Tajikistan Travel Forum

Dear fellow travellers,

I am thinking about booking a flight to Dushanbe (Tajikistan) and returning from Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan) in July next year.
How much time would be oke for travelling from one to another? I have the intention to go by public tranpsort or to hitch hike.
(Weather, road conditions, bureaucracy, lack of traffic)

Hope to hear from you!

Tobi

Hi Toby,

I'd say that you should calculate minimum 2 weeks. This allows you a certain freedom to travel without worrying too much about lack of traffic.
The weather and thus road conditions should be ok in July (chances for flooding are low then), and if you have all your papers ready, then buerocracy is not likely to happen.
Check Robert Middleton's website about the Pamirs - the best website ever about this fascinating part of the world:
http://www.pamirs.org/travel.htm

I have heared that there is a public bus from Dushanbe to Khorog, but also that the road is quite boring to travel along. Plus, if you calculate the fees and the overnight stay (you might need this as it is approx. 500 kms). It is definitely easier, cheaper and better to book yourself on the flight from Dushanbe to Khorog. Costs for oneway have been 70-80 USD mid 2006.

I don't know if there is public transport from Khrog eastward (it should be though), but in Alichur (midway along the Pamir Highway) you can get a marshrutka to Murghab.
From Murghab to Osh there is no public transport, but you can check with META to get a car and driver who takes you to Osh:
http://www.meta.tj/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2&Itemid=4

IMPORTANT TO KNOW:
there is no way that you could hitchhike for free along the highway. Or in other words: it is completely inappropriate to think of travelling for free. The people hardly have money and gas stations are just very scarce.
According to META website (which shows the actual prices) costs per km are in between 0,35 - 0,80 USD for a hired car. As these prices usual calculate the way back to the home base, half of it should be appropriate to pay a driver who picks you up when hitchhiking.

Hope this helps.
Ingrid