Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
THE¨OSH-BATKEN¨BUS¨CONUNDRUM
The Osh-Batken highway is being rebuilt. The fat Kadamjay-Batken section opened in
2013 taking an entirely new route avoiding Uzbekitan's exclave of Sokh. While less visu-
ally spectacular than the the old Osh-Sokh-Batken route, mountain vitas till appear
briely, notably at Km201, Km207 and after Km217 (asphalt ends abruptly at Km220).
Arguably the mot dramatic views are jut half an hour's drive out of Osh with snowy
alpine peaks rising impressively to the south near the turnof to Kojo-Kelen (75km via
Papan Reservoir).
For foreigners using the Osh-Batken road, there's till a small but potentially an-
noying bureaucratic niggle - ie the road cuts through a 10km slice of Uzbek territory
directly eat of Kadamjay. You don't pass through a real border check and there's actu-
ally no real way of leaving the road til re-emerging in Kyrgyztan proper - indeed locals
generally drive traight through without even noticing. However, technically foreigners
should drive around this section. In your own vehicle it's highly likely that Kyrgyz troops
will force you to do jut that - it only adds around 7km, albeit annoyingly sandy so
rather a pain for motorcycles. By shared taxi you can generally pay an extra 1000som
per vehicle and ask the driver to go '
cherez obyezd
'. If you're on the Osh-Batken
marshrutka there's a conundrum as the drivers won't divert. Readers and our authors
(twice) have simply sat at the back of the minibus and sailed through without incident.
But if you want to be trictly legal and avoid any risk, you might consider nipping of the
irt marshrutka at Kyzyl-Kiya or Kadamjay and taking a diversion-routed taxi between
those towns (50km, around 800som).
picnic spot with flowering shrubs, twisted
fences and merrily naive sculptures.
4
¨Sleeping¨&¨Eating
From the bus station walk west past the ba-
zaar, then north to find at least five simple
cafes on Nurgazieva.
Altyn-Ordo¨
HOTEL $
(
%
607 22; Sabyrbekob 14; per bed 300-1000som)
Signed only as 'Gostinitsa', Altyn-Ordo
is one block north of the bus station fac-
ing the park. Cheaper rooms are within
the small, Soviet-era two-storey structure
which is slightly bedraggled but better
than many of the type. A small new annex
has far superior en-suite rooms, mostly in
three-room suites with
shyrdak
-style rugs.
Soltanat¨Homestay¨
HOMESTAY $
(per bed 350-450som)
Across the road from
Altyn-Ordo is the inexpensive, if lacklustre,
Soltanat Homestay. Don't be fooled by the
attractive house where you enter - most
rooms are a block further south across the
school yard in an extension to the disused
former Univermag store.
o
Altyn-Beshik¨
HOTEL $$
(
%
077-227 7668, 516 16; Faygullaeva 76; s/d/lux
incl breakfast 1000/1200/1500som;
paW
)
If you don't mind the short taxi ride (or
marshrutka 101 hop), Batken's best choice
is the Altyn-Beshik, hidden 150m east off
the main road, 2km south of the airport. It's
clean, fresh and set around a yard full of
covered tea-booths and apricot trees. Some
rooms have air-conditioning and the break-
fast is generous. Don't confuse it with the
much more central Altyn-Ordo.
8
Information
Above
Galaxy Internet
(Nurgazieva 10; per hr
30som;
h
9am-midnight), a block west then
north of the bus station,
Eko Islamik Bank
(Nur-
gazieva 10;
h
9am-noon & 1-4pm Mon-Fri) gives
fair rates for US dollars, poorer rates for euros
and won't necessarily exchange Tajik somoni at
all.
RSK Bank
(Sadykova), a block further north,
just east of the central Erkindik statue, has a
Visa ATM.
8
Getting¨There¨&¨Away
The bus station is opposite the bazaar, a block
east of Nurgaziev, the main street.
Osh
Minibuses, departing at 7.15am, 8.30am,
10am and noon (290som, 5½ hours), steam
straight through the Uzbek no-man's-land area
after Kadamjay (see box above). Most vehi-
cles stop for tea at Kyzyl-Kiya. Shared taxis
to Bishkek (1500som) and Osh (500som to
600som) are prepared to take foreigners via
diversion (obyezd) road if paid 1000som extra
on top of the total per-car fare.
