Touring - Karkoram highway...

Anybody ever biked the Karkoram highway and want to share about it? I saw a film of adventurer travelling around that part of the world, and I would love to "do it"... Would love to hear about access, approach, food availability, weather, best time of year to go. Thanks, Kati

Only by bus in 2000, I thought about buying a local bike and cycling down the highway, but I was too ill at the time.
Food: yes, but it will make you ill.
Weather: I was there in November and it was around + 10 c.
The road can be verry narrow and the trucks and buses are not very acomidating.
I am out of time - must go
Gordon

Anybody ever biked the Karkoram highway and want to share about it? I saw a film of adventurer travelling around that part of the world, and I would love to "do it"... Would love to hear about access, approach, food availability, weather, best time of year to go. Thanks, Kati

I did the Karakoram Highway as part of my world tour a few years ago. It was late in November and I rode up from Rawalpindi Pakistan to Sost, which is where I stopped due to Icy conditions. I have a pretty good set of pictures and stories on my cycling website, but can make a couple comments here.

(1) The lower sections (Which are green and hilly) and the upper sections (Which are mountainous and scenic) are the best parts of the road. The middle sections (often called Kohistan) are rock walls and canyons only a geologist would love. Fortunately I am a geologist.

(2) The Kohistan sections in particular are dangerous. Rock throwing kids (I am talking rocks here that would separate a shoulder if they hit you from the bluffs up above) are not uncommon. Still I rode thru this section with relatively few incidents.

(3) The road in most cases is two lanes wide, with no markings or shoulders. Traffic is usually light enough that this is not a problem.

(4) Towns and 'truck stop' sort of places along the way are frequent enough that getting food, water, and a place to stay (often a rope bed in front of a 'restaurant') is not difficult. I did some wild camping as well. How this would be accepted from a woman I really can't say.

(5) best time of year is late spring or early fall. The temperatures between the valley walls in midsummer can exceed 40 degrees celsiuis.

(6) There is a Lonely Planet guidebook to the highway which covers alot of features of concern to cyclists.

(7) The northern part of the highway is in the Frontier Province Regions of Pakistan. Here the PAk government has jurisdiction only over the road itself and the immediate shoulders adjacent to it. Beyond that is nder the control of Local 'authorities.' I found them remarkably courteous and exemplars of the Muslim doctrine of how guests should be treated. Once you are no longer their guests you might be surprised at how events turn out.

(8) EXcept for the areas north of Gilgit/near Khunjerab Pass itself, it is not really "uphill" in the sense you might think it would be. It hugs the Indus river and there is alot of up and down along the way.

In any case..DO IT! Better yet, do it one way, turn around and go all the way back. It was not the most beautiful highway on my world tour by any means; but its hard to beat the romance of danger that the road always puts in the back of your mind.

roughstuff

I read a book about a hard-headed Canadian who rode from china to pakistan, including the Karakoram and Khyber pass. It is "On the Trail of Marco Polo: Along the Silk Road by Bicycle" by Brady Fotheringham. He's not the greatest writer, but it was very entertaining. Might be instructive on what NOT to do. Good luck!