Of all the countries we planned to visit, Pakistan was the most difficult to get current information about; especially given it’s turbulent security situation. We have now passed through the country so I thought I’d share my experience for the benefit of fellow overlanders.

Firstly, it needs to be stated that of all the countries we’ve visited thus far, Pakistani people are by far the most welcoming and hospitable. Second to none. Over half of our night’s accommodation were home stays, and nearly all of our meals were provided by our hosts - they flatly refused to accept any sort of payment. It really was incredible!

There is a huge presence of armed forces in the country - both military and police. From this point of view, we have felt very secure - there are just so many security forces around that if (hypothetically speaking) something nasty were to unfold it would be dealt with very quickly. The downside to this is that when traveling in more remote areas, there are more check points than you can count on all of your fingers, toes and spokes put together. In certain areas, you can’t travel more than 10kms without being stopped and asked for your passport, so keep it handy! Generally speaking the security forces are very friendly, and will often stop you simply to invite you to drink tea with them - fantastic hospitality, but not exactly what you want when you’re trying to cover a good distance in a day.

A summary of roads travelled where we encountered some sort of difficulty:

- Karakoram Highway (N35) from Islamabad to Gilgit. We were stopped at Battagram and given an armed police escort. At each district border you are handed over to another escort. Some escorts are painfully slow (it is a talking point to see third gear!) and others travel as fast as you would dare to travel yourself on the road. Unfortunately for us, the weather was not in our favour - the road beyond Besham was closed due to significant landsliding (some we saw falling before our eyes). We were told a bridge over the river had collapsed and would take several days before it had been repaired enough to take traffic again. We were in contact with another overlander who traveled the same road 10 days before us, and he mentioned that the armed escorts lasted as far as Gilgit.

- We tried to head west from Besham on the N90 towards the Swat Valley, but were refused due to security problems. Apparently in years gone past there was a Taliban stronghold in the valley - it is no longer a problem, but the government does not want to take risks when tourists are involved. We had no choice but to return the way we came, traveling behind the same escorts again.

- N45 to Chitral. We decided to head towards Chitral instead as we had an invitation to stay at Nagah from a host in Lahore who had family there. The security on this road was considerably more intense than the N35. At one checkpoint (approximately 30kms south of Dir) we were stopped and had all of our luggage inspected by military personnel. The gentleman in charge berated us as to why we did not have an armed escort (we had not been provided one up to this point) and simply couldn’t understand why we should want to travel in these places. We needed to phone our friends from Lahore to explain clearly our purpose before he was satisfied and let us continue (ironically, despite his concern we were not given an escort at this point). We stayed the night in Dir and 30 minutes after checking into our hotel, 5 armed police officers arrived and explained that they would spend the night with us for our security. They explained that if we did not want their security we could write a letter to the commander in charge and they would be excused. We asked if there was any security risk and all present explained there was no risk at all so of course we wrote the letter. We learned in the morning that our letter had not been accepted and the police had spent the night regardless.

Setting off from Dir in the morning we travelled under escort and the road condition deteriorated very quickly. Following behind the police car we averaged 13km/h for the day (I’m not exaggerating - we did the math!). Thankfully Nagar is only 45kms north of Dir; should we have continued to Chitral it would have been a very long day. The Lowari Tunnel is an 8.5km long tunnel still under construction on this road which is apparently only open to traffic two days per week; Tuesdays and Fridays. The engineers we spoke with said they expected the construction to be completed by the end of 2017. In April the mountain road is closed due to snow and we were very lucky they let us through on a non-traffic day, otherwise we would have had to turn back. Strangely, we were allowed to ride our motorbikes through the tunnel as we were heading north - on our return however, we were told that it was unsafe to travel by bike, and that we would have to load the bikes onto a truck, so that we could travel through the tunnel in the safety of a car. This took several hours to facilitate.

Our hosts in Nagar were fantastic - their property was formerly a royal fort and they have been hosting guests for over 100 years. Of course, since 9/11 things changed significantly and they are only now starting to find their feet again. I would encourage all travellers coming this direction to plan a stay here; it’s simply stunning. Camping is also possible for the budget conscious travellers. Get in touch with them on their Facebook page. Our host, Razi, explained very clearly to us that there has never been unrest in the Chitral area, but the security presence is high due to it’s proximity to Afghanistan. We had armed forces with us 24/7 during our stay here also.

- AH1 motorway that links Lahore to Islamabad, and then on to Peshawar. This is an exceptional toll road that is heavily policed, so the traffic flows as we’d expect of a developed country. The speed limit is 120km/h, it is 3 lanes wide in each direction and in very good condition - it is a far safer way to travel across the country than the regular ‘duty roads’. The problem is that motorcycles are not permitted on the road. Apparently in years past bikes over 500cc were permitted with a letter of permission, but due to a serious accident involving a ‘heavy bike’, motorcycles are no longer allowed. We tried our luck regardless when travelling from Lahore to Islamabad but were refused. We tried a second time when travelling towards Peshawar, and thankfully the policeman noticed the capacity of our bikes written on the tanks so let us through. This was a blessing and a curse - the road was amazing, but we were stopped whilst riding on the road and told we were in violation of the law. It took 15 minutes of sweet talking to be allowed to continue. We were stopped again when exiting the toll road and our passports were confiscated - this time we were stopped for nearly an hour. In the end people were very friendly and offered us tea and juice, but it took quite some time for the necessary phone calls and approvals to be made for our release.

- The roads to Quetta and beyond to Taftan. The following roads are off limits:
N55 from Peshawar
N50 from Dera Ismail Khan
N70 from Dera Ghazi Khan
Don’t try your luck as we did, as you’ll just be wasting your time. The ONLY road you’ll be allowed to travel on is the N65 from Sukkur. If you’re lucky you’ll be able to travel as far as the Baluchistan provincial border without escort. You will likely be asked for the infamous NOC (No Objection Certificate) at this border, but if you show your passport with Iranian visa they should escort you to Quetta without too much protest. You will however need to get an NOC in Quetta for permission to travel westwards to Taftan.

DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE TIME YOUR ARRIVAL IN QUETTA FOR A WEEKEND. I can’t stress this enough - once you reach Quetta, you’ll be locked in the hotel and not permitted to leave, the only exceptions being:
- to get cash from the ATM to pay for the hotel (which will be done under escort)
- to go to the police headquarters to get the NOC
If you arrive on a Friday as we did, you’ll spend 3 full days in the hotel. We were taken to get the NOC first thing on Monday morning, but were not provided an escort to leave Quetta until Tuesday. We stayed in the hotel with another overlander who was travelling the other direction, and he too needed an NOC for permission to drive to Sukkur (even though we didn’t need one to ride from Sukkur). We stayed at the Bloom Star Hotel, and the staff there are very familiar with the procedures for overlanders and will help facilitate where they can.

We wanted to make our way out of Pakistan as quickly as possible, so requested a 5:30AM escort to Taftan on the Tuesday morning. The escort arrived at 7:00AM, so needless to say we did not make it across the border the same day. We did not arrive in Taftan until 9PM - it’s a long day, and we did not stop for lunch along the way. Organise plenty of snacks and water at the hotel the day before hand, so that you can eat/drink whilst waiting for escort hand overs. If this all sounds too much to you, it should be possible to spend the night at Dalbandin, which is almost exactly halfway.

Generally the road (N40) from Quetta to Taftan is good, although there is a section in the middle where a substantial amount of sand has blown over the road which you need to keep an eye out for - we actually had an accident as a result of not paying attention to this. Also, the road goes to absolute garbage for around 50kms, 100 or so kms before Taftan. Not ideal if you end up there after dark.

As we arrived after the border had closed (closing time is 4:30PM Pakistan time) we were taken to the police station to spend the night. We were given an empty office room to ourselves to lay our matts out and sleep. There is no shower, but otherwise the conditions are tolerable. We tried to cross early the following day, but the official responsible for stamping our Carnets didn’t arrive until 9:15AM, so there’s not much point rising early! For those worried about currency, there are unofficial money changers lurking about who will change both Pakistani or USD/Euro into Iranian Rials. Don’t change all your USD/Euro at once, as they’re not likely to give a very good rate - just change enough to last a day or two. On the Iranian side we were escorted as far as Zahedan (90kms from the border), after which we could ride free!

I am not an expert on Pakistan, but hopefully you’ll find this info helpful. Without a doubt, Pakistan has been the most challenging country that we have traveled through, but it has also provided some of the most rewarding experiences. Don’t be put off by what you read in the media about the country - with a can do attitude it will no doubt end up being one of the most memorable countries of your journey. If you’d like to read a more general reflection of our experiences, feel free to check out our blog.

Happy travelling!

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Jimmy
http://blokesonspokes.com/