jamesallen - as mcgiggle states - Gilgit is a no go area. just seen on the local news here in Nepal that they are really really concerned about the dam break - people evacuating etc. and KKH is definitely a no-go. apparently closed to foreigners at the current time.

uk_vette - unfortunately I cant give you any information re Turkey - Iran as we came from Turkmenistan into Iran after having gone through the rest of the 'stans....great region to see BTW. however, there has been a military escort from Bam in Iran and all the way through Pakistan from the border of Iran -Pak to Lahore. when you cross the border into Pak you will be told which route you will take across. they will provide you with a military escort who will be with you all of the way (not the same guys as you change hands a lot of the time with different teams but we found all of them in Pak to be very good and amiable - not so in Iran). from Lahore to Islamabad we were left to our own devices.

Now with the precarious situation in the north I am not too sure if that will still be the case.
there is only one border crossing now open to foreigners crossing from Iran into Pakistan which is the one 18.3 miles away from Zahedan.
and only one you can use to cross from Pak to India is the Attari/Wagah border. when there try not to miss the amazing border closure ceremony. the town of Amritsar will be your first stop probably.
we crossed Pak at the end of 2010. there will be new Pakistan diary up on our website in the next few days so go and check it out.

India into China best via Nepal I would say. though the costs of traveling into China are prohibitive for us and so I don't have much information. although I am sure you will find it in the HUBB.


We have a fully downloadable GPS file with ref points for Iran, Pak and India on the front page of our website.

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Lisa
www.2ridetheworld.com