Overland Kyrgyzstan Travel
 |
WikiOverland is growing! We have limited information about Kyrgyzstan right now. |
Currency to display:
Contents
- 1 Visiting Kyrgyzstan
- 2 Entering Kyrgyzstan with a Car or Motorbike
- 3 Driving in Kyrgyzstan
- 4 Gas price in Kyrgyzstan and Diesel price in Kyrgyzstan
- 5 Safety and Security Considerations
- 6 Camping in Kyrgyzstan
- 7 Navigation
- 8 Special Overland Travel interests
- 9 Vehicle Maintenance
- 10 Buy or sell a car or motorbike in Kyrgyzstan
- 11 References
- 12 Helpful External links
Visiting Kyrgyzstan
Give a brief overview of what it's like to visit. How easy is the border, how safe is the country, are there great things to see and do, etc.
Entering Kyrgyzstan with a Car or Motorbike
Correct as of: (date last confirmed correct)
Required Paperwork
(To check if you need a travel Visa for Kyrgyzstan, application instructions and fees see: Kyrgyzstan Visa online application at VisaHQ.com)
List the paperwork required to enter with a vehicle, including number of copies
Process at border
Briefly describe the process at the border to enter with a vehicle
Cost of entry
State the cost for a vehicle to enter
Permitted length of stay
State the permitted length of entry for the vehicle
Extension of stay
Describe the process to extend the permitted length of entry for the vehicle, if possible.
Storing a vehicle and temporarily leaving the country
Describe if/how a vehicle can be stored, and for how long.
Also mention if the owner / temporary importer can leave the country while the vehicle is in storage.
Exiting with a vehicle
Describe the paperwork requirements and process at the border to exit.
Driving in Kyrgyzstan
Recommended books for Overlanding in Kyrgyzstan
Travel insurance for Kyrgyzstan
World Nomads offer the most flexible Travel Insurance at the best prices for multi-country / multi-year trips. You can buy, extend and claim online, even after you've left home.
Vehicle insurance requirements
Yes or No if insurance is mandatory, and what kind is acceptable.
Cost of vehicle insurance
State the price of insurance and a time period.
Where to purchase vehicle insurance
Describe where insurance can be purchased.
Driving license
State the kind of driving licenses required. i.e. International Driving Permit.
Driving side of road
Right.
Unknown if RHD vehicles can be driven in Kyrgyzstan.
Mandatory items in vehicle
State any mandatory items that must be carried in the vehicle. (i.e. safety triangle, first aid kit, fire extinguisher, etc.)
Roads
General Road quality
Sealed roads are of a poor standard with patch works and no hard shoulders. Some lesser used roads such as Sary Tash can have frequent and deep potholes requiring swerving and/or slowing to walking pace to traverse. Unsealed roads are expectedly dusty and bumpy.
Road signs
Very poorly signposted, signs are sparse and sometimes don't conform to convention, e.g. speed limits in white over blue instead of red circle. Most signage do not have retroreflective coating and thus hard to see at night.
Toll roads
The (only) arterial road M41 from Bishkek to Osh has a toll section, cost is 45 som each way.
Bribery in Kyrgyzstan
Police (traffic or otherwise) corruption is pervasive and widely accepted as part of motoring. The amount of traffic police presence far exceed what in developed countries are considered necessary for order keeping. Examples include check posts at 3am on a deserted highway with no traffic, doubtful for safety reasons, or
An often quoted figure for bribing traffic police is 1000 som ($14 USD) for offences whose penalty exceeds 1000 som. Most commonly offence being exceeding speed limit as it is easiest for police to catch. There are anecdotal stories of lower ranked officers paying superiors to work on speed checks, for chance at making profit.
On highways traffic police measure speed using photo LIDAR gun, often at end of long straight sections with good road surface, good visibility, without intersections but unusually low speed limits compared to other countries (such as 60 kmh for arterial road/highway passing outside urban areas, usually considered as highways in developed countries which would have speed limit of 80 or 90kmh).
Random breath testing seems absent, as this contributor encountered none in nearly 1800km of driving, compared to more than 10 instances of speed traps for the the same distance and time traveled. Expect at least one speed trap per hour on highways, watch out for other motorists' flashing high beam as warning.
One method of dealing with traffic police is to pretend to not understand and keep stalling until the officer realises it is more profitable to use his time to flag down the next mark instead of trying to extract money from the you. Alternatively slip cash inside vehicle documentation wallet when handing over to police during checks. In a perverse way the police abuse their legitimacy for profit purposes, evidently to supplement their low wage. Be ware police may try get more from foreigners by quoting falsely inflated penalty.
Traffic infringement protocol in Kyrgyzstan is handled this way: after being flagged down, a penalty is written on an A4 carbon copy paper and police takes away the original driver licence along with the infringement notice, while issuing the motorist with a temporary licence. The motorist will get his/her normal licence back after cleaning the infringement by paying the monetary penalty at post office.
Checkpoints
describe the frequency of checkpoints (police or military and what to expect.
Traveling with pets
List the entry requirements and anything else required to travel with a pet.
Gas price in Kyrgyzstan and Diesel price in Kyrgyzstan
Last updated: October 2012
Currency and unit to display:
| Gasoline Grade | Price |
|---|---|
| Unleaded | €0.84 EUR per Liter[1] |
| Diesel | €0.78 EUR per Liter[1] |
Gas and Diesel Availability / Frequency
Briefly describe if gas shortages are known to occur.
Also state the approximate average distance between gas stations. This is a very rough estimate.
Gas and Diesel Quality
Discuss if gasoline / diesel considered "clean" or "dirty", and generally high or low quality.
State the sulfur content of diesel, if known.
Safety and Security Considerations
Driving at night
Discuss driving at night and if it should it be avoided. Mention why.
Vehicle parking
Discuss if vehicles can be parked on the street, if they are considered "safe" at night. If vehicles can not be parked on the street, list the other options that exist.
Special driving considerations
A List of special things to be careful of (i.e. Unsigned speed bumps, abnormal road rules, people or animals on the road, etc.).
List any roads that are not recommended to drive for safety or other security reasons.
Security advisories and information
- Country Specific Information - U.S. Department of State
- Travel Reports and Warnings - Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada
- Travel advice by country - Foreign and Commonwealth office (U.K.)
- Travel Advice for Kyrgyzstan - Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Camping in Kyrgyzstan
Describe if organized "pay" camping is common. List the facilities commonly found at these campsites.
List the approximate average price range of camping in organized campgrounds.
Also discuss the possibility of "wild" or "roadside" camping. How common is it? Is it considered safe, or a bad idea.
Camping guide books
List and link to books specifically for camping.
Drinking water
Describe if the regular tap water is safe to drink. If not, describe where safe water can be purchased and the approximate average price range.
Paper maps
Reise Know-How are amoung the best paper maps. Purchase paper maps before arriving in Kyrgyzstan
GPS Maps of Kyrgyzstan
Review different GPS companies, quality and coverage (Tomtom, Garmin, OSM, Tracks4Africa). (with links to each).
GPS co-ordinates for camping, propane, gas, repairs, etc. in Kyrgyzstan
- iOverlander is a website and iPhone application designed by Overlanders, for Overlanders. It contains GPS co-ordinates and reviews for camping, hotels, propane, water, mechanics, borders and much more.
Link to sites that have a list of GPS co-ordinates (or directions) for camping locations (including "wild" campsites), propane filling, gas stations, repair shops, places of interest, etc.
Special Overland Travel interests
List any special items / places that are popular with Overlanders
Vehicle Maintenance
Dealers
4x4s / Trucks
- Toyota Global Dealer Locator
- Land Rover International Dealer Locator
- Mercedes Benz International (select country on bottom right)
- Jeep International site locator
Motorbikes
Local Garages
Add known good mechanics here.
Buy or sell a car or motorbike in Kyrgyzstan
Buy
Describe how a foreigner can buy a vehicle.
List any difficulties or limitations on where the vehicle can be driven.
Sell
Describe how a foreigner can sell a foreign-plated vehicle, or list not possible.'
References
Links to the source of any information - blogs or discussion forums, etc.
Helpful External links
Add any helpful external links here.
- Kyrgyzstan: Visa and Passport requirements | World Travel Guide
- Health Information for Travelers to Kyrgyzstan - Center for Disease Control and Prevention
- Kyrgyzstan travel guides at wikivoyage
- Kyrgyzstan - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
