Osh to Kashgar via the Irkeshtam Pass - An Epic 500 km Silk Road Journey

When Indigo airlines canceled our Colombo-Hyderabad flight, we took India and Pakistan off our itinerary. Considering we are in the 10th year of our 10-year China visa, we decided to take a short tour into Xinjiang while we are right next door, since Xinjiang is always in the news. We believe in experiencing questionable regimes first hand, barring physical danger. We do not consider our visits condonations or endorsements.

When we arrived in Osh on Monday, we learned the Thursday bus was not running that week. On top of that, our guesthouse didn't work out, we ended up moving to the Pekin Hotel which I tried to avoid in the first place (I am not a fan of smoky Chinese hotels). It was like we landed in Casablanca (1942). The proprietor is very kind and full of information and connections. A number of other guests were also working on getting to Kashgar. I learnt from the proprietor the reason there was no Thursday bus was because the Kyrgyz side is not allowing big buses from China (the bus is stuck on China side), including another one he was expecting to arrive that day (Tuesday) which we could have caught a ride on its return trip on Wednesday. He advised us to be patient and advised us not to be in a hurry, and to consider hiring our own car. A few hours later, there was a knock on our door. A minivan was able to come through from China and will be returning tomorrow. We had our ride.

First thing Wednesday morning the minivan driver informed us that he wouldn't be returning to China any time soon. His company needed him to take people around in Kyrgyzstan. Our hopes were dashed, but not for long. Miraculously, the ingenious owner of the twice-weekly bus hired two marshrutkas to take passengers from Osh to the border. There we would board the Chinese bus coming from Kasghar and exchange passengers "hostage exchange style".

According to the bus owner (Chinese) the Kyrgyz border station head who owns a sleeper bus that runs the Osh - Kashgar route is not having any business, therefore they are giving Chinese buses a hard time.

The first third of the journey, Osh to Sary Tash (3170 masl), is a part of the Pamir Highway, one of highest roads in the world, over a 3590 m.a.s.l. pass. From Sary Tash to the Irkeshtam Pass border, there was another pass at 3769 masl. The surrounding snow capped mountains were more than stunning. The border formalities both on the Kyrgyz and Chinese were an order of magnitude more complicated than any we have experienced, although our total land border crossings number under 100.  Our passports were checked at more than a dozen places.

I had major apprehensions about being admitted into China, though in theory entering Xinjiang should not be any different from landing at a Shanghai airport. The impression I had from online reports is that Chinese speakers are not welcome in Xinjiang should they engage/agitate the locals. It turned out all I had to "endure" was a super friendly and welcoming interview. The only question that was remotely contentious being "What do you know about minorities?" I started mentioning our travels in Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangxi, and Tibet. When my interviewer heard Tibet, he visibly relaxed: "You have been to Tibet?!

Having been safely stamped into China, I was more at ease. On the bus, there were the two of us, two Kazak young men (they were given a very hard time by Chinese border control), two Chinese businessmen (auto industry), and the rest dozen passengers were all associated with coal mines. Why should I be surprised?! Over 10 years ago we came across Chinese purchasing mines in Bolivia. I overheard the man in front me telling the border guards that he was stuck in Kyrgyzstan for over three years since the mine owner (presumably Chinese) didn't pay him, and the miner was finally able to extract enough travel fare from the owner. An example of modern day slavery that I have only seen in films.

Kashgar is another 240km east from the border. There was another luggage check at Ulugchat (150km). After that there were at least two more checkpoints where only foreigners (read profiling, non-Chinese, non-Uighur looking people) had to get out to record their passport/visa/entry stamp. One of them missed spotting John, which worked in our favor. There were countless traffic surveillance cameras with bright flashes every few kilometers or so. When we finally arrived at our hotel in Kashgar, it was 3am Beijing time (all of China is in one time zone). As I was getting out of the shower and John was about to get in, there was a knock on the door - the local police wanted to register us. I told them we were both naked and in need of sleep, they would have to wait until tomorrow.

I also contributed an account of this crossing on Caravanistan.

Getting closer to the Pamir Mountains as we cruise along on the Pamir Highway..


Our Mercedes Sprinter Convoy ;-) of two.


Passing a Mosque


Appooaching the Taldyk/Taldok Pas on the Pamir Highway




Taldyk Pass


J.M. Grushko Monument (3,615m, 11,860ft) on the Pamir Highway marks the top of the Taldyk Pass.


Down from the pass and approaching the village of Sary-Tash.





Alpine-Dome Hotel


Road crew shovel dude. It's his job to walk along the mountainous roads removing rocks and stones, and reporting landslides and accidents.


The village of Sary-Tash (3,170 m, 10,400 ft, pop. 2337) on the Pamir Highway




Outskirts of Sary-Tash




Continuing east with the Pamirs to the south. First below, video John shot through the bus window of the Pamir Mountains as we rolled to the border. Second below, drove round a tandem axle semi whose rear trailer was off the road.






Getting Closer to the Border with China.




We are waiting the Chinese Bus in No Man's Land after completing Kyrgyz border formalities, and leaving the the two white Mercedes Sprinters (center) behind.


The Chinese Bus finally makes a move towards Kashgar, but there are still checkpoints to come.


Beautiful night sky with a rising moon, then several hours later, a ring around the moon.