the situation in Iran and Pakistan with police escorts.

Do the escorts try to rush you out of the country as quickly as they can? Are they just trying to get you to the next border? Or are they relaxed and happy enough to let you do your thing and they will just hang out and enjoy the ride? Will they let me deviate from my itinerary? Is the itinerary mostly just for visa purposes?

I have seen a lot of photos from the KKH and northern Pakistan but never have I seen any of the escorts in the pics. Do they only stick with you at the border regions?

I'm after a feel of what they do with you and if they let you explore like I have been in South East Asia, which is a lot like this: "Oh, a small dirt road. I wonder where that goes..."

Heya, we were going the other way, receiving escorts for last 100 km in Iran and then having them until we've almost reached Lahore some 10 days later. We haven't really tried taking any small roads or anything, but I believe, you can generally forget about it, because the escorts change every twenty to fifty kilometers and they arrange this over phones, so that the other escort will already be waiting there for you. We were going pretty slow - about 60 km/hour and they were not overly happy about this either.

KKH is a bit different thing, where you only get escorts for specific parts of it while in other ones you can roam freely. But we didn't do it so cannot give you much info on that part - I only know Hunza (Karim Abad) is without any escorts.

Do you have to request the escorts or will they just "show up"?

They will show up and you cannot avoid them in the south of Pakistan. No they will not try t get you out as soon as possible. Rather the opposite, they drive 50-80 km/h and you follow. They will stay in your hotel on the way and tell you not to go out alone. I followed them all the way from Taftan to Lahore. In the north you wont see them.

Nice to hear Lynx, thanks for the info. I will do most of my fun times up in the north anyway so that suits me well.

Thanks for your update here, I am going there and like to know if anybody can recommend a outfitter for ground arrangements in North Pakistan to Lahore upto India border.

Personally was quite thrilled with the services offered by Vertical Explorers Tours last year. They do up individualized touring, making all the on the ground arrangements, visa support etc. Every thing worked very well.

Hi There,

I'm planning the same or similar route and was wondering if you'd like company through Pakistan and Iran. I would make a saving for both of us.

Just a couple of questions: What nationality are you? ( The only reason i want to know is I was wondering if you'd face the same problems as me)

When are you planning to go?

All th best for your trip,

Kai

Hey, I am german and will leave germany beginning of october 2016.... I hope to enter iran around first of november... I'd like some company for Iran and Pakistan. When do you want to go?

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Recent tips from Pakistan
 

Thanks for the information - I'm looking to travel the KKH next year and it's reassuring to know that a handful of bikers are defying western scepticism and braving (particularly South-West) Pakistan. Well worth it for the beauty of the North-West and Northern Areas.

I lived in KP Province last year and the political climate in Kaghan Valley area is relatively trouble-free. Being half-Pakistani, I revisited in March 2016 - this time for sightseeing in Chitral area - and a local jeep driver confirmed that Indus-Kohistan is still suffering from insularity and a fierce rejection of outsiders, and, particularly for riders, is best avoided. If you must ride the entire KKH without using the Kaghan Valley bypass (as I intend to), an alternative option is to ride continuously from Abbottabad to Chilas.

Very helpful to be able to keep abreast of the current situation - keep us posted with updates and photos!

what about the situation in iran... i was thinking about going for Taftan from bandar abbas via bam... is that route "save"/doable? Or would you recommend a different route?

besides that: is anyone going that way around november/december 2016?

Any help from our side
 

Can we be of any help in Pakistan:clap:?

Kind regards

Pakistan Bikers Club - Since 2007

Is the Kaghan Valley bypass you refer to the N15 that runs South/North from just before Chilias down to Abbottabad? I tried google but it wasn't much help!

Perhaps me. But also, perhaps I´m going earlier, it depends. I´m going to Thailand through Iran, Pakistan and Myanmar. And you?

I plan to take the same route. Would love to meet up for some parts. I will send you a pm.

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I didn't think it was possible to get through Myanmar with a motorbike? Are you sure it's possible?

Yep definitely is possible, will be there crossing from India to Thailand in a month's time - there was a scare early this month when it appeared that Myanmar would end up applying a same entry/exit border crossing rule but that has recently been confirmed not to be the case.

I have a question about the scorts in Pakistan, if they don't let you drive freely how do you find a place to stay overnight? Can you tell them that you are going to stay in a village to find some accommodation?

I'm in Turkey now, near the Iranian Border so I plan to go to Pakistan in 3 weeks I believe, the time I spend there it will depend on how I comfortable I feel there.

Happy riding! :mchappy:

How are you getting through Iran? With a guide? I'm hoping to transit through to Turkmenistan next June, so any tips would be appreciated.

I just came from Pakistan, riding from Taftan to Wagah solo/women and can share my experience with the police escorts.

IRAN
I rode from Yazd - Kerman - Bam (stayed the night here) to the border town Mir Javeh. There was 1 checkpoint about 60km before the border where they took me aside and looked at my passport. Then they asked me if I wanted an escort or not. I politely declined and got on with it. Then the last check point before the borden (only 6km to go) they didn't give me an option and I had to wait to get an escort. Which took so long that I was almost too late to cross the border. The upside was that this escort also took me through the border process, so that was fairly easy.

PAKISTAN /// Baluchistan
I arrived fairly late in Taftan but the police guard took me to the customs office to get my carnet stamped and let me camp in the garden of the police office. We were scheduled to leave at sunrise the next morning.

And so we did, first escort sticked with me for about 100km, after that they started changing more regularly. Some are happy to see you, others are just trying to get you out of their district and will drive 110km. Sometimes you ride behind a pickup sometimes its just a motorcycle with 2 dudes. When I arrived in Dalbadin, the usual midway point and a place to stay for the night, they made me continue to Quetta because of Eid (a muslim holiday). So I also started pushing to go faster because I wanted to get to Quetta before dark. I failed horrible. Most of the time, there will be a guard waiting and sometimes the switch is smooth where the 1 guard stops and the next one already starts moving. And other times they make you come and drink tea and relax waiting for the next guards.

In this place there is only 1 route they will allow you to take and you have no say in where it will take you. I had to go from Taftan - Quetta - Sukkur. As others have said, try not to arrive in Quetta during the weekend. If you are traveling from the Iran side this is the place to obtain an NOC and official offices are closed during the weekend and you are not allowed to leave the hotel without a guard and a good reason.

There are 3 hotels in Quetta where foreigners are allowed to stay, I think most overlanders go to Bloomstar. In Sukkur there are a few more, but they all wanted R3000 ($30) for a night which I found too much. Managed to haggle down to R1800 in the end. The guards will bring you to a hotel if you don't know where to stay.

PAKISTAN /// Punjab
The guards left me at Sukkur, even though I found out later that the secret police was still following me. Stayed the night in Bahaldapur and Multan. Then rode straight on to Lahore and after a few days to Islamabad. No police escorts here, some smaller roadblocks, but I was free to travel everywhere and take every side road that looked interesting. Islamabad is a bit heavier protected, and you will see a lot of guards, roadblocks and army on the street. But no checks or escorts needed.

PAKISTAN /// Northern Areas
I chose to ride from Islamabad to Naran > Gilgit > Gulmit > Khunjerab Pass > Gulmit > Gilgit > Astak > Skardu > Astor > Naran > Ayubia > Islamabad.
All this time I haven't had a single police escort. There were a lot of checkpoints where you have to register your name/passportnumber/etc but let me go after writing all this down. So also here you are free to explore, I heard the area around Chilas is still not super safe, but that was only hear say.

Hope this helps for all you people out there considering crossing Pakistan. Please do! I spent 45 days there and really enjoyed it, never felt unsafe, extremely welcome and the nature is just spectacular. Since there are so many checkpoints where you have to write your name down I could see there are roughly 2-5 people crossing Pakistan weekly. Just not a lot of people share their experience online apparently.

If you are interested in how it all looks, I made a few YouTube videos. Check them out here

Hi Nora, thank you very much for sharing your experience, brave woman! I will write this information down for my when my time comes :).

I have just one questio, what is the NOC?

Enjoy India!

No Objection Certificate (something like that), its a way to prove that you have announced your visit and the hotel you are staying at will fax this document to the head of police the day before you leave. This so that the head of police can inform the police departments on your route so they will have an escort ready for you when you arrive.

Without it you are not allowed to continue traveling. Only needed for Baluchistan province.

I'm a bit confused now as I think this is the first time I heard about the TOC. doh

You are saying that you need to do this (where?) to travel in Balochistan, in Quetta, but you were traveling from Iran, so you would need to do that before enter Pakistan I understand.

I will watch your videos and look for more information! I'm really looking forward to enter Iran, I'm in Siva tonight doing some checks to the bike and tomorrow will head east towards the border, I expect to cross on the 27th or 28th.

No, it's definitely NOC, and you need one asap, but since there is no proper office (all the way to Quetta is just a lot of desert and some small desert towns) you apply there. Just needed to travel through Balochistan, nowhere else.

OK I'll do a bit of research, I guess it's fine to enter Pakistan from Iran and get it Quetta.

This is the first time I hear about this so I'm a bit worried now, I have my visa ready and everything but I'll ask about that NOC thing.

Thanks for your help!

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Where exactly in Quetta do you need to obtain the NOC? I will ride a few weeks after David.

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Hi, i'm also planning to go to Iran next year and next to Turkmenistan.
Question , does escort in Iran depends of what kind of visa you use? Ii heard, that if you have tourist visa they will give you escort, but if you use transit visa you dont need it.
That is if you are traveling with your own vehicle.

So far I didn't have any escort in iran, maybe next to the Pakistani border. I haven't been stopped by the police either.

About the visa, I have no idea but bear in mind that UK, Canadian and American citizens can't enter the country without accompanied by a tour guide.

I think someone has managed to bypass that.

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Don't worry about what you have to do for the NOC. They take care of everything. Two guys turned up at my hotel on their motorbikes with their AK47's, I jumped on the back and they took me to the government office. I sat down in the first office where they started preparing my letter. Then I was escorted to the 2nd office where I was given a cup of tea and was more or less interviewed and I told them about my trip and where I am going. Then I was taken to a 3rd office briefly and then back to the first office to finish typing up the letter. You must gaurd the letter with your life because you are frequently asked to produce it at checpoints on the way to Sukkar.
I was then taken back to my hotel. Altogether it took about 1.5-2 hours.
Nothing to worry about, they are all super friendly..

i am in lahore. let me know if i can help you with anything :welcome:

Welcome to Pakistan.
Escorts would stay with you only near the Afghan border. Rest of Pakistan would be fine.
Local officials would be the best to advice you about the current documents.
Cheers

When will Pakistan / China Border is opening? I am planning a trip there!

The Khanjerab border opens in late April/Early May but it would be very cold for motorcycles.
Have a great trip.
Cheers

Hello everybody,

Thank you for all your informations and feedbacks about Iran and Pakistan.
My name is Edouard Im 24 from france and i plan to travel with a friend from Paris to Saigon, and by the way through Iran Pakistan and India.
I'm particularly looking for advices about visas and if/where we can get it for each country.

Many thanks for your help! :)

Salut Edouard,
start here:

Overlanding : Destinations

Bonne route !