Hey all - quick question about current road travel to GB - getting a lot of conflicting reports so anyone nearer to the north than I am currently able to help? Driving to Gilgit - is this now done in a convoy? A few people here have said convoys are being organised re the recent shootings, to make sure vehicles are in groups. Guess they're banking on safety in numbers. Assuming this is adding a lot of travel time to the journey? Any estimates on current drive time ISB - Gilgit? Also - the perennial question - does anyone know of a good, inexpensive car-hire company who will do the drive? Looking at a possible drive to Gilgit and then drive over the Shandhur so just checking on prices for both trips. Flights to Gilgit seem to be booked until October and they're not keen to fly to Skardu and drive down. Thanks as always, and bests, Beck
sorry, should have said - asking for two friends, one british and one pakistani - not sure if that will make a difference as again - parts of the kkh has been closed in the past to foreigners but as we all know - rare/arbitrary decisions on this at best....
The driving is done in a convoy & definitely takes longer then expected time (about 18 hours).
Kausar car renters in Saddar Rawalpindi # cell 03468488428.
Its open now for foreigners so being with some one from Pakistan doesn't make any difference.
When I rode up in May ( not long after the Chilas attack ) we were not in convoy, nor was anyone else. What they may be doing with buses is forming them into convoys for the drive through Kohistan, this is where we had a heavily armed police escort, through Besham, although, strangely enough, not as far as Chilas. You are not driving in convoy all the way from Islbd to Gilgit. I would advise against travelling on a Friday, as there are regular and sometimes violent protests in Chilas town, we ( and everyone else) were delayed for 5 hrs at the police checkpoint on the way in, however we were not escorted nor formed into a convoy for the drive through and past the gory remains of burnt out buses !
UB.
hi all - thanks as always for all your help - this is interesting and helpful stuff, thanks for your time. beck
Hi all,
I'm now in Kyrgyzstan with my friend and we were due to go thru KKH to India after two-three weeks. I sent an email to a trekking agency we used to get the invitations. They are based in Gilgit and their response was the following:
"There was more tension in Gilgit recently and the city was under curfew, but it is now open again. The tensions was between the two sects and was directed at foreigners, but it has caused problems for travel. Unfortunately, there is only one road from the China border and it passes through Gilgit. You do not need to stay in Gilgit, but there is no alternate route. You drive to Skardu from Gilgit if you want to avoid the southern portion of the KKH, but the flights are not reliable.
Overall, tourism in Gilgit Baltistan is still safe and I think you will enjoy your visit. Places like Hunza and Skardu are very peaceful."
I think this is way more positive review than the Pakistani news give you. In GB-based news agencies report on curfews, Gilgit being completely cut off from rest of the Pakistan and there may be food and medicine shortages going on.
What do you see is a good choice here? Pakistan would be very important leg in our overland journey and other option (going round China or crossing Xinjiang and then Tibet) may not be plausible either.
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