In March Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan after about 2 years of border blockade signed an agreement on the state border and there are informations on the net about the opening of 2 checkpoints in the Batken region. Does anyone have any information or even better - any experience about the TJK and KGZ checkpoints on the Pamir Highway? Is it possible to cross the border at the Kyzyl Art Pass/Bor-Dobo from TJK to KGZ without any other permits (except the GBAO permit, of course)?

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rgds, mazeno

Hi Mazeno, I have no first-hand experience but I am planning to cross that border in about three weeks. From everything I could find online it's open and you can cross providing
- you have your GBAO
- you inform the Kyrgyzstani government about your intention to cross (see first link below)

You also need to register with OVIR within 10 working days from crossing the border.

Some links

https://ountravela.com/en/overlandin...ossing-permit/

https://ountravela.com/en/things-to-...-dushanbe-osh/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/over...1740977795734/

That's what I need - first hand experience, so if you are at the border please first try to cross without showing the customs this Kyrgyz "permit" to check if it is still necessary (as I know from the first hand e.g. in Batken it is not now, but of course borderposts may vary even if it is a law agreement). Or maybe ask some people in Murghab or Karakul before.
I can wait for the reply as I start at the end of July from Poland, so I appreciate if you can give here the hint.
Many thanks in advance and good luck.


***
Sorry, but I don't rely too much on commercial sites as it is their business to be a broker for such permits and other papers. And of course I have my own brokers.
Also, I coudn't rely on people who - it seems for me - had been in Kyrgyzstan once, maybe twice and started doing a travel business on this. I know even such a case that a couple (another one) has written texts for guidebooks after visiting KGZ once for 3 weeks only. They wrote they had travelled (by mashrutka) two the most spectacular view roads there - from Bishkek to Issyk Kul and from Bishkek to Song Kul. These are similar to - let's say comparing e.g to Switzerland: Bern - Lausanne and Bern - Zurich, most popular roads.
I have been travelling across Kyrgyzstan a lot in my own car, driving there dozens of thousands kilometers for more than last decade and I wouldn't even try to claim I have seen the most spectacular view road.

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rgds, mazeno

Hi!

It'll be my first time in the area so Im trying to gather what information I can online. But your observations make perfect sense. Happy to report back at the beginning of July

On a different note, if you have any lesser-known places that you'd feel ok sharing feel free Again Im doing some research online but information is limited.

Well, I now a lot of places, which I found by myself, those well known and those not widely known. Finding them is easy and simple mainly. I search Google satelite view (or other satelite views like Bing) in a scale of 200m-500m step by step (and of course look at the available pictures if they are here) looking for unusual structures, places or so.
Of course such searching takes some time, but you can find fascinating places, e.g. some years ago I found a place when a part of a destroyed rocket, probably unsuccesfully had started from Baikonur and touched down in Uzbekistan (unfortunately now it is no more available, probably taken by the army).
Sometimes it is not so simple as some places are hidden by their nature - years ago I was looking for Shakhty cave for a long time on my two travels as there was almost nothing about it on the net (I found the info in the book "Бегущие по скалам" by V. Ranov) and found only 3 (!!!) photos on Google including 2 of the interior. Fortunately on the second journey I recognized a characteristic rock outside seen in the background of the third photo so I could find the cave near. But it costed me almost 2 days of exploring two big valleys each about 50-70km long and over a dozen their smaller sidevalleys. And now Shakhty is easily available (even there are the signposts) and there are a lot of pictures of it on the net. But that time my satisfaction was great (you should see me leaping with joy).
Sometimes I also search for interesting or even unclimbed peaks on my way across the Stans as I'm a climber (there are still many, not very high but anyway over 5000m, even 6000m). I check the peaks in libraries and consult with the specialists like Vladimir Birukov, one of the authors of the Soviet military maps (Pamir, Tien-Shan) from Russia, or Jerzy Wala from Poland (Karakoram, Hindukush), the author of Karakoram maps.
Also searching the net (not only forums, but libraries etc.) is very helpful - especially in Russian (which I know). In that way I found for example "Стрелы Устюрта" (Ustyurt Arrows) a dozen years ago.
Another way is monitoring local news for any interesting themes, on culture or history, an example according to Shakhty (it is about the "new Shakhty"): https://avesta.tj/2019/10/22/novoe-o...ochnom-pamire/
Another interesting: https://tengrinews.kz/science/sensat...yiarki-300438/
Of course, I haven't been in all such places, so I still have to do (explore) in Asia.
Also you can just take a paper map (for the Pamirs the Marcus Hauser map is perfect; Russian military maps are more functional for people who know Pamirs and Tien-Shan a little bit more and visited them more than once or twice and want to explore) and try to visit some remote valleys in situ. It is much more fascinating and rewarding when you find something "majestic" by yourself than from a guidebook which often propose not too much (the Odyssey guidebook "Tajikistan and the Pamirs" by Middleton/Thomas is an exception).
And last but not least and maybe most important - books. There are about 200 books in my library on Central Asia (mostly in Polish, but also Russian and English).
But if you are first time visiting the Stans even keeping on the main roads like Pamir Highway and some side roads (e.g. Kingob, Vanch, Bartang, Wakhan, Aksu valleys; for these look at the Marcus Hauser map) is really addictive and full of impressions. It will take your time and attention a lot.

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rgds, mazeno

Oh wow, that's so interesting man. I'll look up some of these resources, thank you for sharing

I'll let you know about the permit thing!

According to Caravanistan no more permit for entering KGZ on Kyzyl Art/Bordobo border:
https://caravanistan.com/forum/viewt...p=63745#p63745

Of course, any future confirmation will be appreciated.

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rgds, mazeno

I'm also planning a trip through the region later this year, so I'm following this thread closely. Appreciate the tips on maps and satellite scouting too, super inspiring!

Unfortunately the permit is still required both directions:
https://caravanistan.com/forum/viewt...p=64703#p64703
https://caravanistan.com/forum/viewt...p=64704#p64704

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rgds, mazeno

Hi, I just came back from my trip and can confirm this. Permits for the Kyrgyz border are required both ways. On my way to Tajikistan I met a group of cyclists travelling the opposite direction who didn't know about this and had to wait 3 days at the border until their permits were sorted out. As per the message above, you don't get an actual permit, just confirmation that your name has been added to the list. I was provided with a reference number which seemed to help them find my entry but I met others who didn't have it and it was OK. I got mine from Ountravela, it was quick and efficient.

Good luck!

As of late spring 2024, reports say Kyzyl Art Pass is open again for foreigners, but things still seem a bit fluid on the ground. Some travelers have crossed without issues (aside from the usual GBAO permit), but others were turned back due to local checkpoint confusion. Might be worth confirming with hostels in Murghab or Osh a few days before your crossing — they usually have the most up-to-date info.

I was at Sary-Tash about a month ago and the border permit was definitely a thing then. I foolishly assumed that with a Tajik evisa and GBAO permit that would be all I needed. Unfortunately when I found out it was a Friday afternoon, with a minimum processing time of 2 working days. That meant I'd be waiting for 5 days and the weather forecast was for prolonged and heavy storms. I'll never know if it was the right decision or not but I turned round next morning and headed back north. Central Asia is not short of stunning roads to ride