north pakistan in winter
 

hi,
Maybe somebody can help me here..
I will be arriving in pakistan next year in januari. I know its winter and that it will be cold out there..
I was wondering which places i can reach during this period and how hard its going to be..I heard that i can forget Chitral, but what about Gilgit and Peshawar?
if somebody has some information for me, like were to go/or not, wich passes are interesting, how cold and how lifethreatning,let me now.

thanks
niels

I had no problem following the Grand Trunk Road up to Peshawar in February. Gilgit was pretty damned cold but the roads were open (I went from Rawalpindi) I could not ride the bike (Enfield Bullet) any further in such cold conditions though but too the bus up to Hunza and Passu. These were damned cold but highly recommended.

Hope this helps

Matt

Matt

Hi,

I'm in Pakistan (Quetta) at the moment, and I really want to try to go up the KKH as far as I can. But, I'm also concerned about the weather. My plan was to go, and turn back if it becomes impossible to go further. This morning I talked to a guy from the official tourist office here, and he said they will keep the roads free from snow and that you can go up to Sost. He also told me I could get more info in Islamabad/Rawalpindi.

Niels, when exactly will you be in Pakistan? We could meet up and try it together, it would definitely make me feel safer!

cheers,
Peter

I think an Aussie called Chris is in Peshawar at the moment, he's been up there recently and may be going again. Search for 'blackelk' on the HUBB.
Sean

hi peter,

nice to know there is somebody out there.
at the moment i am in kathmandu, had some serieus delays with the bikeshipment from bkk to kolkatta, so i will be a little later in pakistan. leave delhi somewhere around the 4th of januari, maybe in lahore on the 10th?
anyway, ill try to stay in contact. i hope we can meet up...
thanks and greetz
you to matt and sean
niels

hi there,

time to update some info..
time enough also while i am snowed in for the moment, here in besham on the kkh.
i reached gilgit and even hunsa e few days ago. the first days realy beautiful weather, sunshine but F cold. But if you have the right gearand your not a sissy,it will be okay. there was some p tension also, there was a curfew from 6 to 6, afther some sunnis killed some shia leader the 8th of jan this year.didnt experience any problems.

so here in brief the situation: its possible to reach gilgit in this time of year, they (the army)keep the roads open because the kkh is a big supply-line to the pak-india warzone. if it (realy)rains a lot, it can slow you down for a day, max 2, then there is snow on the passes, landslides are possible, debris on the road..
if you have the time: go for it, the views are amazing!

greetz
niels

hi there,

time to update some info..
time enough also while i am snowed in for the moment, here in besham on the kkh.
i reached gilgit and even hunsa e few days ago. the first days realy beautiful weather, sunshine but F cold. But if you have the right gearand your not a sissy,it will be okay. there was some p tension also, there was a curfew from 6 to 6, afther some sunnis killed some shia leader the 8th of jan this year.didnt experience any problems.

so here in brief the situation: its possible to reach gilgit in this time of year, they (the army)keep the roads open because the kkh is a big supply-line to the pak-india warzone. if it (realy)rains a lot, it can slow you down for a day, max 2, then there is snow on the passes, landslides are possible, debris on the road..
if you have the time: go for it, the views are amazing!

greetz
niels

hi there,

a new update from the situation over here in wintertime. had some peolpe asking me some things concerning waetherconditions. I can only give my experience for the time being, how its going to change in the next seasons i cannot say...

Quetta on 15/2 was very cold.coming from multan and sukkur the weather was fine but over the bolan pass it was cold and foggy.
the PTDC here in Q. told me you can do the trip from Q. to Taftan in 1 day. Don't count on it in these weatherconditions...
1st day i drove upto Noskhi, a little bit more then 200km away. i stopped there because of the weatherconditions. to cold -8 and very strong sidewinds. you realy need good gear for this desert part. In N. is 1 hotel wich is very basic but good enough. it is also maybe a good place to stop if you come from the iranian border, 500 kn away. an alternative if you want to drive further then dalbandin.
2nd day i drove to Dalbandin, 200km. same conditions, most of the time only 1 lane.
strong winds. there is a good hotel in dalbandin, used by many overlanders.
3th day i tried to drive to Taftan, 300km away but failed because the bike broke down.this because of very bad petrol on the way wich you buy in cans. had to clean everything. this part of the road is in much better condition and mainly flat and not so winding as some other parts.
a good place to stay in taftan, and a better option then on the iranian side is PTDC hotel. no bikeshops available. basic stuff.some shops and restaurants.

so thats it for the moment. Because of a problem with my iranian visa (the mf's, a mistake made by the iranian thai embassy, so watch out if you coe from there)i had to go back to Quetta and will be here for another 2 weeks wating for a new visa. A psaaportoffice you can find here and also an iranian consulaat.

greetz to you all
niels