FAQ

1. Valid passport and driving license (with motorcycle category), pocket money.
2. Motorcycle gear with full protection (preferably touring style).
3. Good cold and waterproof motorbike gear is essential for high-altitude Pamir or Tian Shan motorcycle tours. On major expeditions, you'll encounter all types of weather; this is typical for such adventures.
4. Your riding gear should be adaptable as the day warms up, such as a jacket with a cold-weather liner that can be removed. Good protective gloves are essential, and it's better to have two pairs: one for hot weather and one for cold.
5. Riding boots should ideally be motocross off-road boots for optimum ankle and foot protection, as these areas sustain the majority of injuries.
6. Thermal underwear for cold and warm weather, a balaclava to protect your neck from the cold, and of course, a good helmet are all essential.
7. 100% waterproof rain suit.
8. Necessary medications if you require them.
9. Shoes: sandals for resorts, sneakers for walks.
10. Clothing: a few T-shirts, spare socks, jeans, shorts, swimming trunks, a warm sweater, and a light jacket.
11. Towel and toiletries.
12. Sunglasses.
13. Sunscreen.
14. Headgear: a cap or hat for sunny days and a knit cap for cooler weather.
15. Flashlight.
16. Camera (optional).
17. Mobile phone with offline maps of the country you are visiting (Apps: Maps.Me, OsmAnd for Android, Google Maps, etc.). Don't forget your charging device.
18. Personal insurance.

Every one of our tours, and every Central Asian country, is beautiful in its own way. If you want a place to start, these two are our flagship expeditions:

• The Central Asian Ring — our biggest ride, and the one that shows you the whole region: Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan in a single expedition, Silk Road cities and the Pamir together.
• 11 Passes of Tian-Shan — 12 days from Almaty and back, over eleven passes above 3,000 m in Kyrgyzstan, topping out at Suek, 4,021 m. The best mountain riding in Kyrgyzstan, with the Kolsay Lakes in Kazakhstan on the way home.

Our other tours:

• Pamir Highway – Tien Shan — the Pamir Highway in Tajikistan joined to the Tien Shan mountains of Kyrgyzstan.
• From Desert up to Glaciers — one way from Almaty to Bishkek, through Altyn-Emel, Karakol and Song-Kol.
• Mysterious Ustyurt Plateau — the empty west of Kazakhstan, mostly in tent camps.
• Karakoram Highway — Pakistan, run with our partners A Different Agenda: Skardu, Deosai, Hunza and the Khunjerab Pass.
• Silk Road Odyssey — the Uzbek Silk Road cities.
• Almaty Adventure Loop — a short loop out of Almaty.

See all dates and prices on the tours page.

On you, at all times:

• Passport, valid at least 6 months beyond your trip, with blank pages for stamps. Keep it in a jacket pocket you can reach without getting off the bike — not in a pannier.
• Driving licence with the motorcycle category, plus an International Driving Permit. Some officials accept a national licence; others do not, and the IDP ends the argument.
• Personal travel and medical insurance, with the policy number written down separately.
• Copies of all of the above, kept apart from the originals or on your phone.

For the motorcycle:

• Registration papers. Our rentals include the full vehicle documents.
• A power of attorney or rental agreement proving you may take that specific motorcycle out of the country. A rental bike without this will not cross a border.
• Third-party insurance, which is mandatory in every country you enter — you cannot ride legally without it, and it is checked.
• The customs declaration issued when the bike enters a country, surrendered when it leaves. Do not lose it.

Visa rules depend on your nationality and they change. Check the requirements for your own passport for every country on your route, including any you only pass through, before you book flights.

Only if the paperwork says so, and ours says so only in these cases:

Almaty, Kazakhstan — Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. Every rental from Almaty travels with our English-speaking guide on an itinerary agreed in advance, and that is also how an Almaty bike crosses into Kyrgyzstan.

Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan — Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, no guide required. One exception: the Honda CRF250L stays in Kyrgyzstan and cannot cross.

Tashkent, Uzbekistan — Uzbekistan only. No crossings into Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan or Tajikistan.

Dushanbe, Tajikistan — Tajikistan only. The Pamir is inside Tajikistan but still needs a GBAO permit.

Rates, deposits and the full rules are on each city page: Almaty, Bishkek, Tashkent, Dushanbe.

All of these operate in daylight hours only. None is reliably open around the clock and several shut early, so arrive with hours to spare, never late in the afternoon, and never on the assumption that a border open last season is open this one. Confirm the crossing you plan to use 48 hours before you ride it.

Kazakhstan – Kyrgyzstan. There are two crossings worth knowing:

• Korday (KZ) – Ak-Zhol (KG), on the Almaty–Bishkek highway. The busiest crossing in the region and the one most riders meet first. Straightforward on a bike, but queues of cars and freight are normal.
• Kegen / Karkara (KZ) – Karkyra (KG), the eastern crossing, used to reach Karakol and the east of Lake Issyk-Kul without riding back through Bishkek. Much quieter, much smaller, and seasonal — check it is open before you commit to it.

Kazakhstan – Uzbekistan: Zhibek Zholy (KZ) – Gisht-Kuprik (UZ), on the Shymkent–Tashkent road, still widely called Chernyaevka. Noisy, crowded and very slow — the crossing to allow the most time for. All bags come off the bike and out of the support vehicle and go through X-ray with you personally. That is a government requirement, with no exceptions, so be ready to carry your own gear a fair distance.

Uzbekistan – Tajikistan: Jartepa (UZ) – Sarazm (TJ), on the Samarkand–Penjikent road. A short ride and a long border: 65 km can take most of a day once the crossing is counted. Luggage X-ray again, and absolutely no photography or filming. Quieter and more orderly than Tashkent, but not quick.

Kyrgyzstan – Tajikistan, the northern route. Leaving Osh for Khujand the crossing is near Batken, in the far west of Kyrgyzstan, on the road down towards Isfara. Low altitude and tarmac, but it can be slow — have every document out and in order before you reach the window.

Kyrgyzstan – Tajikistan, the Pamir: Bor-Döbö (KG) – Kyzyl-Art (TJ), the pass above 4,200 m reached from Sary-Tash. Remote, cold and bleak, with a long no-man's-land between the two posts. A GBAO permit is required on the Tajik side. Weather closes it, so carry fuel, water and warm gear, and do not arrive in the afternoon.

The China crossings — Torugart and Irkeshtam, both from Kyrgyzstan — are permit-only, seasonal, closed at weekends and on public holidays, and not usable on a foreign-plated motorcycle without arrangements made months ahead. We do not route through either.

This is the briefing we give our own riders, and it holds whether you are with us or riding alone.

• Motorcycles can usually move up the queue, and on most of these borders you will be waved past the line of cars and freight. Ask politely, wait to be invited, and never force your way forward — the goodwill is what gets you through, and it disappears the moment you push.
• No photos. Not of the buildings, the officials, the queue or the signs. Phones away before you reach the barrier.
• Unload everything. All bags come off the bike and out of any support vehicle and go through X-ray with you. Nothing stays behind.
• Passport in your hand, not buried in luggage that is already on the scanner belt.
• Never argue with a border official. Stay calm, answer what is asked, be patient. Arguing costs hours; politeness costs nothing.
• Do not relieve yourself anywhere near a checkpoint. It is treated as a serious offence. Use facilities before you arrive.
• Expect the bike to be inspected — frame and engine numbers checked against the documents. Know where yours are.
• Carry small cash in local currency or US dollars for fees on the far side. Card payment is often not possible at a border.
• Riding with us? Your guide hands you the motorcycle documents right before the crossing and collects them afterwards. Follow the guide's instructions at the barrier.

Yes. Gorno-Badakhshan, which is most of the Pamir Highway, is a restricted region of Tajikistan and you need a GBAO permit, currently USD 35. It is checked at a post on the way in, and without it you will be turned back.

The permit is separate from your Tajik visa and is not part of a motorcycle rental — arrange it before you travel. It is also checked again at Bor-Döbö – Kyzyl-Art if you leave Tajikistan over the pass into Kyrgyzstan.

Yes. Pakistan requires a visa for almost every nationality, applied for online in advance. We do not provide visa support, so start the application early — well before you book international flights.

On this tour the Khunjerab Pass, 4,693 m, is the turnaround point and not a crossing. You ride to the highest paved border in the world, spend time at the top, and ride back down past the customs post at Sost. The group does not enter China.

Police checkpoints are routine inside every country, especially near borders and in restricted regions. They want your passport, licence and bike documents. Hand them over, wait, move on. Some officers will simply want to look at the motorcycle.

Fuel. Fill up whenever you can once you leave the main highways. On the Pamir and in western Kazakhstan the gaps between stations are long and the octane is unreliable.

Altitude. Above 3,000 m expect noticeably less power from the engine and from yourself. Give the itinerary a day or two before the high passes rather than climbing straight to them.

Connectivity. Buy a local SIM at the airport, around USD 15 — "O" in Kyrgyzstan, Beeline or Altel in Kazakhstan — and download offline maps (Maps.me, OsmAnd, Google Maps) for every country before you go. A new SIM will not work in no-man's-land.

If you would rather not deal with any of this, the permits, insurance, bike paperwork and border formalities are all handled on our guided motorcycle tours, and a guide walks you through every crossing.