Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Plan Your Trip
Border Crossings
Whether kicking back on a Silk Road train trip between Kazakhstan
and China or opting for an adventurous mountain crossing to Kash-
gar, the good news is that some of Central Asia's border crossings
rank as regional highlights. Others, unfortunately, can be a chaotic,
tiresome nightmare. Avoid the pitfalls with some pre-planning and
the following advice.
Border Crossings
to/from Central Asia
Central Asia is like a giant colander,
pierced by a huge range of border cross-
ings, from snowy mountain passes to
desert crossings, ferries across the Caspian
Sea to bridges over the Oxus River.
When crossing international borders to
or from Central Asia, you essentially have
the choice of using international through
transport or using separate local trans-
port on either side of the border. Through
services such as the train or bus service
between Almaty (Kazakhstan) and Ürümqi
(China) are convenient. The main down-
side is that you often have to wait for hours
at the border as a whole bus or train load
of passengers go through immigration and
customs. Most passengers are local traders
and so have giant bags that customs offic-
ers root around in until they find a bribe.
At most other borders you'll arrange a
bus, taxi or shared taxi to the border, go
through border formalities on both sides,
and then arrange onward transport on the
other side. It's only tricky if there's a gap of
no-man's land that you have to cross, such
as at the Irkeshtam Pass in Kyrgyzstan.
Note that there are dozens of crossings
between Russia and Kazakhstan; see p134
for an overview of these.
Mot Scenic Border Crossings
Ishkashim, Wakhan Valley (p367)
(Afghanistan-Tajikistan)
Torugart Pass (p310)
(Kyrgyzstan-China)
Irkeshtam Pass (p310)
(Kyrgyzstan-China)
Mot Remote Border
Temirbaba (p133)
(Turkmenistan-Kazakhstan)
Bigget Border Headache
Torugart Pass (p310)
(Kyrgyzstan-China)
Newet Border Crossing
Qolma (Kulma) Pass (p367)
(Tajikistan-China), so new that it's not
actually open yet, though it is planned.
Currently Closed
Penjikent (p368)
(Uzbekistan-Tajikistan)
Karamyk/Jirgital (p368)
(Kyrgyzstan-Tajikistan)
