Entering Afghanistan on a Motorbike Not My Own
 

I searched and searched but found nothing solid. I'm thinking of renting one of the usual bikes (Sertao, XT600/660, etc.) in one of the usual places (Osh, Bishkek, Dushanbe) next summer. Basic concept would be to ride around freely for several weeks, and if the variables align enter Afghanistan at Ishkashim to wander up the Wakhan Corridor and back.

I'm really just wondering whether the Afghan border guards will admit a motorbike not accompanied by its owner. Anyone with some actual knowledge of this?

Questions of safety, extravagant permitting fees, and time management will wait to be addressed separately.

Thanks much!

Mark

I haven't asked guards but IIRC all crossings along the border from Kalaihumb well into Wuhan valley to Khargush were closed; we were there end of September.

Personally I don't think anyone in Osh be it Dave or Stas would rent you a bike if you mention going to Afghanistan.

I've not crossed that particular border, but have driven into Afghanistan at three other borders and very much doubt you'll have an issue. I got in three times without the dreaded Route Pass just by talking and waiting. Afghanistan is a very relaxed place when it comes to this sort of thing, and there's a good chance that the border guard will not be able to read very well. If you bring an ownership document in Cyrillic, all the better.

EO

Thanks to cyclopathic and eurasiaoverland! I'm comfortable with uncertainty when it's inescapable--Will the border be open? Will they accept this scrap of paper or that one? Will cigarettes serve to grease the wheels, or only something more substantive? Etc. I'll continue hoping for solid reports while hoping my health allows the trip next summer.

Mark

Ishkashim was open late august/early september.

I'm very curious about this report. If the Ishkashim border crossing was closed, any idea why?

Thanks for any clarification.

There are many physical crossings along the Wakhan Corridor, most are not open to foreigers or not open at all at present.

EO

I would speculate due to situation with ISIS in northern Afghanistan. The border on tajik side is swarmed with military

As I wrote, Ishkashim border was open early/mid september. This is a fact.

If we have to speculate, I would say that the info you gave is not accurate and the border was never closed this year; but this is just speculation.

ISIS was never in that area.
Even taliban are not that much interested in that area and was very rarely seen in the last few years. They never entered the corridor.

In my opinon we should be a bit more cautious when we give info on the internet...

Correct. I rode with 2 Italians in Tajikistan who had teamed up with 2 other Italians (4 people on 3 bikes) and crossed into/exited Afghanistan at Ishkashim in early September 2019.

They went in and out the same border post. They rode 500km in Afghanistan (250 one way and the same back along the same track) essentially riding along the river on the other side of the valley from Tajikistan.

They were riding their own bikes. They were there for 5 days.

They got their visas at the Afghan consulate in Khorog. I recall total costs were in the region of 500 usd per person for the visa/ official bike temporary fee as well as other unofficial "fees".

They said: The accommodation was very basic and compared with Tajikistan very expensive. The best bike for the track is a full on prepped light weight enduro bike rather than a fat faux euro enduro bomber. The track is apparently very bumpy and with lots of obstacles.

My view: Can't see the cost/benefit of crossing the border just to ride on the other side of the river back and forward in the same environment as in Tajikistan. But each to their own.

Hi Chris,
I am one of the "2 other Italians", the other being my girlfriend;-)

I will just correct you regarding the costs; still expensive, but less than 500 usd:

- visa 100 usd + fast procedure 50 usd = 150 usd
- bike official paper from the embassy 60 usd
- unofficial "fee" at the border: 250 usd for 3 bikes. This can probably be reduced, depending of time and personal negotiating skills

Hi Cristiano
I thought by your hubb user name that you were one of the other "2 Italians" :D Greetings to Sabrina too. I spotted your bike in Osh and Bishkek after we met.

Many thanks for clarifying the numbers. Actual up to date facts are always more useful than second hand or out of date information, random conjecture and utter bs.

The Bartang valley ride with the other 2 Italians ( :rofl: ) was superb!

PS. Second Tajikistan visa and new gbao permit cost also need adding to the usd amount.

Yeah, this is correct: add 70 usd to the total.

I'm happy the Bartang was superb: I hope you had a good time with those funny "2 Italians"

Thanks again to those responding and to the leads on further information. Even the disagreements and uncertainties are informative.

Sounds to me as if there may be some confusion about place names in this thread. What I'm calling the "Wakhan Corridor" is a thin thread of Afghan territory which separates mainly Tajikistan and Pakistan. It was apparently created as a buffer between Russian and British colonial territories. The route I'm interested in follows the Wakhan River through the middle of this corridor.

There is also a different route along the Pamir River, with a main road on the Tajik side and a smaller road a couple of hundred meters away on the Afghan side. The two routes in question are separated by the Wakhan Range, which I believe lies entirely within Afghan territory. There is no (tourist) entry into Afghanistan along this section. Of course I'm also interested in that route, but it's not what I'm asking about here.

Hope that clarifies, rather than obscures.

Mark

Cristiano rode what I believe to be the only "road" available to foreigners with vehicles in northern Afghanistan. He'll be able to clarify the lay of the land.

Zorro and Muztoo, both in Osh, Kyrgyzstan rent bikes to people who often ride them to Tajikistan and back. Contact them re. their Ts and Cs relating to the land south of river from Tajikistan.

We rode the main road from Ishkashim to Sarhad-e-Broghil.
To be honest, we stopped around 20 kms before Sarhad and turned back: we arrived at a pretty deep river crossing and decided it was enough for us. Time was not on our side, as we were all on a tight schedule and decided not to risk it.

It is the road in red in this map
https://caravanistan.com/wp-content/...rridor-map.jpg

Honestly, I'm not sure it is the only rideable road in that area: I definitely saw cars going to what I suppose was the yellow road in this map along the Tajik border.
I heard that on Afghan side they are working hard on the buildings around the border crossing from Langar, so I'm pretty sure it is possible to reach at least that point.
I also heard that in the next few years is possible that the Langar border crossing will be open to foreigners: no idea about if and when this will happen, but it would be a great option for people who wants to visit the area.

A good article about the area is available here and a very nice brochure here.

As for other roads in Afghanistan, situation is more "fluid": I think the hardest thing is to find recent and reliable infos.

There was a great report on advrider forum of a guy who was already in Afghanistan when Ishkashim border closed; he waited a few days there and then decided to continue to Kabul and managed to make it there: I will search for it and link it here...

Here is it: unfortunately the pictures are gone, but there is a link to the instagram page where they are still on...

Great to hear that the Afghan Wakhan was still open back in September.

I am also contemplating going there next summer so all relevant, up-to-date info posted on this thread/forum is very useful !

I assume the Afghan visa is valid for a stay of up to a month ?

What about the Tajik visa ? Can you get a double entry one ? Or apply for 2 single entry e-visas at the same time ?

L.

Correct: our visa was valid up to one month (Khorog consulate)

We were able to apply for 2 evisas (and obtain them).
Our friends applied later than us (just a couple of weeks) and did not succeded.
They had one evisa and applied for a second visa (the normal one on the passport) in Bishkek at the start of their trip.

Great news.

Did you apply for both e-visas exactly at the same time ? Or applied for the second one when you were already in Tajikistan ( or Afghanistan, although that sounds very unlikely ).

Did you make the trip by yourself or did you have a local guide or local fixer to help you sort out the red tape in Afghanistan ?

Not exactly at the same time: I applied for the second one after the first arrived, but before entering Tajikistan.

I applied for the first one june 30th; received it july 4th
I applied for the second one july 28th; received it july 30th

I entered Tajikistan august 24th, exited to Afghanistan august 30th, re-entered Tajikistan september 3rd

But please note: my friends tried to do the same just a couple of weeks later than me and were not able to obtain the second evisa.
They applied for a normal visa in Bishkek (same day service) and used their only evisa for the second entry

We did all by ourself

Grazie Mille for the information.
I will probably ask you more questions when the Holidays are over :-)
Happy New Year to all.
L.

Hi there,

As promised here are more questions coming your way :-)

Do you mean that you managed to get all the paperwork done on the Afghan side of the border without hiring a local guy ?
From what I've read it seems to be the norm.
Do you speak Dari or Farsi ?

There is another border post across the Panj near Khorog.
I did some quick search and it looks like there is a rough track going upstream as far as Ishkashim on the Afghan side.
I read somewhere that some travellers biked it a few years ago.
Have you heard about it ? Or tried it ?
There is even another one leading up to Lake Shiva...

Cheers,

L.

Yes: we visited 3 offices on the main road in Ishkashim and did everything by ourself.

No, I speak perfect italian and some broken english ;-)

Yes, I heard about that road. I even saw it from the tajik side, as anybody riding the Khorog/Ishkashim road.
Last summer someone told me that one guy managed to enter in Khorog, but was not able to continue on the road to Ishkashim.
From what I heard, security situation in that area is not as good as in Wakhan, but I did not investigated more.
There was some bombing from Afghan army a little bit north a few months ago. Explosions have been heard in Kalaikum.
Things can change quickly in that area...

Thanks for your input Crisidsto !
Yes, things can change very quickly in that part of the world.
I'll keep my ears to the ground on the way over ( I am cycling and I am leaving from southern France very soon -- Plenty of time to think about it ) and I'll decide whether to go or not when I get to Tajikistan.
There is also the option of entering Afghanistan at Termez/Uzbekistan and head down to Mazar...
I've got a very reliable contact there.
L.