Caravanistan

4 weeks isn't much time. I suggest you write down a daily itinerary (better yet if it indicates what kind of transportation you'll be using), as this will help you figure out what is realistic, and it will be easier to give you feedback based on that.

Not likely to directly affect tourists, but may affect border formalities.

https://eurasianet.org/four-killed-in-t ... rder-clash

Thanks for the helpful information. Personally, I find it difficult to understand not paying for rides. Most of the folks there are quite poor, and as you note it is normal for everyone to pay. They may agree to take you without paying, but do you think they agree to take other locals without paying...

The highway and corridor are open year-round. I have posts on my blog showing what it was like when I was there in late October.

I went from Kazakhstan to Uzbekistan via Tajikistan in the September-November time frame, and the weather wasn't a big problem for me. Sure, it would have been nicer to be there in the summer, and maybe I got really lucky, but the days were fine. You won't see herds of animals in jailoos, but you kn...

Based on their prior posts, they're also planning a trip for next week. I can see it being quite expensive to arrange transport for three countries in a week. It's stupid expensive, but it's also very unusual.

Never heard of this being required by tourists, or police checking, or anyone having problems when leaving. Hotels/hostels do have to have permits in order for foreigners to stay there (which means they will properly register you with the authorities despite you not having a Chinese ID card), but th...

It will probably take more than 6 hours to drive yourself from Song-kul to Jalal-Abad. Between Jalal-Abad and Osh I recommend a brief stop in Ozgen, which has some interesting mausoleums and a minaret you can climb if you can find someone to open the gate (both are in the middle of town, just off th...

That's very doable in 3 weeks, and fairly straightforward so long as you successfully get a Turkmen transit visa.

Would help if we knew the total amount of time you have to work with.