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[[Nomad:Pakistan]]
→Borders
Nonetheless, in the areas that are safe it's amazing to hitchhike in Pakistan. Pakistani [[hitchhiking a truck|trucks]] are beautiful (even though they sometimes go as slowly as 10 km/h) and the truck drivers are very hospitable.
EDIT 2020: All locals say that Punjab, Gilgit and most parts of Sindh are relatively safe for traveling. Actually, the current government is making quite an effort to make Pakistan more accesible for tourists. Only in Baluchistan and some parts of KPK (especially close to the border with Afghanistan) there seems to be some trouble. It is not possible to travel Baluchistan without being escorted by the police who will force you on a bus or train. Also, when you travel through Baluchistan, you need to obtain a so-called NOC (no-objection certificate) once you get to Quetta. This process requires a couple of days while you are not allowed to leave the hotel that you are forced to stay at. That being said, Punjab is great for hitchhiking as there are perfectly modern highways with toll stations and people are incredibly hospitable (like in the whole country). Sometimes, the road police will even help you find rides. The magic word for hitchhiking is "lift/lifting/lifter".
== Cities ==
[[Islamabad]] capital, [[Karachi]], [[Lahore]], [[Multan]], [[Faisalabad]], [[Taftan]], [[Quetta]], [[Hyderabad]], [[Peshawar]], [[IslamabadGilgit]], [[Passu]], [[Sost]], [[Skardu]], [[Zhob]], [[Jhelum]], [[Naran]], [[Nawabshah]], [[GilgitThatta]], [[PassuAskole]], [[SostAstore]]
== Karakoram Highway ==
== Borders ==
Pakistan has borders with [[Iran]], [[Afghanistan]], [[China]] and [[India]].
From Pakistan to [[China]], July 2017
I hitchhiked from Islamabad North through Abbottabad, Naran, Babusa Top. Till there getting picked up was very easy, however, to explain hitchhiking was not that easy. But people were nice and helpful. From Babusa Top I hitchhiked down and at some point police stoped the car I was in and told me I have to go with them, as I didn't register at the top and I was illegal now and have to go back. As it was already pretty late in the afternoon it would have taken too long to get up again to register me and then to go back, so they decided (or rather the tribes, that stopped the police) decided that I should go to Chilas. In Chilas I was not allowed to stay in my tent, but had to go to a hotel and the police or one policeman would always be next to me and stay in front of my hotel room. Explaining that I do not want this would not help. (Chilas is considered a dangerous area, there were fights between the tribes and different shiites and sunnis happening. soon the Area around Chilas will be flood, they are building the Diamer-Bash-Damm there at the moment.) Later in that evening in Chilas a policeman would come and interview me (similar like in Quetta). And I had to sign some papers, do some selfies.
From Chilas police would not allow me to hitchhike and they had actually no idea how to deal with me. (being a woman and alone, they seem to have never seen something like this) they kept on asking me where my brother or my husband would are.
There would have been a bus, but they would not allow me to get on the bus, later one of the policemen would escort me in the police car and we would go (similar like through Baluchistan) from one police stop to the next, changing cars. One police stop would not have a car, hence they stopped any car which would go to Gilgit and the police escort and me would go with him. After some time, the police escort got out of the car and I went on alone. Gilgit was cold, and there was only one hotel which would allow a foreigner to stay in. I forgot the name, but it was the one that was on the edge of the city.
From Gilgit to Sost I could again hitchhike on my own. In Sost I had to go to the migration office and there they would already stamp my passport, interview me again, go through all my lagguage, etc. etc. It makes sense to be early in Sost! I was there around 10am and the whole procedure took more than one hour. Again, they would net allow me to hitchhike, but I had to take the bus. there seem to be busses leaving when they are full (but honestly, I didn't get the concept), but there are frequent busses. From there the beautiful journey up the karakorum starts. there are several police stops where I had to register on the way and foreigners have to pay for the national park to be allowed to go through. Many, many pakistani tourists also go along that way to see karakorum and make pictures in front of the "gate" to china. Up at the very top of Khunjerab pass the whole year it's super cold and snowy! The bus was waiting in front of the gate for about half an hour, then the chinese guards would open. No pictures are allowed on the chinese side - and they took it seriously! There is a huge center on the chinese side, many armed chinese. After an hour in the bus waiting in front of the border-center one chinese army man came out and asked us in, one by one. They went through all my lagguage again, everything! and checked my usb flash, my phone etc. asking loads of questions again. They kept my pasport and told me I would get it at the next station. No way to get it. But the other passengers at the bus would calm me down and explain me that I would really get it back. A lot of waiting and again, in the hall of the center and later in the bus. then we went to tashkergan. From -5°C to +30°C in a few hours! In Tashkergan again the bus brought us to the migration office. Again waiting, interviews, ... I got back my pasport finaly. Also, there are several "naked scanners", face detection, finger print scanners, etc. get used to it! all over Xinjiang are loads of face detection stops!
When I got out of the migration office in Tashkergan it was 8.30pm. There were no "food-stops" inbetween, so bring food and drinks, etc. From Tashkergan it's easy to hitchhike to further to Kashgar. - however, again, the concept of hitchhiking is not known there.
From [[Iran]] to Pakistan:
Some general tips:
- Don't wait for the bus in Bam. Get a shared taxi. Make sure you agree on the price before getting in. Ask the driver to drop you of at Meydan & Mirjaveh in Zahedan to win time and avoid one taxi less. Leave Bam early to arrive on time in Taftan.
- Bring plenty of water and food. Taftan to Quetta can take up to 16 hours. Some travellers do it in two days. I was lucky there was a straight convoy. This might change from day to day.
== See also ==
A Video about crossing Pakistan from Iran to India, partially by hitchhiking: [http://vimeo.com/84466726 vimeo.com/84466726]
A video about crossing Baluchistan from Iran, pretty much entirely by hitch-hiking(English subs available): [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EE-u2Ns9G0]
A blog about the stories of a hitchhiker with [http://youarealltourists.blogspot.de/search/label/Pakistan many stories about Pakistan from several visits ]
[https://www.facebook.com/tripsandquips/posts/1676525842391885 The road from Pakistan to China in detail (August 2017)] == Nomadwiki & Trashwiki == {{stubnomadwiki}}
[[Category:Southern Asia]]
[[es:Pakistán]]
