I also rode from Kashgar to Dushanbe across the Pamir Highway in September this year (just before Dave). I was on a KLR650 and had no major issues. The road leading up to the border from Kyrgyzstan has had some recent landslides which have not been cleared but riding/pushing/walking your bike is possible and its only for a very short distance. Most of the Pamir Highway proper to Khorog is paved and in reasonable condition - there's a few patches of gravel say 30kms in total. As Dave says the road beyond Khorog to Dushanbe is pretty bad, with soft surface, rutts and THAT water crossing.

Homestays were easy to find in Murgab and Khorog and although there are plenty of police checks along the way I never had any issues with them (i.e. no money required to pass). Most of the time I was invited in for a cup of tea and food and a chat. There isn't much traffic on the road either. I would have passed half a dozen trucks going the other way in 3 days of riding.

Northern Afghanistan safe again?

The Great Game Travel Company mentioned in this thread starts organizing jeep tours to Afghanistan as "for the first time in over a quater of a century, the north of Afghanistan is once again considered safe for travellers". The company is operated by a British that has been living in Dushanbe for years and, I guess, knows the situation very well.

http://www.greatgametravel.co.uk/

FYI

Kris

N. Afghanistan
 

Someone recently asked about taking a GS650 to Kabul (can't find that thread!).

North Afg continues to hit the news:-

BBC NEWS | South Asia | German troops die in Afghanistan

and the South is no better!! :nono:

Dave

GBAO-permit / turkmenistan/ afghanistan
 

hi all,

we will be in the pamirs in september (two girls, two DR 650's)...

two questions and a remark:

the gbao-permit: it is no longer so that it can only be obtained in dushanbe. we got ours without any problem from the tadjik ambassy in vienna. not all embassies apparently provide this service (it was impossible in brussels), but they just arranged it with the visa and charged 20 euro's for it. we wanted to get it in advance, as we will enter from osh...

turkmenistan: we have a seven days transit visum. apparently they days at the border count, which leaves us with 5 days to cross. does this mean we have to register at OVIR? and if so, does it mean we cannot camp or stay at private homes? this is important to us, as we need to cross turkmenistan again on the way home... and therefore would be in trouble if we can't come back 'till 2010... which seems to happen to almost everybody.

afghanistan: any recent security info? we are not planning to go there, but it's our only return option if things go wrong in turkmenistan. i found both positive and negative info on the road through bamyan to herat... ???

see you guys there

g&t

I have been working in Central Asia for almost 2 years now, I am based out of Bishkek. I am a contractor and work on a lot of government and NGO contracts. Currently I am in Kabul. My company has the contract to provide camp services to USAID. They are rebuilding the roads and bridges in Afghanistan. They just started in Northern Afghan. We are setting up the first camp in the Badakashan province at Fazibad. The roads from Tajikistan to Kabul are really bad, washed out in places. You can not get a large truck, everything has to go by small ones. A bike should really not be a problem though. You are relatively safe in the northern provinces, just do not take any pictures of the poppy fields. Make sure you register with the OVIR in Tajikistan, my company has people there permanently and we send people there temporarily and it is always a problem. Even if you are there less than 5 days, if you do not register you can have a lot of problems leaving. The safest thing to do is register. If you need anything specific let me know. I will be back in Bishkek on Saturday then back to Kabul the following week.

superb site and great piccies, have you been travelling non stop all this time?