Not much to say...The situation is still the same as mentioned below. You can still not cycle in between the border towns of Sost (Pakistan) and Tashkurgan (China).
TRAVELING ON THE KARAKORAM HIGHWAY= NO FUN ANYMORE!
One of the nicest routes in the world is not a good one anymore. Due to
the closeness to the Afghani border and also the general unrest in the area
(trouble in Tajikistan and Kashmir etc.), the Chinese and the Pakistanis
has decided to stop cyclists from cycling in between Sost (Pakistani border
town)
and Tashkurgan (Chinese equivalent). So, the most scenic and interesting
part of the KKH is off limits nowadays.
:-(
From what've heard the Chinese really enforce this rule and the Pakistanis
usually do it when coming from Pakistan. I heard about a cyclist who managed
to talk the bus driver into stopping the bus on top of the Khunjerab Pass,
so he could cycle from there to Sost. Don't know if this is works all the
time or if it was an exception.
Hmmm, sorry about this, but I have lost the source info on this one...It was sent to me by email, cut out from somewhere else...Anyway, some old stuff (Kohistanis don't like Americans and people are throwing rocks in Kohistan) and some newer info (you cannot cycle between Khunjerab and Tashkurgan). The latter has been the case for some time, back and forth, rules changing over night and sometimes cyclists have been stopped north of Tashkurgan, questioned and put on buses or trucks straight to the Ghez checkpoint.
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The Khunjerab Pass opened late last week with the first bus crossing on May 2nd. I've just spoken with the first travelers of the season that I have met who cycled most of the way to here from Lahore via Islamabad on the KKH. They (a man and woman) reported that, on the KKH, from about one kilometer north of Chilas and onward to Sost that they had a great experience (that people were friendly and that they encountered few travelers). Their experience south of Chilas (or from one kilometer north of Chilas to be exact) and in Indus Kohistan was that there were many unfriendly people. They reported a number of incidents where adolescent boys threatened them with stones or threw stones. In one incident the woman was hit with a book. They were questioned by adolescent youth as to their nationality and they were given a clear message that U.S. and U.K. citizens were not viewed favorably (e.g. a finger drawn across the neck). It is also notable that this couple were not allowed by Pakistan immigration/customs authorities to cycle from Sost to Khunjerab Pass and into China. They were required to board the bus in Sost and take it to Tashkurgan. They cycled from Tashkurgan to Kashgar. Last June 1 Chinese authorities began prohibiting cyclists from cycling from the first Chinese check post (about 4km down on the Chinese side of Khunjerab Pass) to Tashkurgan or the reverse. Now, it appears that the Pakistan authorities will not issue an exit stamp unless cyclists take the bus all the way to Tashkurgan instead of allowing cyclists to cycle to the first Chinese border check post (and then bus or ride on a truck to Tashkurgan). The cycling couple above did report that they were informed it was still permitted to cycle from Sost up to Khunjerab Pass and back to Sost. Just not okay to cycle into China. It will be interesting to see if this change is for the season or not. If traveling the KKH this season, it may be advisable to bus from Islamabad to Gilgit or the reverse in one hop.
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