Updates from the KKH

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peking_duck
peking_duck

Hi all,

I just traveled overland from Kashgar to Skardu.

Took a bus from Kashgar (270 yuan). Bus left the international station at 12:00pm (Xinjiang time) and arrived at Tashkurgan at 8:00pm.

You WILL NEED a Pakistani visa otherwise the China Customs WILL turn you back (happened to a Japanese tourist on the same bus). It's the same US $8 (or 55 Chinese Yuan / 720 Pakistani Rupees) for the Khunjerab National Park fees.

You can change money at Sost and the best rate was USD $1 to Rs 92.

Took a minibus to Passu the same day right after I arrived in Sost (Rs 200, around 45 minutes). They dropped the foreginers off 2km before Passu, saying local authority didn't allow foreigners to travel on public transport after 5:00pm...very strange.

After that I got to Gilgit from Passu in 1 day:
- Took a jeep from Passu to the lake for Rs100 (around 30 minutes)
- The boat trip across the lake was Rs 100 but I heard other foreigners have paid as much as Rs500! (around 1 hour 15 - 30minutes).
- There're trucks to Aliabad waiting for you at the other side of the lake (around 1 hour, Rs 130)
- Minibus from Aliabad to Gilgit is Rs 230 (2.5 hours).
Better to have some warm clothes with you when it's raining. On the day I took the boat, it's windy and rainy and everybody was freezing..

The Pakistani side of the KKH is in a pretty bad state. A large part of it is either under construction or affected by landslide. Expect long hours on the road!!

Hope you find this useful!

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k2_heights
k2_heights

Brilliant,thanks for sharing very useful first hand info with fellow travelers.Enjoy your trip in the mountains as well as in the rest of Pakistan.

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chitralguyimran
chitralguyimran

Bonjour from Chitral,

USD $1 to Rs 92, very good exchange rate at Sust.

Normally 300 Pkrs for foreigners on the boat across the lake.

peking_duck, excellent report mon ami.

Bon voyage,

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k2_heights
k2_heights

Some friends of mine did change a USD for 96 pkr at Sost.

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saharablue
saharablue

Hi Peking Duck,

Thank you for the updated and detailed report. It is very useful for travellers.

Happy travells.

SB

Edited by: SaharaBlue

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uselessbaba
uselessbaba

Crikey, why the rush, straight through without stopping to see anything !
Too many travellers just seem to view Pakistan as a place to get out of as fast as possible, slow down and savour the experience, you are missing so much !!!!!

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chitralguyimran
chitralguyimran

Well said UB, there is to much to taste and explore in Pakistan.

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anonymous
anonymous

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia/2012/08/2012816104712465155.html

Many killed in Pakistan sectarian attack
At least 25 Shias killed after being forced to disembark bus in northern valley of Naran, near Gilgit.

Armed men in northern Pakistan have shot dead at least 25 members of the Shia sect of Islam, an official says.

The victims were travelling on board three buses in the Naran Valley when they were forced to step off the vehicles and were shot dead, security officials told Al Jazeera.

The attack took place near Babusar Top, on the border between Mansehra and Gilgit districts on Thursday.

It was carried out by at least 10 assailants, security officials told Al Jazeera.

"After checking [their] papers, [the attackers] opened fire," said Khalid Omarzai, the local administration chief in Mansehra. Shafiq Gul, a police official, said that the gunmen were masked, while Omarzai said that they were wearing military fatigues.

Ali Sher, the deputy inspector-general of police in Gilgit, said the victims were travelling from Rawalpindi, near the capital Islamabad, to Gilgit, a mostly Shia area.

Gilgit is a popular tourist destination for wealthy Pakistanis and expatriates who live in the country, but has seen an increasing number of sectarian attacks in recent months. Sunni extremists who have carried out such attacks say that Shia Muslims are not true members of the faith.

On February 28, gunmen in military fatigues killed 18 Shias in a similar attack in Kohistan, on the same bus route.

On April 3, a Sunni mob dragged nine Shias off buses and shot them dead in the town of Chilas, about 100km south of Gilgit.

Very worrying information. Do you have any local update on this? Is this sectarian limited to Pakistanis or are foreigners involved too?

Edited by: miguel111

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k2_heights
k2_heights

Sectarian violence going on from last many years & till today no foreigner has been a victim of it.
We hope foreign tourists 'd not be included in future as well.

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jazoo
jazoo

So no more visas on arrival in Sost?

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