China Travel Forum

[Ian Thomson]

I am planning to cross from Kyrgyzstan to Kashgar in mid August. From reading previous posts it seems that the Irkeshtam Pass is the way to go - far less hassle, cheaper etc. Is this correct?
Secondly, am I correct in thinking that the best way is a taxi to the Xinjiang border, walk over the border itself and then another taxi from the border to Kashgar?

[kammal]

If you want to cross Irkeshtam pass there is bus from Osh to Irkeshtam once a week. The departure Day is whenever enough people are gathered.
The price depends on amount of passengers in a car. Whole car costs 130$. So if there are 4 passengers it wil cost around 33$ for each, If 3 passengers 43$, if 2 passengers 65$. What is good, There is usually someone who are going to cross Irkeshtam it can be possible to share the costs.

The property is that it is better to take car than the sometimes crowded bus with some drunk local passengers for such uncomfortable road.
The road is beuatifull and you can see beuty of Pamir range covered with snow. The pass is windy and cold.
P.s Don't take taxi untill Sary- Tash, because It is diffucult to find other transport from Sary-tash to Irkeshtam.Irkeshtam pass (from Sary Tash to China - Kashgar) was opened in summer 2002. That's good news for travelling from southern Kyrgyzstan (or even Tajikistan) to China. You can do it independently without problems. There's a sleeper bus that runs from Kashgar to Osh every Monday and Tuesday for 50 $. It naturally also runs the other way. No need for travel agencies or special permits. If you hitch from Osh to Irkeshtam and get a local Chinese bus from Irkeshtam to Kashgar, you can keep the cost as low as 20 $ . This way you also get to see the stretches that the sleeper bus passes at night. The scenery is gorgeous.