Central Asia and Kazakhstan

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15.01.2016 8:05, Barnaba

Dear colleagues. Tell us, what is the situation with customs in Central Asian countries?
Can the soil be transported?
or is it fraught?
Jukoman@yandex.ru

This is highly dependent on the country, border crossing method, and sample volume. Formally, it is subject to phytosanitary control everywhere and is prohibited without a permit, as is importation into the Russian Federation. Turkmenistan is the strictest, followed by Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan are the easiest. Informally, it is usually not difficult to transport up to 2-3L at random, especially by road. A larger number, like anything unclear, can cause unhealthy interest, and, at best, financial expenses, and at worst, serious complications. So it is unlikely that anyone will drag, risking their fees.

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18.04.2016 15:58, Barnaba

As far as I know, there are no roads at this level, there are ridge sands. I know that there were jeepers driving north, some distance from the coast of Balkhash, but it was a string of very prepared SUVs with technical skills.
According to the data of the end of May-beginning of June 2013, there is a completely passable (on the vrozhnik without special training) route to the south, approximately from Bakanas to Ushtobe. I didn't go myself, there is a record from the words of a friend without GPS points. They drove a GAZ-66, but, in the opinion of a friend, they would easily have passed on a "goat" or "loaf". Here is a brief entry, as it was, in abridgment and without my remarks:
"The most ambush there at the entrance, you need a few km north. Bakanas turn off the highway onto a dirt road to the east, cross the main channel on the bridge, then between the rice fields, do not get confused, cross 2 or 3 more channels on the bridges in the general direction to the east, and go to the eastern bank of the last of them. There are not bridges everywhere and we got lost a little. I crossed the last canal and there was only the steppe to the east. After that, immediately follow it a little to the south and soon find and take the most well-worn road to the left, to the east. There are a lot of primers and you can get confused, go to the south or to the north, in principle, it's also not bad, there are not small saxaulniki to the south. After about 15 km, the road will lead to the south, you need to drive along it for about 20 km, and take a branch to the northeast, as if at an acute angle, otherwise you will arrive in the village. Birlik, you can get out of it back to the desired road, it will be to the right of the one you entered. Well, yes, we got lost a little

. There doesn't seem to be any other way out of this Birlik anyway. After about 40 km there will be a good fork. If you turn to the South, a good dirt road leads through the steppe to beautiful foothill hills, there are even exits, then through 2 simple passes, then through a small river wade-easy on the lawn, but the goat will pass-to an abandoned missile range of the USSR. This is a bunch of sheds and positions, there is no security, there is an old asphalt road with access to the highway south of the village. Aynabulak. We didn't go on this road right away, we stopped at the hills for a short time on the way back from the highway from the south, and we didn't go further north into the steppe, but the road from the fork definitely goes to this polygon. It would have been more interesting, the foothill flora was still growing on the hills. We turned off the fork on the road to SV, hoping to find good sands, but did not find, so, a clearing to the side of the road... This road winds, then turns to the west and after about 70 km through the fields near the village. Telman leads to the asphalt and then to the highway, which is a little south of Us-tobe. In total, from the turn at Bakanas to the highway at Ush-tobe, it was 215km on the speedometer with small races back and forth, to sores and sand... Three days we drove a little, you can go faster, but why, and the 66th shakes strongly between 20 and 30, the dust flies, and so you can see everything... In a day to get there, you need to rest and go, it's easier on the highway then...There are different types of semi-deserts on clay and fixed sands, everything is overgrown, there are some broken sand here and there, but not much. Saxaul is everywhere, but not much, most of all in the beginning. And tamarisk in the same place. Takyrs and salt marshes are found everywhere in sores, there are halophiles. "

18.04.2016 20:17, vadim64

As far as I know, there are no roads at this level, there are ridge sands. I know that there were jeepers driving north, some distance from the coast of Balkhash, but it was a string of very prepared SUVs with technical skills.
According to the data of the end of May-beginning of June 2013, there is a completely passable (on the vrozhnik without special training) route to the south, approximately from Bakanas to Ushtobe. I didn't go myself, there is a record from the words of a friend without GPS points. They drove a GAZ-66, but, in the opinion of a friend, they would easily have passed on a "goat" or "loaf". Here is a brief entry, as it was, in abridgment and without my remarks:
"The most ambush there is at the entrance, you need a few km north. Bakanas turn off the highway onto a dirt road to the east, cross the main channel on the bridge, then between the rice fields, do not get confused, cross 2 or 3 more channels on the bridges in the general direction to the east, and go to the eastern bank of the last of them. There are not bridges everywhere and we got lost a little. I crossed the last canal and there was only the steppe to the east. After that, immediately follow it a little to the south and soon find and take the most well-worn road to the left, to the east. There are a lot of primers and you can get confused, go to the south or to the north, in principle, it's also not bad, there are not small saxaulniki to the south. After about 15 km, the road will lead to the south, you need to drive along it for about 20 km, and take a branch to the northeast, as if at an acute angle, otherwise you will arrive in the village. Birlik, you can get out of it back to the desired road, it will be to the right of the one you entered. Well, yes, we got lost a little . There doesn't seem to be any other way out of this Birlik anyway. After about 40 km there will be a good fork. If you turn to the South, a good dirt road leads through the steppe to beautiful foothill hills, there are even exits, then through 2 simple passes, then through a small river wade-easy on the lawn, but the goat will pass-to an abandoned missile range of the USSR. This is a bunch of sheds and positions, there is no security, there is an old asphalt road with access to the highway south of the village. Aynabulak. We didn't go on this road right away, we stopped at the hills for a short time on the way back from the highway from the south, and we didn't go further north into the steppe, but the road from the fork definitely goes to this polygon. It would have been more interesting, the foothill flora was still growing on the hills. We turned off the fork on the road to SV, hoping to find good sands, but did not find, so, a clearing to the side of the road... This road winds, then turns to the west and after about 70 km through the fields near the village. Telman leads to the asphalt and then to the highway, which is a little south of Us-tobe. In total, from the turn at Bakanas to the highway at Ush-tobe, it was 215km on the speedometer with small races back and forth, to sores and sand... Three days we drove a little, you can go faster, but why, and the 66th shakes strongly between 20 and 30, the dust flies, and so you can see everything... In a day to get there, you need to rest and go, it's easier on the highway then...There are different types of semi-deserts on clay and fixed sands, everything is overgrown, there are some broken sand here and there, but not much. Saxaul is everywhere, but not much, most of all in the beginning. And tamarisk in the same place. Takyrs and salt marshes are found everywhere in sores, there are halophiles."

Thank you so much for the detailed answer and options. My car is prepared. We will try, it's too interesting to try to drive there .

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04.07.2016 18:58, vadim64

Kazakhstan from May 30 to June 20. We drove through Uralk, then Aktyubinsk on the morning after the terrorist attack, then Aralsk (Near-Aral Karakum mountains), then Turkestan, moved through the mountains to the Karatau Nature Reserve and then to Chimkent. We tried to drive into the mountains on gravel in the afternoon in the heat (+45 ) the car could not stand the radiator of the ec. And in the evening, it started raining for 5 days and we decided to finish the route and go back. In the beginning there were only rains, it was cool, but when we left for the desert, it was hot. Little was caught during the day, mostly at night. I really liked the desert.

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04.07.2016 19:18, Mantispid

Kazakhstan from May 30 to June 20. We drove through Uralk, then Aktyubinsk in the morning after terastadalee Arals (Near-Aral Karakums), then Turkistan moved through the mountains to the Karatau Nature Reserve and then to Chimtent. We tried to go to the mountains on gravel in the afternoon in the heat (+45 ) the car could not stand the radiator of the ec. And in the evening, it started raining for 5 days and we decided to finish the route and go back. In the beginning there were only rains, it was cool,but when we left for the desert, it was hot. Little was caught during the day, mostly at night.I really liked the desert.

Oops, a familiar kid in a red T-shirt