Khunjerab Pass (China-Pakistan border) Q&A

[Travelgian]

Hi all, any idea if the pass will be open at the beginning of december?

[Travelgian]

Also, could you please confirm the easiest route for a traveller using public transport is to get to Kashgar and then take a bus from there? What do you say on the visa application when requested to submit number of train/ship/plane?

[Roadtophnompenh]

there is no official closing date, useally 15 november, i went uo 20 oktober last year and the road was full snow covered aready, try to contact Gems hotel in Sost, he is a good source for its open or not, if the border closes they do also. I was their last client last year they said !! You can also check fotos on google.maps, but be aware sometimes people post fotos from 2 weeks earlier. I wouldnt try now to go up tbh. Also try to check the Pakistani bus-company who has regular service from Islamabad to Tashkurgan (forget the name). They wont drive if the border is closed ofcourse !!

[Ionakelly]

I crossed the border from Pakistan to China yesterday. I arrived the day before to Sost with my bicycle and arranged the mandatory bus to the next day (25/30€):

- 9:00: I arrived to the customs/inmigration building where the van/bus pick you up. Official openning time is 9am but until 10am they did not start. Police checked 3 of my panniers and a dog went through all of them. Then I could load the luggage and bicycle on the van and go to inmigration, where passport and visas were checked and exit stamped.

- 11:00: once the van was full, we departed and it took more than 2 hours to reach the pass. On the way, foreigners must pay the fee of the national park (20$). Afterwards, we just crossed the gate and drove to the customs building.

- 13:30: we unloaded everything and went through a scanner and police check. All my luggage was checked. We were the only ones there, so it was quite fast.

- 14:30: we drove 2 hours until reaching Tashkurgan and entering inmigration building.

- 16:30: we unloaded everything and some of us could skip the interview and go directly to inmigration and customs. I was interviewed by 2 friendly policemen. They checked all my luggage, checked some of my documents/books using an app to translate and checked my phone (pictures, apps,...) but nothing was installed. I went to inmigration desk, where fingerprints and picture were taken, and got my entry stamp. My luggage went through another scanner and my bicycle frame was manually checked by a policeman. At 18:00 (21:00 Beijing time) I could leave inmigration.

Hello, my partner and I are looking to cross china by bike next year - from Tajikistan or Kyrgyzstan into China and then onto Pakistan to ride the Pamir Highway. I was wondering what visa you applied for to cross into china overland and any tips and tricks to apply. I have been reading that you need to make a fake itinerary. Is this true?

Thanks!

[Tepezcu]

I crossed the border from Pakistan to China yesterday. I arrived the day before to Sost with my bicycle and arranged the mandatory bus to the next day (25/30€):

- 9:00: I arrived to the customs/inmigration building where the van/bus pick you up. Official openning time is 9am but until 10am they did not start. Police checked 3 of my panniers and a dog went through all of them. Then I could load the luggage and bicycle on the van and go to inmigration, where passport and visas were checked and exit stamped.

- 11:00: once the van was full, we departed and it took more than 2 hours to reach the pass. On the way, foreigners must pay the fee of the national park (20$). Afterwards, we just crossed the gate and drove to the customs building.

- 13:30: we unloaded everything and went through a scanner and police check. All my luggage was checked. We were the only ones there, so it was quite fast.

- 14:30: we drove 2 hours until reaching Tashkurgan and entering inmigration building.

- 16:30: we unloaded everything and some of us could skip the interview and go directly to inmigration and customs. I was interviewed by 2 friendly policemen. They checked all my luggage, checked some of my documents/books using an app to translate and checked my phone (pictures, apps,...) but nothing was installed. I went to inmigration desk, where fingerprints and picture were taken, and got my entry stamp. My luggage went through another scanner and my bicycle frame was manually checked by a policeman. At 18:00 (21:00 Beijing time) I could leave inmigration.

Hello, my partner and I are looking to cross china by bike next year - from Tajikistan or Kyrgyzstan into China and then onto Pakistan to ride the Pamir Highway. I was wondering what visa you applied for to cross into china overland and any tips and tricks to apply. I have been reading that you need to make a fake itinerary. Is this true?

Thanks!

There are many threads depending on the country of application:

viewtopic.php?p=27937#p27937

[Patroclus]

I crossed the pass a few weeks ago from Sost to Tashkurgan and thought my experience might be helpful for future travellers.

I got the bus from Islamabad to Gilgit, this was cheap, easy, and comfortable. Though the road is bendy so you might get travel sick.
I spent the next day hitchhiking from Gilgit to Sost. This is once again easy, the locals are the warmest and most welcoming of anywhere I've been.
Crossing from Sost by bus I was charged 20 USD for the national park so make sure you have enough cash.
There was a queue at the pass apparently due to the season, it was extremely cold and the altitude was very unpleasant. The locals all eat dried apricots to help and they really do work.
Customs was quick once the queue was done, just a quick bag search. Then drove a few hours to Tashkurgan.
Pulled aside for more questioning by immigration (British passport) this was no more than 20 minutes and the staff were super friendly.
If you look on trip.com there are a decent range of places to stay in Tashkurgan which you will likely have to do due to the extreme time change at the border.
If you have any Qs feel free to ask

[Andrey]

Hello! In July I plan to cross the India-Pakistan border by bicycle. Next I will take the KMM via Khunjerab Pass to China. Does anyone know where to get a China visa for a foreigner in Pakistan?

[TheNonFlyingDutchman]

Hello! In July I plan to cross the India-Pakistan border by bicycle. Next I will take the KMM via Khunjerab Pass to China. Does anyone know where to get a China visa for a foreigner in Pakistan?

Try the search function for Chinese visa. There’s only a couple of coutries where you can apply for a chinese visa abroad, your own country is best. Also China started with a visa free option for transit, for a couple of countries, check that too. For the rest you can cycle up to the karakoram hwy until the border, but you’ll have to cycle back to sost, go through immigation and get your bike in a bus to be able to cross to china/tashkurgan.

[lavish]

Hey guys - anyone know if the border is open to tourists? I am in China right now and I have heard wispers that the border is open and letting tourists in but I have no way to confirm.

[kelyje]

IMG_20240501_212111_1024x762.jpg (225.93 KiB) Viewed 2895 times

Crossed yesterday from Sost to Tashkurgan with NATCO van, price 5000 pkr, some other companies charge 8000 at the moment.

We knew about the 20 USD Khunjerab park scam fee and were adamant to pay a maximum of 20 USD for two of us or nothing at all, we run on a tight budget.
However, it seems Pakistan’s corrupt government this year is short on cash and the park fee now is 40 USD per person. No kidding.

After 30 min. of arguing and shouting in the cabin of the so called park official, we paid 20 USD and our driver paid the rest in PKR cause we didn’t even have that amount in cash. We repaid him in Tashkurgan.

We thought of just letting the van go and just sit in the cabin with the park official to see what they gonna do if we don’t pay, then set up our tent for the night but decided against it since China was closing the border the following day due to Labor day holiday and some folks in Sost were saying they will close it for 5 days which would result getting stuck there for who knows how long while officially stamped out with little food.

Chinese customs inspection at the top took 1 hour in total for the whole van, nobody looked at any photos on phones or laptop. One guy got his tiny moustache scissors confiscated; fortunately I had my Gerber multitool hidden well.

Chinese immigration in Tashkurgan were very efficient, in 20 minutes all of us were stamped in.

Expecting next year the park fee to be 60 usd. One option is to bring fake dollars or just get some food, put a tent up, and refuse to pay, if I ever cross there again, that’s my plan.

The Pakistanis have to deal with government corruption on a daily basis, now we travellers get to experience how it feels like.