An excellent way to complete the circuit after the Pamir Highway and Wakhan Valley trip is the Khujand Osh border crossing. I searched online for information about this crossing at Kyzyl Bel, and although there was recent info on the invaluable caravanistan.com, I was after all the details! If you are about to make this crossing, this should provide all the information you need.
Khujand
Khujand is one of those cities that few tourists seem to visit, despite it being the 2nd largest in Tajikistan and close to borders with both Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. It was left relatively unscathed by the civil war in the 1990s and has the typical tree-lined streets and gracious old buildings befitting a city in the former Soviet Union republic – in fact it was known as Leninabad from 1936 to 1991. It is a quiet and relaxed city with almost 163 thousand inhabitants, and well worth a few days if you have time.
Khujand Osh border crossing – step by step
Tajik side
7:40 am #3 marshrutka from outside Panjshanbe Bazaar to the Isfara bus station in the southeast of the city = 1 TJS
8:26 am #301 marshrutka from Khojand to Isfara – arrived 10:10 am = 13 TJS
10:25 am #247 marshrutka from Isfara to the Tajk border, along the new border road, past apricot orchards = 2 TJS
An easy and relaxed border crossing. We had to hand over our GBOA permits as they were single use only.
Kyrgyz side
Important:
- buy tickets for the marshrutkas in Kyrgyzstan at the ticket windows
- make sure you keep your tickets safe as you’ll need to show them when you get off the marshrutka
Shared taxi the 10 kms to Batkan – the border was very quiet, and waited until had 4 passengers = 7 TJS or 50 KGS
Batkan – walked 20 minutes to the marshrutka station marked on Maps.Me
2:00 pm #537 Batkan to Osh (last one of the day!) = 307 KGS
The Lonely Planet quoted 1000 KGS pp for a shared taxi but I can’t confirm that as didn’t want to start the haggling process!
6:20 pm – arrived at the new central bus station in Osh, which is 3.5 kms from the centre!
I have to say that for a supposedly new bus station, it looks rather decrepit!
Sixth and final vehicle for the day… Bus #13 (yellow or white) to the city centre = 8 KGS
Batkan to Isfana – if travelling the opposite way
Leaves daily at 8:30 am and 1:15 pm, and costs 40 KGS
How to travel the world as a Frugal Traveller
Check out Frugal Travellers adventures in the region in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan
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Comments
Please leave a comment in the box below if you found this information useful or if you have made this journey and have anything new to add. It will be great to keep it updated for others. We’d love to hear from you!
Happy Travels!
