Karakoram highway to Turkey - info needed

[Bensouthall]

Dearest Hubbers

I've been thrown a bit of a curveball by the Iranian authorities in the last 48 hours by becoming one of the 25% of unfortunate people who are refused a visa to visit the country in a few weeks time.

Yes I know being British doesn't help but to be refused one based on the fact a I run a website about travel is a little far fetched - I'm not a journalist!

Anyway rant over...

I'm looking for your help to work out the best way to travel from India (where I currently am with my Land Rover Defender) into Turkey.

Options at this stage are:

1. Drive into Pakistan, across the Karakoram Highway into China and west from there.

Questions are:

Is it a safe enough route from Lahore north to the border?
Is Lake Attabad able to be crossed with a 4WD since the landslide there a while ago?
How easy is the Russian visa to get for a UK passport in a short time?
Do car ferries operate across the Caspian Sea from E - W?
How easy are the visas to get hold of for Kazak, Kyrgy, Azer and Armenia? Border or in advance?

2. Ship the Land Rover from Mumbai to Turkey and give up on the overland route

Sorry for all the questions but I've got a big decision to make in the next week or so!

Thanking you experts in advance,

Ben & Sophee

[pecha72]

Originally Posted by Bensouthall

across the Karakoram Highway into China

I´m no expert on this – but how much time do you have right now, until you would be crossing into China?? I believe you have to contact a tour company in China, and they will arrange all paperwork regarding the guide, crossing and vehicle temp import, but, it is my understanding, that there is a considerable lead time to do this. (I once asked one tour operator, and they said they need 3 months, but this was several years ago, and I don´t know if it was only them, who needed this much time.)

If you can´t get into Iran, and you do not consider Afghanistan a real option (personally, I wouldn´t) then yeah, it is pretty simple, you need to get the vehicle into China to go by land.

[Omie]

Let me address your first 2 questions,
Lahore to Khanjerab is safe.
Atabad lake has boats that carry jeeps and vans routinely. At a higher cost you can get bigger government boats that transport big loaded trucks.
The lake bypassing tunnel is almost ready and is scheduled to be opened for traffic in coming September.
I read somewhere (probably in the HUBB) that there are ways to bypass the costly paperwork for travel in China. I am sure if you dig a bit you will figure out.
I hope it helps.
Cheers
Omar

[hekoheko]

I met a german/austrian couple, they wanted to do the Karakorum Highway 2 month before from Islamabad to China by bicycle.
They were not allowed to ride their bike to Gilgit (had to use pickups). Only then they were able to ride the bike.

Gesendet von meinem SM-G800F mit Tapatalk 2

[amzahsulaiman]

Hi,
On 23 June 2015, a group of 4 Malaysian bikers on their Honda wave 125cc rode the KKH into China and into Europe. They are now in Uzbekistan.
I guess the KKH is open for travellers.


Ride Safe

Amzah