Quetta - Lahore, road condition, etc..
 

Should be getting our Pakistani visas this week, so starting off shortly with a bike. The road from Zahedan to Mir Javeh to Quetta, there doesnt seem to be many options (because further south, closer to the sea, I hear the roads are really bad, and the region in general not so good, better to just take the main route...) But from Quetta, when heading to India, in my map there seem to be at least 3 options:

1: Zhob - D.I.Khan - Faisalabad - Lahore - Wagah

2: Ziarat - Loralai - D.G.Khan - Multan - Lahore - Wagah

3: Sukkur - Bahawalpur - Multan - Lahore - Wagah.

While I havent been to Pakistan, just been following the media, and not all news have been good lately, Im a little bit curious about the situation in the different regions.

Route #1 might go a little close to the Afghan border and the tribal areas further north, anyone have any recent experiences from there?

Route #2, someone said the road near Loralai is real bad, can anyone confirm this? Is the stretch from Quetta to D.G.Khan paved (or once was paved), or its a dirt road? Is it just a little bit bad, or a real "4x4 only" route? My bike is a street-enduro type, but 2-up and very heavy loaded, so very bad roads can be a problem.

Route #3, this one seems (on the map at least) the most tempting, to go to the Indus Valley where it should be flat, so a bit faster road, too? Unless of course theres a lot of flooded areas etc., so again Im wondering, how is the road condition on this route?

The fuel range of the bike should be around 300-350 kms, so that shouldnt be a problem in anyone of these routes, (or from Iranian border to Quetta?)

One more thing: if starting off early, as soon as the suns on the horizon, and start looking for a hotel 1-2 hours before dark, what would be a nice estimate of km´s, that you can cover per day in Pakistan - or in the different regions, as I hear that the road condition can vary greatly?

We may in fact be escorted by the police, so not sure if they´ll have some suggestions on the route (and travelling with them means to go slowly from what I´ve heard)... but anyway, all experiences and comments are welcomed!

Pecha hi,

Your best option currently is option 3: Sukkur - Bahawalpur - Multan - Lahore - Wagah.

As you say anything close to the Afghan border and the tribal areas is a bit iffy. Maybe when you've found your feet and get your bearings you can venture on.

I'm not sure if you been to Iran but the Iranians are beautiful people. There are a few most sees there.

You won't have any problems getting from Mirijavah to Quetta fuel wise or road wise although i suggest that you don't travel late in the afternoon to Quetta. It can be a bit dicey with tribal groups. Following a bus a truck is always a good move.


I recommend Hotel Bismel in Quetta. It is not at all fancy but it is cheap and its all above- board. From memory Muhammad Yaseen Bismel runs it. Drop the name Maqsood Shah ( he is a drug rep from Lahore) and at times frequents Quetta.


The road condition and the speed of the bike can vary greatly so giving estimates is a bit arbituary. If there are no break downs then goat track distances travelled can be as little as sixty likometres a day. Bitumen is bitumen so its up to you.

Beware of the police escort- great if you want to pay them ( and they will try it on) but if you have the relevant documentation you by law aren't enforced too.

safe travels and let me know how you fair.

ok, thanks!
 

and some more questions:
"i suggest that you don't travel late in the afternoon to Quetta. It can be a bit dicey with tribal groups"

- What exactly does that ´dicey´ refer to, are they known to have robbed people or what? And why afternoon is a bad time, or do you mean that you should get to some place well before dark (thats what we plan to do no doubt)?

I think Im going for that #3 (Sukkur - Bahawalpur - Multan - Lahore - Wagah).... and I trust that you have accurate info, that the monsoon rains havent washed away the roads, or bridges, in the river valley, and that your info is also quite recent, as these things seem to change very quickly?

If normal cars can do that route, then I think I wont have any bigger problems regarding the road.

Pakistan travel
 

We came through Pakistan from China two months ago. We were advised by friendly locals not to travel on Friday afternoons in tribal areas as its the sabbath and it can be construed as dangerous. We had no choice but to travel on a Friday and were given a police escort for about 200km. The speed was acceptable, given the state of the roads, but the police bikes are only CG125s. We were handed from one escort to the next as we passed through each area. They asked for no money and even invited us to have lunch. Blog at BikerBytes.com

It's practically impossible to ride Taftan - Quetta in one day during daylight hours, and you don't want to travel in the dark anywhere in the Third World. Apparently, the only place with anything resembling a hotel is Dalbandin, about half way.

I did Ziarat - Loralai - Zhob - D.I.Khan in May. If anything, the Tribal people were even more hospitable than the rest of Pakistan, but the checkpoints and escorts can be a pain. In theory, you need a permit to travel anywhere other than the Sukkur route. I didn't have one and I think you can probably get by without, but folks in a van I travelled with did have one, and so the cops were waiting for us to escort us.

Things may have changed since I was there...

Zobh...
 

We got turned back from the Zobh route on the way to Iran in Jan 2006.
You need a permit for this route.
We went via your 'route 2', there this is a section of about 70ks of easy dirt roadif i remember correctly. It was a great ride!
It is a long days ride from Quetta to the border, so you must either cross the night before then stay at the border(theres a hotel right next to the border), or come through first thing.
I dont know anything about the 3rd route.
Please take note that after we were turned back from the Zhob road, the same police told us to go to DG Khan to find somewhere to stay for the night(It was the more northerly of the to D- Khan's, think it was DG khan). When we got there all the hotels turned us away saying the government had made an order that no foreigners were allowed to stay in the area as there was a lot of Al Quaeda activity. This meant we had to ride through the night to get over the indus to an area where we could get a room.
Id check the situation at the border if possible as you dont want to be riding around at night etc if you can avoid it.
The area was actually fine and i absolutely loved Pakistan more than anywhere else ive ever been, so dont let this bit of government meddling worry you. Its just a pain in the backside if you get caught out by it.
We managed to not pick up a police escort as they can be very dull ive heard. One guy we met got escorted all the way to Lahore.
Look like you know where you're going and hope they dont decide to help!
Have a good one.
chris

Route #2
 

Hi
We rode the Quetta - Lorali - DG Khan - Multan route 18 months ago. The road as follows:
Quetta - Lorali: the road was fine (tarmac), very stunning in places and the people (inc police) were very nice. We stayed in Ziarat for 2 nights behind a goverment hostel and apart from the police making us fill in a logbook, the town was safe.
Lorali - DG Khan: according to the locals, there are disputes between towns as to who is responsible financially for the new road, hence the bad conditions. There are very short stretches of tarmac but generally the road is gravel (sometimes fine/ sometimes larger gravel). Theres also areas of sand that can be deep in places. The bridges have been blown out so river crossings are frequent (I think the deepest one we did was 0.5 m but mostly less than this). We came across a town beginning with R that we camped in the Army officers mess - again they were great and provided our own chef and doctor!
The next part was under construction when we were there, but it is a winding mountain road with terrible surface to ride on.
DG Khan - Multan: Welcome tarmac all the way but picked up by police escort who in fairness were very good to us and no trouble finding hotel in Multan.