Route from Pakistan |
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Road |
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The RCD Highway was built to link Pakistan,
Iran and Turkey.
 It is a great route to explore the region, and turns out to
be extremely economical too. The road is generally good.
For travelers from Karachi:
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| Karachi | Origin |
| RCD Highway | Jump on it from Hub Industrial Area |
| Khuzdar | A small Balochi town; you can have lunch over here |
| Quetta | if you wish to break journey, you can spend the night over here; night coaches also ply between Quetta and Taftan, if you wish to save time, you can continue your jouney. |
| Dalbandin | A small Balochi town; you can have lunch over here. The road between Dalbandin and Taftan is even better than the Quetta-Dalbandin track, which itself is not so bad. |
 Taftan |
Pakistan's border town, where you can spend the night,
preferably at the PTDC motel; you can even safely park your car at the
motel, rest assured that you will find it in as is condition. The PTDC motel
is run by a Bengali family, and are trustworthy. They are also great cooks. The border opens at 8:30 or 9:00 am (PST) and remains open till around 4:30 or 5:00 pm in the evening. The border officials are generally good, and do not harass the passengers. They may be a bit slow by urban standards, but other than that, they're fine. Make sure you keep your passports and national identity cards handy. |
| Mir Java | Iran's border town. Just fill in a few forms,then have it
stamped. They will check your luggage and then you can step out. Catch a taxi for Zahedan. |
| Zahedan | A big town with its own airport and bus terminal. You can
either fly or go to your next destination by bus. Since the eastern part of
Iran is generally desolate, and you have also had your fill of the desert
between Quetta and Taftan, taking a flight out of Zahedan is much
preferable. Do make sure to check at the Iran Air site for flight schedules,
or the bus may be your only way out of town. Linking by rail is in the pipeline( as I write, the year is 2004). |
Rail |
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| A train plies between Quetta and Taftan twice a week. You can hop onto a train from any city of Pakistan, and then catch this train from Quetta. It is a rather slow train, hence most travellers prefer the bus. | |
Air |
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| Check with your travel agent for flights from the major cities of Pakistan to destinations in Iran. | |
