Khorog to Ishkashim on the Afghan side of the Panj river ?

[levelo]

Hi there,

I am contemplating going to northern Afghanistan this coming summer.
I am looking for feasible/safe enough routes, and the stretch along the Panj river between Khorog and Ishkashim ( on the Afghan side ) could be an option.
The paper map I have has names of villages on it along the way and a quick search on a well-known search engine shows an actual road/track.
Has anyone tried it ? Or heard of someone who've tried/taken it ?
Cheers,

L.

[bwv812]

You should be able to find lots of reports on the forums here from people who have been to the Afghan Wakhan. The front page of the Afghanistan forum you posted in has multiple reports.

[levelo]

I couln't find anything specific about the route I mentioned in my original post, hence my asking .
L.

[bwv812]

Oh, my mistake: thought you were asking about the stretch between Ishkashim and Langar. I'm guessing it's not considered safe, as I believe the Afghan consulate in Khorog has been restricting their visas to entry only at Ishkashim.

[levelo]

No worries mate.
I've heard of people walking/biking that stretch, but this was a few years ago...
The trek up to Lake Shiva was also doable back then.
The fact that it might be off-limits now wouldn't surprise me though. Still, I'd like to be proven wrong.

[lulo]

.
- https://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hubb/ ... t-my-99900

[jacoblab1]

When I was in the Wakhan last year, I met a Hong Kong tour group who had used the Shegnan border crossing (the one near Khorog) and then went to Ishkashim.

From the sounds of it, it was fairly similar to the Ishkashim crossing.

I asked a local I met from Shegnan, and the cost of a seat in a shared car from Shegnan to Ishkashim is about 1000 Afghani. No idea about how frequently these leave, though.

I briefly touch on this border crossing in my Wakhan Corridor Guide, although I don't have the full details.

Hope this helps!

[levelo]

Thanks jacoblab1.
It does help
I would be cycling on my own. The main issue is obviously safety...
I checked your Wakhan guide by the way : great stuff.