The Great Roadway Bazaar

[LC4Dakar]

So they have finally improved the northern route between Dushanbe and Khorog! Previously the southern (longer) route was recommended because the roads were better!
And last year there was a rebel group roaming around the northern route and travel there was heavily discouraged.

I am envious. You are taking the exact route we had planned but had to alter due to time lost from mechanical problems.

You will find some cheese in Mongolia that is every bit as nasty as what you found. It was so bitter the taste is still in my mouth.

 

[Scott Brady]

The southern route is still preferred by most. We took the northern due to the additional "challenge". It did not disappoint. One bridge was out and had some genuine "rock crawling to get around.

This was on the Wahkan Valley Route. Major storm and flood damage. An ADV rider had nearly wrecked his Dakar BMW on this obstacle, requiring a motor teardown. In this image, locals are trying to get a Tornado (I think that is what it is called) up the waterfall. We drove it four times total to get video, etc. These drivers wont use low range if their life depended on it.

 

[Dave Bennett]

What an epic trip!

 

[taco2go]

Absolutely.
Thanks for sharing your journey and those amazing pictures. Continued good luck.

 

[c.nordstrom]

So they have finally improved the northern route between Dushanbe and Khorog! Previously the southern (longer) route was recommended because the roads were better!
And last year there was a rebel group roaming around the northern route and travel there was heavily discouraged.

I am envious. You are taking the exact route we had planned but had to alter due to time lost from mechanical problems.

You will find some cheese in Mongolia that is every bit as nasty as what you found. It was so bitter the taste is still in my mouth.

They haven't improved the northern route at all, the pavement ends about 70 KM out of Dushanbe. The Dushanbe to Khalikum section had some of the worst roads on the Pamir Highway. Things did improve after Khalikum, with the isolated section of bad road. Apparently the northern road opened after a temporary closure only a day or two before we took it. We actually considered the southern route, but the northern route looked much easier to navigate.

The convoy we encountered in Khorog said the southern route was pretty brutal. A German woman informed me that a bridge had washed out on the southern route and hadn't been replaced yet, creating additional challenge. It doesn't sound like there is currently an easy way to the Pamirs.

We have another short day today: Bishkek to Almaty, which is around 250 KM. After that, we have the trek north and a particularly brutal day through Russia. The one remaining x-factor: crossing into Mongolia. We're trying to hit the border on Thursday night so we can make it through before they close for the weekend.

I'll have to remember to give that cheese a try!

 

[trailsurfer]

They haven't improved the northern route at all, the pavement ends about 70 KM out of Dushanbe. The Dushanbe to Khalikum section had some of the worst roads on the Pamir Highway. Apparently the northern road opened after a temporary closure only a day or two before we took it. We actually considered the southern route, but the northern route looked much easier to navigate.

The convoy we encountered in Khorog said the southern route was pretty brutal. A German woman informed me that a bridge had washed out on the southern route and hadn't been replaced yet, creating additional challenge. It doesn't sound like there is currently an easy way to the Pamirs.

We have another short day today: Bishkek to Almaty, which is around 250 KM. After that, we have the trek north and a particularly brutal day through Russia.

Sounds like you guys are having a blast.

 

[haven]

Here's a post about soldiers robbing tourists at the Khakka fortress in the Wahkan Valley about a month before Scott and Chuck were in the vicinity.

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/thread.jspa?threadID=1939693

 

[LC4Dakar]

Not sure of the time from Almaty to Semey, but Semey to Barnaul is a good day, even with a short (2 hour) border crossing into Russia. Excellent roads, though.

Barnaul to the Russian side of the border took us two long days, although we did a side trip to a Russian lake resort for the night. That took an extra 4 hours or so.

We didn't see many cops between the border and Barnaul, but there were mass quantities of them between Barnaul and the mountains.

Keep your headlights on, don't change lanes, and don't speed :smiley_drive:

 

[c.nordstrom]

Not sure of the time from Almaty to Semey, but Semey to Barnaul is a good day, even with a short (2 hour) border crossing into Russia. Excellent roads, though.

Barnaul to the Russian side of the border took us two long days, although we did a side trip to a Russian lake resort for the night. That took an extra 4 hours or so.

We didn't see many cops between the border and Barnaul, but there were mass quantities of them between Barnaul and the mountains.

Keep your headlights on, don't change lanes, and don't speed :smiley_drive:

We're going to use the international border crossing between Shemonaikha and Zmeinogorsk. I've heard it's quieter and easier then the main crossing.

We also found a route that lets us bypass Barnaul completely. It should cut about 200 miles off the trip. It's on asphalt and graded gravel roads.

 

[Scott Brady]

We are in Almaty.

The prices here are shocking, given the uninspiring environment. Clearly a result of major business influx and oil exploration dollars. But $130 per night for a room that smells of diarrhea and mold and is surrounded by Russian era (and collapsing) apartments? It was also the cheapest we found where I wasn't solicited by prostitutes at the door.

Where is a dirt road and campsite overlooking 18,000 mountains when you need one?:costumed-smiley-007

 

[Scott Brady]

I miss these views in the Pamirs already. Words cannot describe the absolute beauty and magic of this place

From 10,000'

 

[LC4Dakar]

We're going to use the international border crossing between Shemonaikha and Zmeinogorsk. I've heard it's quieter and easier then the main crossing.

The differences in crossings are very interesting. The Russian guard at the gate of the Semey-Barnaul crossing told us they only see 150 vehicles on a typical day. Shemonaikha-Zmeinogorsk must be in the low double digits.

There wasn't much to see in Barnaul anyway, except the hotel we stayed at made the best Irish Coffee I've ever had.

We found the roads in that part of Russia to be good tarmac, but narrow, winding, and bucolic.

 

[Scott Brady]

Just when you think you might be a little ************ - a dude rides by you on a bicycle - all the was from Australia.

Our highpoint. Highest I have been - ever.

Figure I needed a self-portrait in here somewhere

 

[Cabrito]

Just when you think you might be a little ************ - a dude rides by you on a bicycle - all the was from Australia.


Our highpoint. Highest I have been - ever.

Whoa,
Great stuff.

Was the cyclist pedaling at that altitude? (************ indeed)

How was the vehicle running at those altitudes?

 

[LC4Dakar]

Just when you think you might be a little ************ - a dude rides by you on a bicycle - all the was from Australia.

On the rally two years ago two 21 year old girls took a stock 1994 Ford Fiesta on your Pamir route. They then went on to take the northern route across Mongolia.

Testosterone isn't all it's cracked up to be.