I want to ride the pamir highway , but I will gon on it from kyrsgystan. I will hopeully get the visa and the permit in bishkek this week . Now I would like to now if there s ay circuit that will take me back to kyrgyz without going back the same way ??? Or Should I just do the first 400km and then go back the same way ??? as my next route is the kkh

any route advise is appreciated

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You can ride the Pamir highway through Khorog until you meet the main road to Dushanbe. From there you can turn away from Dushanbe and head back toward Kyrgyz. This road leads back to Sary Tash.

You can see it clearly on Google maps.

Ben

PS - I seem to remember some mention of the Dushanbe - Sary Tash border crossing being tricky. I can't remember where or why, but it may be worth looking into to check it's all ok.

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Vladivostok - Denmark 2008... Finished.
Denmark - South Africa 2010-2011... Finished.

The border at Kara-Mik isn't open to foreigners. I found this out by riding all the way there from Sary-tash, to find a tiny remote Tajik border hut (Kygiz one wasn't manned) who looked pretty shocked to find a foreign motorcyclist pull up. There was no way they were going to let me cross, seemed to be saying that even if they let me go I'd get stopped and turned back further along the road.

*however* I heard off a cyclist I met that a jeep with four americans in it crossed only weeks before me. Apparently they spoke russian so maybe that helped. But my advice would be don't bother trying that border.


I just did the pamhir highway in both directions. Rode the main route to Khorog then looped back round through the Wakan valley road. Definately worth it, great scenery.

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UK to Mongolia 2009, on a DR350

If you are not dependent on public transport, you could take the Bartang Valley back, so you only have the stretch between Sary Tash and Karakul twice (if you leave over Irkeshtam). Otherwise, from Dushanbe over the northern road (Isfana), I don't know how much time you have.
By the way, from Gultcha I took a pass to Karakuldscha and then to Uzgen, so I had not to go to Osh, was a nice small road, to find in the russian maps.

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Cycling in Asia: Thailand to Turkey, Siberia and Central Asia

I am just back from Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

In Bishkek you can get a visa on arrival at the airport (US$ 70).

In Bishkek you can also get the visa for Tajikistan in 1 day (US$ 135), through travel agent Kirgiz Concept on Chui Prospect 124, opposite the presidential palace (ask for Miss Saltanat). Make sure you also ask for the additional GBAO (Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast) visa at the same time, an area where the Pamir Highway goes through (Khorog, Murghab).

I took 5 different taxis from Bishkek to Dushanbe via Osh, Batken (Kirgis border town), Isfara (Tajik border town), Khujand. The total taxi cost was US$ 450 only for 27 hours of driving.

This border crossing goes through small gravel roads, even a river crossing, as the taxis have to go around the Uzbek exclaves. Adventurous, but doable even in a 2x4.

The road from Khujand (second biggest city in Tajikistan) to Dushanbe is adventurous too, with two high passes on dirt roads (4x4 preferrable, but not a must). The tunnels are still still not finished by the Chinese construction firms and you must prepare for long waiting times, as some road stretches are temporarily closed every day.

From Dushanbe the Pamir Highway back to Osh is mostly asphalt. 4x4 not needed. You can do it in 3 days and sleep in Khorog and Murghab.

The old border crossing south of Sary-Tash is not open to foreigners, as it leads to the Rasht valley, where four UN workers were killed some years ago and where the government doesn't have full control.

> In Bishkek you can also get the visa for Tajikistan in 1 day (US$ 135),
> through travel agent Kirgiz Concept on Chui Prospect 124, opposite the
> presidential palace (ask for Miss Saltanat). Make sure you also ask for the
> additional GBAO (Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast) visa at the same
> time, an area where the Pamir Highway goes through (Khorog, Murghab).

Hello,
we're planning a motorcycletour to the pamir-highway and will organize the visa for all countries here in Germany. Is this GBAO visa identical with the permit for the pamir-highway - or are these two different things? We're coming from Usbekistan and will go over Dushanbe -> pamir -> Kyrgyzstan. Where can we get these additional documents on our way?

Thank you for your help...

Andreas

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