Need help: Osh to Dushanbe

[Tasurinchi]

Dear travellers

I'm looking for tips on how to go from Osh to Dushanbe or from Osh to Tajikistan in general. I have seen many requests for the other way around (Dushanbe to Osh) but not in the opossite direction.

I'm not interested in doing the Pamir highway (for now, this trip I may leave for another time), so basically I just want to go relatively quick into Dushanbe or Tajikistan in general, since my intention is later to go to Usbekistan.

My ideal trip would be Osh to Dushanbe in a day. Alternatively a 3 days trip visiting other interesting areas of Tajikistan.

Any tipps or comments? Is my idea realistic? Feel free to say if not, I won't get offended

Thanks a lot in advance!

T

[willemspie]

You will need to go through Uzbekistan.

[BikesAndBackpacks]

You could take the marshrutka mentioned in this thread to Andijon and then take a train to Tashkent. There's an Asian Express bus from Tashkent to Khujand but it's inconsistent. See the end of this thread. According to the Tajikistan border crossing page the other Uzbekistan->Tajikistan borders are more difficult but you could try one of those as well. But as willemspie said, you need to go through Uzbekistan. The only open Kyrgyzstan->Tajikistan border open to tourists in the one on the Pamir highway.

[Tasurinchi]

Thanks guys for the prompt replies

You will need to go through Uzbekistan.

Which one would be the easiest to cross? Seems to me (if I read the content of the border crossing correctly) the best options are either Samarkand to TJ or Tashkent to TJ

The only open Kyrgyzstan->Tajikistan border open to tourists in the one on the Pamir highway.

I see, you see any chances to reach Dushanbe "quickly" (max 3 days) following this route? Any recommendations?

Thanks a lot in advance!

[BikesAndBackpacks]

I don't think you can travel the Pamir highway quickly. I'm going on a 7 day tour soon and it's like 6+ hours of driving each day.

Currently Osh -> Andijon -> Tashkent -> Khujand -> Dushnabe is probably the best way. It may take three days though. You can't go though Batken unfortunately due to the war.

If you really just want to get to Dushnabe you could probably also do it in two days by taking and early bus/taxi from Osh to Andijon and then the night train from Andijon to Samarkand (leaves Andijon 16:24 on Sundays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays) and arrives in Samarkand at 03:35, and then following the instructions in this thread to get from Samarkand to Dushnabe. But if you are planning to see Uzbekistan as well it makes more sense in my opinion to do that first and then head to Dushnabe.

Edit: It appears that the Patar/Beshariq border is open, so you might be able to do Osh -> Andijon -> Kokand -> Konibodon -> Khujand -> Dushnabe (see this thread for the border crossing info). It has a lot of transfers but might be more fun.

[Tasurinchi]

Currently Osh -> Andijon -> Tashkent -> Khujand -> Dushnabe is probably the best way. It may take three days though

That looks promising, I actually can totally live letting Dushanbe out of my plan, I just though it would have better connections being the capital city

My main target for my 4 week trip is visiting the older Silk Road cities (see this thread for reference), so far I read Kuhjand and the surrounding areas are the more interesting in this regard. I think from Khujand I can manage to Samarkand and further.

Edit: It appears that the Patar/Beshariq border is open, so you might be able to do Osh -> Andijon -> Kokand -> Konibodon -> Khujand -> Dushnabe (see this thread for the border crossing info). It has a lot of transfers but might be more fun.

Yeah, I saw this thread, but since the last post was in September 2023 I wasn't sure how up to date it is... I'll keep an eye on it.

Thanks for taking your time to post your thoughts here, really appreciate it...

[willemspie]

Khujand is not such an interesting city.
Dushanbe is modern.
The attraction is mostly the Fann mountains.

[Tasurinchi]

Khujand is not such an interesting city.
Dushanbe is modern.
The attraction is mostly the Fann mountains.

Oh, good to know... Thanks...

I'm following cities that were historical used in the Silk Road, (I thought Dushanbe was not part of it), do your recommend any other interesting points around the Fann mountains? (apart from the landscape itself)

[borekj]

Hi,
to your original question - I believe your best bet would be Osh - Andijon - Qoqon - Konibodom - Khujand - Dushanbe. We did Osh - Khujand in one day purely by hitchhiking in 2022 (started 9 am in Osh, were at 6 pm in Khujand), then it is I think around 5 hours to Dushanbe. If you were to use private/shared taxis and you started very early, I believe you could do the whole route in one day. There are also flights between Khujand and Dushanbe with Somon air, not that expensive.

not related, but I found both Khujand and Panjakent as not very interesting cities

[Tasurinchi]

I believe your best bet would be Osh - Andijon - Qoqon - Konibodom - Khujand - Dushanbe

Thanks for your feedback! It seems this will be the way then

I found both Khujand and Panjakent as not very interesting cities

Your experience seems consistent with the above feedback, I'll check if I go to Dushanbe, I'd probably choose the fastest way to go to Samarkand from TJ