Travel overland Italy - India

[mpescatori]

Hello and greetings to all.

I am relatively new here, as I joined only a few weeks ago.

In 2010 I will turn 50 and would like to celebrate with a "proper" road trip.
I have a specific trip in mind, from Rome, Italy, to India... Mumbay? Calicut? Madras? I do not know yet, there are so many options and even more things to see...

My car is the Tata Safari 3.0 turbodiesel. I will travel with my family (wife and 1 boy) .

I do not plan to travel alone, but will try to convince other Tata Safari owners to join me. The ideal period - from my own point of view - will be September, although I assume this could pose a problem with high temperatures in some areas along the way.

Greece and Turkey are not a problem.

I assume Iran will not be a problem, as it is a very stable country and applies the rules as they are written. But September will prove HOT.
I aim to run along one of the better known "Silk Road" routes, although this will imply crossing the Beluchistan Desert between Iran and Pakistan.
This area could prove extremely hot - I mean climatewise.

I would like to inquire on the options of border crossings between India and Pakistan, IF this does not constitute a breach in Forum Regulations.
My information is the one suggested crossing is the border post on the Lahore-Amritsar highway, is this correct ?
Are there other crossings open ?

Of course I could ask the Indian Consulate here in Rome, but by personal experience I know these High Offices only provide "official" information as by Foreign Office communiques; but there is a great wealth of other information which is just as good and often better up to date.

Any information would be highly appreciated, either by Forum or by PM.

[adc]

This is the route that I found quite sometime ago in a website, it is a journey from Berlin to Calcutta with a detour to Nepal. This is the details that I have saved in a notepad copying from the website.

starting in central-europe we will enter the asian continent in istanbul. more than 3.000 km through iran will take us through tabris, located close to mount ararat (where many people believe that noah’s ark stranded) to shiraz and the ruins of persepolis.
after crossing the pakistanian border we will head to islamabad, where we will join 20 classic and vintage cars from all over the world.
our journey will lead us into the foothils of the himalayas, following the path of the indus river and touching the khyber pass.
at lahore we cross the indian border, climb thorough the himalayas in india and nepal before dropping down to calcutta, the historic capital of bengal.
in india we visit dharamsala (the home of the dalai lama) and rishikeh (where the beatles found enlightenment) and historic naintal.
in nepal we visit tranquil pokhara and fabulous kathmandu before returning to india and stopping at the tea capital of darjeeling.
our estimated arrival in calcuta will be in mid-april 2006.

SELECTED DESTINATIONS EN ROUTE:
berlin / germany
munich / germany
rimini / italy
ancona / italy
split / croatia
pristina / kosovo
skopje / macedonia
alexandroupolis / greece
istanbul / turkey
samsun / turkey
erzurum / turkey
tabris / iran
isfahan / iran
shiraz / iran
kerman / iran
dalbandin / pakistan
islamabad / pakistan
peshawar / pakistan
lahore / pakistan
amritsar / india
shimla / india
royal bardia national park / nepal
pokhara / nepal
kathmandu / nepal
darjeeling / india
maldah / india
calcutta / india

I have a habit in keeping journeys in archives, though most probably I would not be able to do such journeys ever or for years to come.

It seems it would be better if you would do it in a group, given the diverse conditions [weather+terrain] that you would face. But definitely do it, for the sheer experience and adventure.

Keep us updated as and when this journey materializes, if some miracle happens to me financially will be on the return journey with you!!

[adc]

Found it and this is the website


BERLIN - CALCUTTA

[hvkumar]

I worked on a full overland trip from India to Europe several years ago, but found that pakistan does not give visas to Indian motorists who wish to transit through Pakistan. I have given up my plans for now, keep enquiring from time to time whether the Paki friendship towards Indians has improved.

The route I had worked on was as follows:
India-Pakistan-Iran-Turkey-Greece-Italy-Switzerland-France-Belgium-Holland-Germany-Denmark-Norway-Sweden-Germany-Austria-Hungary-Romania-Bulgaria-Turkey-Iran-Pakistan-India.

Total distance was 32,000 kms for this round trip.

Several Westerners come overland to India often. There is also a regular tourist bus coming from London to India (Dragoman Tours).

[Technocrat]

HV you can always fly over Pakistan atleast thats what I have observed some world tourers doing

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by Technocrat

HV you can always fly over Pakistan atleast thats what I have observed some world tourers doing

That would be very expensive, plus not the real overland thing. Another option is to ship the car to Dubai which is cheaper. Third option is to take a Chinese visa through Nepal and go through Central Asia, which needless to say is far more tougher.

[Technocrat]

I agree, sadly with the type of neighbors we have things like these are not very easy.

[mpescatori]

Thanks adc, and thanks all for your wealth of information.

I see your contributions confirm the only open border crossing appears to be on the Lahore-Amritsar route.

I should say, the China-Central Asia route is not impossible; as far as I know China will require a visa and vehicle papers in advance, and more often than not will impose a "guide" from point of entry to point of exit...
"to help" they say...
...AND it must all be organized via one of their official tourist agencies...

So, in this case, organizing a convoy of a (decent) number of vehicles may well prove an interesting option:
from Iran into Turkmenistan (Asghabat), Uzbekistan (Boukhara, Samarqand and Tashkent), and into China (Kashi/Kashgar).

This was the fundamental route of the most well known Silk Road.

From here, due south towards Srinagar in Kashmir... but whether a tourist would ever be admitted in Kashmir from China... or out of China... I do not know...

[gd1418]

Out of question. Don't even think about it...

Originally Posted by mpescatori

but whether a tourist would ever be admitted in Kashmir from China... or out of China... I do not know...

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by mpescatori

I should say, the China-Central Asia route is not impossible; as far as I know China will require a visa and vehicle papers in advance, and more often than not will impose a "guide" from point of entry to point of exit...
"to help" they say...
...AND it must all be organized via one of their official tourist agencies...

So, in this case, organizing a convoy of a (decent) number of vehicles may well prove an interesting option:
from Iran into Turkmenistan (Asghabat), Uzbekistan (Boukhara, Samarqand and Tashkent), and into China (Kashi/Kashgar).

This was the fundamental route of the most well known Silk Road.

From here, due south towards Srinagar in Kashmir... but whether a tourist would ever be admitted in Kashmir from China... or out of China... I do not know...

Crossing into China is possible from Nepal. We have filed for visas to drive to Lhasa in mid-May in our Indian car through Nepal-China border, and papers are being processed. Yes, we are to take a Chinese guide all throughout with us but mercifully, they are likley to permit us to drive 0our own cars. Unfortunately, the recent Lhasa riot ha put a big Q on the visa, and we are keeping our fingers crosed. Watch this space for our drive to Lhasa!

We also tried returning via Nathu La in Sikkhim, but that has been refused.

For those not in the know, a Silk Route expedition happened in 1994 (Mahindra Armadas and Commanders) led by an ex-armyman Bakshi, who has also written a full book on the trip. It indeed was a spectatcular journey.