Advice Please Karakoram Highway Kashgar to Islamabad
 

Hi Everyone

I hope you can help.

A group of us ( 5 ) plan to use the Karakoram Highway to take us from Kyrgyzstan to India in early August 2012.

As we are at the early stages of planning, can someone advise what the cost of a guide (hopefully we would only need one) might be and the length of time we would this guide ?

Also has anyone any recommendations as to a good guide company.

I have read some of the posts on here and I know that the highway is flooded at Karimabad, but boats are available, is the cost of $100 per boat still the going rate?

Thanks

KG to IN via PAK
 

Hi Juliet,

I've just ridden from Kyrgyzstan to India along this route. The below two threads should have all the info you need, incl two recommended agents to contact in Kashgar and who actually work together. Re price your best bet is to contact them. Good old inflation. But to give you a rough idea, the cost is equivalent to long haul flight somewhere, though this can be split between your group. You only need one vehicle (guide and driver): 1 afternoon from KG border to Kashgar, 2-3 days rest there, then a day's drive to Tashkurgan and over the border the next day.

The cost of the 1.5hr fishing boat north of Karimabad is only around $10 per bike + person. You can fit two bikes on the front of each boat. They leave as and when, so just turn up early and wait half an hour or so.

Happy planning.

Bob
Delhi

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...crossing-58993

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...-info-re-60011

Thanks
 

Bob

Thank you very much for your detailed and informative response.


Top man

Keep safe

John

Hi John,

Please keep posting here if your plans stay unchanged.
I am at the moment planning different options and should know my plans withing next few weeks. One option could be to go same route roughly at the same time, so maybe we can share this cost.
Never know what happens with Iran, so this might be the only way to get to India from central europe.

Hi Juliet,
They charge US$100 for transporting 4 wheelers accross the lake. For bikes they charge around $ 10 only.
Have a nice trip.
Cheers

Omar

Just out of interest: roughly from where to where is the KKH open each year (..at least I have been under the impression, that it is not a year-round route)?

KKH is open year round but the Khanjerab border closes from 31st December to 1st of May.

I have seen pictures of people driving bikes on the frozen lake in winters.

Cheers
Omar

Kunjerab Pass
 

Hi Pechar & Omar,

To be on the safe side, assume the Kunjerab Pass is open from spring through to mid-October. It all depends when the snows come. They have normally arrived by Nov, but this year they stopped me from crossing the Barbusar Pass further south (c4,200m vs Kunjerab c4,600m) around mid-to-late-Oct.

If you're coming through the Stans from Europe, which is a fine balancing act of timing, then you'll probably reach Kunjerab by early Sept, anyway, which is fine (e.g. Turkey April, Iran May, Uzbekistan June including 5-day transit through Turkmenistan, Tajikistan July, Kyrgyzstan August .. . the last two key, since you want mid-Summer to make sure passes are open and river levels low).

Cheers,
Bob

Hi Bob,
Babusar closes down in October but not Khanjerab. This was exactly the reason they built a 125 kms longer route to avoid the Babusar. KKH is on a high altitude plateau which gets very little snowfall.
Actually the big busses also ply on this route till December.
Having said that you are right in suggesting that time of snowfall also matters but it makes a difference of days/weeks and not more.

Cheers
Omar

Karakoram Highway Kashgar to Islamabad
 

I was in charge of a trip on KKH and arranged a two week long sightseeing tour with Vertical Explorers Tours. Here is the itinerary, we followed with an addition of a few other places. Vertical Explorers | VE Way China - India Borders's Itinerary; Climbing, Trekking, Cultural Tours Vertical Explorers I contacted them via email (info@vepakistan.com) and arranged everything in advance. It was very easy and their price was extremely fair. Our guide met us at our hotel and adapted a tour which fitted in with our schedule and what we wanted to see. We found our guide" Saif " to be a really excellent guide. He was very informative but kept the tour interesting, helped in transferring our land rover across the Attabad lake and showed a variety of places. He was clearly passionate about what he was doing and delivered a good mix of stories, facts and took time to unexplored places to take photos and explore. He was also very happy to help us with restaurant recommendations. He clearly has a great knowledge of the Pakistan and contacts. His contact detail northernguide@gmail.com cell phone +92(0)341-9445841 You should not miss the following off road places along the KKH. Fairy Meadows, Naran Kaghan, Naltar meadows, Bagrot valley and Nanga Parbat base camp enjoy your trip! (cross posted)

How safe these days the KKH from the Kohistan section. Do one need escort for it. if so, does anybody know how to obtain it? thanks in advance.

Pakistan and KKH is fine (from its own standards) and traffic is plying regularly. The police makes convoys of 30-40 vehicles and then escorts them through the unstable area. You might have to wait for the convoy to form which shouldn't be more than a couple of hours.

Cheers
Omar

When Pak China border will close, if any body crossing the border, please share the latest security situation.
thanks in advance