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I would like to travel (part of) the silk road this summer (related question). As southern Turkey, Syria, Iraq and possibly Iran (due to the recent strains in relations with Saudi Arabia) are not safe territory, I was thinking of the following two possible routes by either car, bus, or train:

  1. Starting from Samarkand, travel east either passing through Tajikistan or passing north of it to get to Kyrgyztan and then to China (Ürümqi and then east for a while, or take an internal flight to get to the east coast of China).
  2. Starting from Pakistan (but I think the situation there is not very safe, at least according to gov.uk, so maybe departing from Lahore?) go a bit east into India (New Delhi?), then north through Tibet, maybe again 'till Ürümqi, and then as above.

I am trying to understand which of the two possibilities is safer (any raccomendation or resource is welcome), but also which one is more interesting. Any advice and/or personal experience in the areas mentioned above would be great.

Edit: I have double nationality: Swiss and French.

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Daniel Robert-Nicoud
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    I don't have an opinion on the comparative advantages of the 2 routes (and the question is opinion-based and I won't be surprised if it will be closed). However, I did do the Kyrgyzstan to China crossing, and it was definitely a very unique and unusual experience. If you create a question about this (e.g. "What methods are available to get from Osh, Kyrgyzstan to Kashgar, China" or something along these lines), I'll gladly write up my experience there. – Eugene O Jan 27 '16 at 23:18
  • @EugeneO Ok, thanks. I will probably do so in a couple of days and let you know. – Daniel Robert-Nicoud Jan 27 '16 at 23:53
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    I am not aware that you can travel from New Delhi to China directly without going via Pakistan (Islamabad - Kashgar). If there is a legal direct way to travel India-China I'd love to know of it. Please comment. – Russell McMahon Jan 28 '16 at 02:04
  • Daniel - it might be cleaner and easier (and less likely to provoke the vote-to-close trolls) if you split this into a question about what risks and limitations in the Uzbekistan-Kyrgyzstan-Xinjiang route, and what risks and limitations are involved in the Pakistan-India-Tibet-Xinjiang route. (Tip- mention your nationality, and maybe don't be too specific about Osh-Kashgar as it's possible the Torogut pass might open to foreigners. Erkeshtam is beautiful and an adventure but it's tough going. – user56reinstatemonica8 Jan 28 '16 at 09:17
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    As for which is safer, not tried the other route but Kyrgyzstan route is pretty darn safe. Dangers are traffic accidents, breakdowns towards the border (but you can hitch with a truck), and drunk truckers in the dubious border hotel if you get stuck overnight. Kyrgyzstan's lovely, just get a safe driver who doesn't cut corners around blind bends on mountain roads - CBT have reliable drivers in every major town. Chinese will search your things and prob try to confiscate your guidebook if it has a map showing Taiwan as a separate country, maybe tear out the map before you reach the border. – user56reinstatemonica8 Jan 28 '16 at 09:19
  • @RussellMcMahon I think you're right. It looks like the two only ways are through Pakistan or through Nepal. – Daniel Robert-Nicoud Jan 28 '16 at 10:35
  • @user568458 Thank you :) I'll try to leave this question here for another while, and, if I don't get enough information, I'll spit it into two separate questions. – Daniel Robert-Nicoud Jan 28 '16 at 10:38
  • I went through Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, then flew to Kyrgyzstan instead of doing the rest of the Pamir (I went up the M41 to Khorog) as I ... ran out of medicine. Then up to Siberia and across to Mongolia. Highly recommend - Uzbekistan will be the tourist mecca in a few years when people realise just how incredible it is, seriously. And I loved the food in Kyrgyzstan, and you can't not gape at the mountains in every direction in Tajikistan. – Mark Mayo Jan 28 '16 at 14:07
  • @DanielRobert-Nicoud I'm not even sure that Nepal is a viable route. If it is please advise. I looked into how viable it was to do India to China a while ago (2 years?) and thought the only route still left was via Pakistan and through the "pass" to Kashgar. I would love to do that but probably never will manage. I'm told that Northern Pakistan is very bad for security and the odds of coming to grief (kidnapped or worse) are serious enough to be dissuasive. An Afghan gent here said that when I am in full beard mode I'd do OK if I dressed correctly and dyed my beard to eliminate grey spots ... – Russell McMahon Jan 28 '16 at 14:36
  • ... (which seems strange to me as grey beards are not unknown in the area) BUT I'm probably constitutionally unable to not wave a large camera around :-). I've been in a few areas (mainly in China) where I was warned by locals re security (and in 'slums' in India) but I've so far never had any indications of problems. Hopefully "there's never a first time" :-). – Russell McMahon Jan 28 '16 at 14:38
  • @RussellMcMahon I think it should be possible to cross the border Nepal-China through Kodari. Well, Lahore inspired me as a place to visit, but if you say northern Pakistan it is not advisable, maybe starting directly from India might be a better idea... – Daniel Robert-Nicoud Jan 28 '16 at 16:49
  • @MarkMayo Sorry to hear of your misadventures, but glad it worked out in the end. From what you say, it looks like the first route could be more interesting than the second one, and maybe it might be worth it to do a bit more Uzbekistan and a bit less China? – Daniel Robert-Nicoud Jan 28 '16 at 16:54
  • @DanielRobert-Nicoud I think so personally, although I've not really seen much of China, and do wish to return, I feel seeing Uzbekistan now before it becomes touristy was worth every minute. – Mark Mayo Jan 29 '16 at 08:37
  • @DanielRobert-Nicoud Sounds like that route is closed "for now": " ... From here - December 1, 2015: " ... At the moment, the Tibet travel situation is normal, with the exception of the overland route from Nepal through the border town of Dram (Chinese: Zhangmu) to Shigatse in Tibet. The border crossing, we understand, is still closed, ... road on the Tibetan side is open ... not for foreign tourists. This situation is unlikely to change this year. ... you cannot travel overland from Nepal to Tibet for the foreseeable future. – Russell McMahon Jan 30 '16 at 06:39
  • Same page: January 20, 2016: " ... For February travel in Tibetan Autonomous Region the Chinese government has confirmed to our agents in Lhasa that every foreign group should exit Tibet before the 18th of February, in relation to the customary closure of permits for the whole of March. Generally speaking we recommend that you do not try to travel in the TAR between February 18 and April 15.(2016) – Russell McMahon Jan 30 '16 at 06:41

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