IRKESHTAM PASS

Depends. What are you planning to do along the way? There are plenty accounts from travellers who have made that journey.

Thanks for your response. We would like to spend a few nights in homestays/
guesthouses on the way to Osh, so no trekking or anything like that...

hey there,

i'd advice you to take a sleeping bag as it can get cold up there at night. I was there in late October and big parts of the road were deeply snowed it.
Osh might be ok, but if you want or need to spend a night up at irkeshtam you'll be happy to have one at hand (although that's not a place i recommend staying for too long, as it's not a very friendly place).

cheers,
r

Hi,

I've traveled from Osh to Kashgar in April before. The standard trip, in either direction, takes two days between the cities with an overnight stop in Sary Tash. Sary Tash is at about 3200 meters altitude, and is bloody cold, but the guesthouses there have loads of blankets, and I imagine that anywhere else you stop off in these mountains will also have a load of blankets (they have enough sheep and yaks about to make nice woolen blankets from). A sleeping bag will be nice, but certainly not necessary. More important than bringing a sleeping bag is bringing food - food is very scarce in Sary Tash, and you will probably go hungry unless you bring some snacks with you from Kashgar.

Giora

Thanks Giora, good advice re Sary Tash...

There's very little infrastructure between Irkeshtam and Osh, and the roads are mountainous. Most foreign travellers pass through quickly, so apart from Sary Tash I don't think the locals have much experience with hosting them. You should perhaps contact the Kyrgyz Community Based Tourism Association to organise accommodation for you and to arrange transport.

Closer to Osh, and onwards from there to the north, you will probably find more opportunities if the area recovers from current political problems.