Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
CHOOSING¨YOUR¨RIDE
The typical choice of chaufeured vehicles in Tajikitan includes:
Ssanyang¨Muss Very comfortable for three passengers, locals squeeze in seven. All
seats face forward. Very popular in Zarafshan Valley.
Tangem Under-powered Chinese minivan. Poor clearance and without 4WD but can man-
age less challenging roads for around a third of the price of a 4WD.
Landcruiser Tanklike strength and high clearance, comfortable for the front and middle
seats but the rear four seats typically face sideways, thus are highly unsuitable for long
distances.
UAZ¨4WD Brilliantly strong, go-anywhere car but uncomfortable, low-visibility at rear and
windows don't always open. High petrol consumption.
UAZ¨minibus 4WD and remarkably strong, but locals might squash over a dozen people
aboard.
Niva generally the cheapest 4WD option, the Niva breaks easily but mends relatively easily
too. Cramped for four passengers.
foreigners in May 2013 but, it seems, nobody
told the Chinese border guards. As with the
Kyrgyz-Chinese border crossings, it's closed
at weekends and you'll have to find a way
through the 7km of no-man's-land between
customs posts. At times the border has been
known to open only 15 days per month so
check carefully even once it does open to
foreigners.
To/From Kyrgyzstan
Pamir Highway (Osh-Murgab) Over-stuffed
shared 4WDs (TJS150 per seat) usually run
at least daily leaving before dawn. North-
bound you could get off at Sary Tash then
continue by marshrutka. Southbound break-
ing the journey is difficult as all cross-border
transport is usually already full. It's unwise
to hitch without a tent and warm clothes in
case you get stranded overnight: there's no
accommodation at the border post. Charter-
ing a vehicle from Murgab to Osh is typically
easier and cheaper than doing so in reverse.
That's because Murgabis can stock up with
provisions and cheaper petrol in Kyrgyzstan
but Osh drivers see little advantage in driving
to Tajikistan and won't necessarily have the
necessary paperwork to do so. So from Osh,
seek out a Tajikistan licensed car (p296).
Karamyk (Sary Tash-garm) ClOSED. The
best quality and most direct route from Osh
to Dushanbe is oddly closed to foreigners. It
briefly opened during the gBAO disturbances
of summer 2012 but was firmly closed again
to foreigners during 2013. Future opening is
possible but by no means assured.
Batken-Isfara (Osh-Khojand) Isfara-
Batken taxis and three daily marshrutka
drive painlessly across the relaxed, very
quiet border. From Batken to Osh there's a
new road avoiding the Uzbek enclaves, but
one 10km section of road technically does
still pass through Uzbekistan near Kadamjai.
See boxed text on p298 for tactics.
Isfana-Khojand Officially open but of little
practical use to most travellers.
To/From Uzbekistan
Most travellers making a beeline between
Tashkent and Dushanbe drive to Khojand and
then ly/drive (US$65/TJS100).
Samarkand-Penjikent ClOSED. This cross-
ing used to take under two hours through a
combination of minibuses and taxis but the
border was closed in 2010. A big new road to
the border is under construction and locals
hope that traffic will start flowing again by
2015.
Dushanbe-Denau 55km west of Dushanbe,
near Tursanzade/Regar. Shared taxis from
Dushanbe's Zarnisar Bazaar to the border
cost 8TJS per seat (1½ hours). At the border,
minibuses run to Denau, where you may find a
shared taxi direct to Samarkand.
Khojand-Tashkent The Bekobod border is
closed to foreigners but Oybek is (usually)
open. Shared taxis run direct from Khojand's
Abreshim terminal to Oybek. Once across
the border walk a short distance to the main
crossroads for a marshrutka to Tashkent.
Bekobod-bound buses from Tashkent's Kuyluk
Bazaar go via Oybek.
Kokand and the Fergana Valley . From
Khojand's Isfara terminal take a minibus to
Kanibodom then another 9km to the border.
Cross the border by foot and then take a taxi
to Kokand or hop via Besh Aryk (Beshariq) by
marshrutka.
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