tadjikistan-afghanistan-pakistan
 

has anyone been brave or daft enough to drive over the mountains through the wakan corridor from tadjikistan to northern pakistan and survived??

am currently in tashkent and considering all options.

please only considered replies. am off to tadjikistan next week for a recce.

many thanks

particularly routes, x-ing points, permanent checkpoints, visa?? ..... anything useful
thanks

Tajikistan sounds pretty good...I dont think I would be riding through Afghanistan just yet..elections just around the corner.

You could go through Iran and into Pakistan or if the China open thread is right into pak via the KKH and Kashgar.

Medicines Frontiers has pulled out of Afghanistan if that is an indication of the situation.

We where in tadjikistan this time last year.
Great place very friendly people on the whole, but the situation was still alittle tense when you got closer to the Afgah border. Very heavy police presence on the streets of Dushanbe. Had one interesting night and restless night where where where locked up for our own protection in a UN house. On the whole the services where a little shaky, and fuel in places harder to find than the rest of CA.
We did play with the idea of visiting some Afghan friends in Northern Afghinstan, but they advised against going at the time (we where on bikes) due to the security situation. We took the advise and did not go.
Will go back again one day as made some great friends.
I think I can still provide contacts re LIO's and special in country travel permits (some where in my records, just email if you are interested).
Cheers

This has already been discussed here. Just use the search.

The advice was: don't.

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Salut from Southern France, the bikers' paradise,

Peter.

many thanks for info. china issued us a visa but would not let the bikes in so unfortunately can't go just yet.
iran does not like UK nationals - we have been waiting 3 weeks for visa.
cheers beddish i heed the warning but "don't" is not much fun.
is possible to fly to islamabad and karachi so will see.
thanks again and if we decided to do the don't then i'll be in touch you guys from oz
bye

hello

i was a few months in 2002-2003 in kazakhstan, kirghistan, ouzbekistan, turkmenistan, iran, pakistan ... i know those countries little bit, maybe more :-)

i did not dare going to tajikistan and afghanistan and i wouldn t recommend it also. i had the afghan visa and a special un convoy (i worked a bit for the unfpa pakistan).
even pakistan, check before, nowdays, it doesn t sound to good (well, i m back in paris, not there now ...), especially if you want to travel free and safe of course.

check my website (vincent.danna.free.fr) especially this link
http://vincent.danna.free.fr/infos/index.html
try any embassy in the region for your iran visa, i managed to get it in kirghistan, try to get your embassy, the un (if you know anybody there) involved ... but yes it s different for british-us citizens.
the french embassy has helped me a lot on the way.

some backpackers go there (afghan and tajik) but they are with local transport, with local people, people are really nice there but if you meet the wrong one (?)

if i remember well, after my decision not to go to afghan, an italian biker went there and got killed (check the history and details on this site).

up to you ...

i also know norbert who has been free without paying in china recently, check this link
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/ubb...ML/000191.html

he may help you

good luck
DRIVE SAFE

Matt the Iranians do seem to take a long time to issue visas and it does take UK passport holders longer, but not impossible. The Turkmenistan visa can be dificult too, but well worth it.

Further to my previous post I am told almost all NGOs in Afghanistan are pulling their staff in the run up to the elections.