KYRG to UZB latest border info...

[tobyb]

Hey Currently in Almaty doing the red tape dance.

Any recent info on crossing from Kyrgzystan to Uzbekistan? Many people are advising me to avoid the Fergana valley all together, especially Osh and Jalalabad, and with the election is coming up (Oct 10th) a few days before I plan to cross.

Has anybody been though one of the southern borders?

Is there another border, that works for Foreigners, I'm getting conflicting reports of another in the north...

My plan B is to get another Transit visa and go back through Kaz, but I'm getting a bit tired of the visa dance, and have done the Shymkent - Almaty road twice already this week....

Thanks!

[Bobduro]

Hi Toby,

We went that way about 7 weeks ago. We were in Tashkent, and actually had some friends there ring up the police and other local authorities to check on the border situation as we were looking to cross at either Osh or Namangan. We were told that it was currently open so the next morning with 48 hours left on our visa we filled everything we had with petrol. Even the soldiers at the checkpoints along the Farghana valley said it was open. Arriving at Namangan that evening we were told that the border was closed, had been closed all week and wasn't opening soon. With 24 hours left on our visa and little fuel left we headed back towards Tashkent some 400km away only to arrive the next morning at the Kazak embassy and find that the visa section is closed all day friday!
Only the help of the british embassy saved us from huge fines as we tried to get an extension, and only because the ministry in charge of borders didn't know they'd closed the border either!

Ended up exiting via Kazak and entered Kyrg about 80km west of Bishkek (i forget the name but all info is on our blog - see below)

Either way, take whatever you're told with a pinch of salt.

Good luck!