Kyzyl Art Pass, Tajikistan-Kyrgyzstan Border Crossing, Adventures of Nicole

Crossing Kyzyl Art Pass Between Tajikistan & Kyrgyzstan

Updated August 2025, Crossing Kyzyl Art Pass Between Tajikistan & Kyrgyzstan was originally published in June 2020

I don’t know why it’s taken me so many years to finally write this post, but I’ve actually crossed the Kyzyl Art Pass border crossing numerous times between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan at this point. So without a long intro about all the summers and falls I’ve spent in Central Asia, here is everything you need to know before crossing the Tajik-Kyrgyz border at Kyzyl Art (interspersed with pictures of the pretty colorful mountain in the no-man’s-land between the two countries).

As of July 2025, Kyzyl Art Border Crossing is fully open. Permits to cross are not needed.

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Kyzyl Art Border Crossing Table Of Contents

Visas
Crossing The Tajikistan-Kyrgyzstan Border At Kyzyl Art Pass
Where To Stay In Murghab
Where To Stay In Osh
Other Helpful Tips About The Kyzyl Art Border Crossing

Visas

Tajik E-Visa

A large number of nationalities are eligible for an e-visa to Tajikistan. The Tajik e-visa is quite easy; you just simply apply at the official website here, input the information, upload a scan of your passport info page, pay the fee, and bam! In usually 4-8 days, in my experience, you’ll receive an e-visa valid for up to 45 days. You’ll also need to apply for a GBAO permit when you apply for your e-visa, too (more on that below).

If you’re not eligible for an e-visa you’ll need to head to an embassy and apply for a Tajik visa. Even if you are eligible for e-visa, you can still apply at an embassy too. Please note that they do not issue double or multi-entry Tajik e-visas, so if you need that you’ll need to apply for a visa through an embassy.

GBAO Permit

A GBAO Permit (GBAO meaning Gorno Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast) is necessary if you plan to travel at all in the GBAO region (meaning the Pamirs, as well as about half of Tajikistan). If you plan to enter Tajikistan at Kyzyl Art Pass you will need to have a GBAO permit before you cross. If you’ll be starting in Tajikistan’s west, you can apply in the capital of Dushanbe at the OVIR office.

If you plan to visit Tajikistan visa-free, you will need to obtain a GBAO permit in advance if you plan to enter at Kyzyl Art. Read up more about getting a GBAO permit, or click the button below to apply for it.

Apply for your GBAO permit

If applying in person, plan to arrive at OVIR when they open in the morning (8:00 am) and pay the fee for it. In September 2021 we walked back out with GBAO permits 20 minutes later. The man working at the window first told us two hours, but we asked if we could get them any faster, and he said, “Okay, 20 minutes they will be ready.”

Kyrgyz Visa

Kyrgyzstan is quite lax with its visa policy, as most nations are eligible for 30-90 days visa-free, and the remainder are given either e-visa or visa on arrival.

Crossing The Tajikistan-Kyrgyzstan Border At Kyzyl Art Pass

Kyzyl Art Border Crossing, Pamir Highway, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Adventures of Nicole

From Tajikistan To Kyrgyzstan

Most people will either make a long day of it and go from Murghab, Tajikistan to Osh, Kyrgyzstan, though others will get out at Sary Tash just over the border in Kyrgyzstan.

Make the most of your time in Murghab: The Murghab Travel Guide

Get A Shared from Murghab

Shared taxis bound for Osh will depart from the Murghab Bazaar, but timing is a bit erratic right now, given that regular traffic hasn’t yet returned. I highly recommend trying to arrange a shared taxi a night or two before you leave that will come to pick you up from your guesthouse or homestay.

A shared taxi to Osh will cost roughly 400 TJS. Some backpackers will only go to Sary Tash in order to make way to the Alay Valley.

On the way to the border, you’ll pass Karakul Lake. See why you may want to add in a stop there

Exit Tajikistan

In my experience, the exit procedures from Tajikistan at Kyzyl Art Pass have always been simple. You’ll drive up to the gate with a shipping container to your right. An officer will come out, usually talk to the driver for a minute, ask for passports, and then take them to the shipping container.

Usually after 10 minutes or so he’ll come back out with them. Sometimes I’ve had the officer come out and chat with me, one time I even had an officer ask me what I did for work back home and when I told him I worked in dentistry he took down my email so that he could ask questions about his kids’ teeth to me later… Pictures of decaying deciduous teeth followed.

Drive Through No Man’s Land

The drive between the two borders is fairly long but gorgeous. There’s a striated colorful mountain you’ll pass and some glaciers that seem to tumble down mountainsides toward the road. At the bottom, you’ll reach the post for the Bördöbo entry into Kyrgyzstan.

Entering Kyrgyzstan

Entering Kyrgyzstan is usually simple. You’ll park the car, everyone will get out and walk over to a window and pass your passport through, receive an entrance stamp and you’ll get back in the car.

Start planning: The Kyrgyzstan Travel Guide

Bördöbo Post To Sary Tash

From the border, you can sit back and watch the views of the Alay Valley go by. When you reach Sary Tash most drivers will stop into the cafe and shop on the corner for a quick meal and to grab drinks and snacks.

The cafe/shop can usually exchange a bit of Somoni into Kyrgyz Som for you, or at least will let you pay in Somoni.

Sary Tash To Osh

The drive from Sary Tash to Osh takes about 2-3 hours. If you opt to stay in Sary Tash and go onto explore the Alay Valley, know that shared taxis and marshrutkas do depart Sary Tash every day for Osh.

Planning to explore more of the wild east? Check out my Eastern Pamir Travel Guide

From Kyrgyzstan To Tajikistan

From Kyrgyzstan to Tajikistan, the process is largely the same, just in reverse. As with shared taxis from Tajikistan at this time, there isn’t much traffic from Osh to Murghab either. Call around to guesthouses in Osh to ask if they know any drivers who may be taking passengers.

You can expect to pay around 2,000 KGS for the journey from Osh to Murghab.

Where To Stay In Murghab

Murghab, Pamir Highway, Tajikistan, Adventures of Nicole

Tulfabek Homestay
70 TJS night, dorm bed with dinner/breakfast
| +992935389159 |

Erali Guesthouse
200 TJS/night, dorm bed with dinner/breakfast
| +992563751421618 |

Pamir Hotel
200 TJS/night, dorm bed
| +992355421762 |

Read this post learn more about all of Tajikistan’s border crossings with Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, China, and Kyrgyzstan

Where To Stay In Osh

Khrushchyovka, Soviet Apartment Block, Brutalist Apartment Block, Soviet Osh Architecture, Osh, Fergana Valley, Kyrgyzstan, Adventures of Nicole

Budget

Navi Hostel
| Booking.com |

Midrange

Silk Way Boutique Hotel
| Booking.com | Hotels.com |

Splurge

Jannat Resort Osh
| Booking.com | Agoda.com |

Plan your time in Osh with my Osh Travel Guide

Other Helpful Tips About The Kyzyl Art Border Crossing

The elevation of Kyzyl Art Pass is quite high at 4,280 meters. Drink plenty of water and it is advisable to spend some time at higher elevations prior to taking it on, especially if you’re cycling the Pamir Highway.
There are heaps of reports of border officials asking for baksheesh (bribes), especially on the Tajik side. It’s best not to entertain the idea, but know that it’s a possibility (I’ve luckily never had to deal with it here).
Have all your documents visas/e-visas in order.
Do not forget you’ll need to have a GBAO permit prior to arriving if you going from Kyrgyzstan to Tajikistan.
For further planning in either country, I recommend picking up copies of Bradt Tajikistan and Bradt Kyrgyzstan guidebooks.