How to go from Osh to Bishkek

We’ve had a delightful time in Osh.  A fabulous walking tour, some great hikes around the city.  But now is the time to move on.   Our next destination is Bishkek, the capital city of Kyrgyzstan.  It’s a 670-odd kilometer (416 mile-ish) trip.  And it takes anywhere from 11-17 hours.  There are no buses.  It’s much quicker and easier to fly. And if you’ve already traveled the Pamir Highway, this might be a journey too much.  We’re embracing the “we probably won’t be back”, so we’re going overland.  Here’s all you need to know about going from Osh to Bishkek.  The road you take winds up into the mountains, giving you a front-row seat to Kyrgyzstan’s dramatic landscapes. This is a drive of high mountain passes, turquoise reservoirs, and endless rolling hills.

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Today we traveled from Osh in Kyrgyzstan to Bishkek (also in Kyrgyzstan).  The easy way is to fly, it’s a short hop.  But that feels like cheating, so we didn’t.  The way to do this route is to take a shared taxi.  (i.e., you all pay for a seat, someone gets the middle seat, and you become super friendly over the 10-17 hours that the journey takes.)

Where are Osh and Bishkek Located?

Osh sits in the far south of Kyrgyzstan, close to the border with Uzbekistan, while Bishkek is up north near Kazakhstan. The two cities are effectively on opposite sides of the country. The direct road route — the M41 highway, which also forms part of the Pamir Highway — stretches about 600 kilometers (373 miles). Without stops, you’re looking at at least 11 hours of driving, though in reality it’s usually longer.

The route takes you past Toktogul Reservoir and through several mountain passes, including the Too-Ashuu Pass, which sits at over 3,000 meters (9,800 feet). In summer, it’s spectacular. In winter, snow can close the road for hours or even days.  We traveled this route in mid-September and experienced snow. 

How to go from Osh to Bishkek

There are two high mountain passes on this route, heading up to around 3,000 meters.  The road is open all year, though, and the valleys across the route are dotted with traditional yurts and herds of sheep, goats, and horses.  You don’t have to do this in one day.  There are stops along the way, perhaps some time off at Toktogul Lake, or head to the Aslanbob, home of the wild walnut woods,  and scene of the world’s largest walnut harvest in September and October.

But we are short on time.  And so one day it is for us.

Shared Taxi from Osh to Bishkek

This is how most people travel this route.  Paying for a seat in a shared taxi.  Shared taxis aren’t unique to Central Asia, but they are a major form of transport for locals and visitors alike.  They have no fixed departure time.  They go when full.  Or when you’ve paid for all the seats available.  They rarely depart from a convenient location, usually from bus stations on the outskirts of town, and they’ll drop you at another bus station on the outskirts of your intended destination.

It is a brutal job.  Being a driver of a shared taxi.  Imagine it.  An 11-17 hour day, driving for virtually all of it.  Then, turning around and coming back the next day. 

How to find a shared taxi from Osh to Bishkek

There are three ways in which you can find yourself a shared taxi to Bishkek from Osh. 

1. Ask at your accommodation.  They’ll reach out to those they know and book you a seat in one.  And yes, if you want to hire the whole car, they’ll do that for you.  You’ll need to confirm if you want to be dropped off at the bus station in Bishkek or somewhere else, and the price will depend on what specifically you want.  You’ll need to pay cash, in KGS.  Or maybe US dollars, but check before you confirm it.
2. Use the Telegram group to find a driver.  This Telegram group is specifically for shared rides in Kyrgyzstan.  Unless you speak and read Russian, you’ll need auto translate, as it’s in Russian. You can join the group easily.  But to request a ride, you’ll need a Kyrgyzstan telephone number.  So eSIMs won’t work.  The group uses a bot to create an advert to which drivers can respond.  You can be either a driver or a passenger.  You’ll need to input:
   • Whether you’re a driver or a passenger
   • Where you want to go from
   • Where to want to go to
   • How many passengers you are
   • What type of ride you want (shared/private/type of vehicle)
   • When you want to go

You don’t need to organize this a long time in advance, but your accommodation provider will likely use this if their preferred drivers are busy.  You’ll also need a local to use it for you if you don’t have a Kyrgyzstan telephone number.

3. The final way to organize a shared (or private) taxi from Osh to Bishkek is to head to the Western Bus Station and find one. 

Shared Taxis to Bishkek from Osh’s Western Bus Station (Автовокзал)

The western bus station in Osh is just over 6 kilometers (3.72miles) from Toktogul Park in the center of Osh.  It’s a 20-minute Yandex or taxi drive.  Yandex is easiest.  And cheapest.  Just download the app; you don’t have to add a card, you can pay cash.

Once you arrive at the bus station, navigate to where the shared taxis are parked.  You’ll want to start early, as this is a long day, and if you want to reach Bishkek in daylight.  Shared taxis usually start in Osh at around 07:00.  If you’re planning on just buying a seat, then aim for between 07:00 and 08:00 to have the best chance of setting off at a decent time and not waiting around for a full car.

The area for shared taxis is clearly marked; this is a legitimate form of transport in Kyrgyzstan.  Find the sign for Bishkek and you’ll likely see several cars parked up with adverts on their sides or windscreens, detailing their numbers and routes.

Rates for the journey in September 2025 are 2500 KGS per seat.  The vehicles that we found had 4 seats.  You’ll pay cash when you get to Bishkek.  The shared taxi route from Osh to Bishkek ends at the new bus station in Bishkek, which is about 11 kilometers (6.8 miles) from the center.  The old (slightly more convenient) Western Bus Station has now been demolished.  If you want your driver to take you anywhere else, then you’ll need to negotiate with him.  It might be cheaper to get him to drop you somewhere and get a Yandex, but if you’re aiming for the center of Bishkek, then driving all the way around to the new bus station (which is in the north) is just a complete and utter waste of time.

Osh to Bishkek Flights

If you read our experience of going from Osh to Bishkek doesn’t sound like your sort of thing, then make it easy on yourself and book a flight. A taxi will cost around 300 KGS (or use Yandex to make it really easy). Alternatively you can take a Marshtrutka – #107 or #142 work from 07:00 until 19:00 and take about 25 minutes.

Flying is hands-down the fastest and most comfortable way to get from Osh to Bishkek. Flights take around 1 hour and usually cost between 2,800–6,000 KGS (30–70 USD) depending on the airline and when you book. Carriers like Tez Jet, Avia Traffic, and Air Manas run multiple daily flights.

You can book online or through local travel agents. If you’re short on time or the idea of 12 hours in a cramped taxi doesn’t appeal, then flying is the easy choice. Just remember: Kyrgyz domestic flights are generally reliable, but the weather in the mountains can sometimes cause delays.

Our Experience Going from Osh to Bishkek

We set an 06:00 alarm and took a Yandex (it’s like Uber for Central Asia) to the bus station in Osh, which, as ever, is on the outskirts of the town or city and convenient to no one apart from taxi drivers’ revenue streams. 

We arrived just before 07:00, found the signs for the Bishkek taxis, and sat on a bench waiting. 

And there’s just us.  A couple of cars with signs on them saying they go to Bishkek.  We decide to wait a short while before messaging the numbers on the banners. 

And then the boot of the car next to us opens and out climbs a chap who will become our driver.  You thought this job was brutal?  It just got harder.  He sleeps in his car here in Osh.

Our research had told us to expect it to be US$40 a seat, but we’ve already decided that we don’t want to hang around and wait for the rest of the seats to fill, so we’ll pay to go.  We don’t want to be driving across the high passes in the dark, and it’s forecast to rain. 

We end up paying 10,000 SOM (2,500 each) or US$114 for the car, and we’re happy with that; it’s under the budget that we allocated, so we take it, jump in, and we’re off.  We’re on the road by 07:15. 

Our driver speaks no English.  Our Russian is limited to pivo (beer) and the numbers one through about eight.  Although we can also say Da, Nyet, and Spasiba with the best of them. 

Google Translate is brilliant and works really well.  (You’ll need the live data version to do this) He talks to us via Google, and we nod enthusiastically back.  I think, all in all, this is a relatively easy day for him.

There’s not much to see at first, but we stop for a brunch around 11:15.   A full mug of black tea, and a couple of potato pirozhki. (fried dough with a mashed potato filling) – they’re cold, but really rather nice, especially with adzhika, a red pepper and tomato sauce with a little chilli – it’s a bit like Ajvar from the ex-Yugoslav states or a more rustic lutenitsa with bite from Bulgarian food.

And the rain that started as we finished brunch is now snow.  Yes.  It’s September 18th, and it’s snowing.  Our driver even gets out and takes a photo of himself in the snow.  I guess it’s not usual at this time of year.  There are yurts, some being dismantled, as the nomads move further down in elevation for the autumn and winter.

We have two high passes (3,000 – 3500 meters) to go over.  It’s snowing at 2,500 meters and above. The first pass, the Ala Bell Pass, is at 3,200 meters.

And then there are the animals being moved further down for wintering.  Or slaughtering.  Or both.  In the past 10 days, we’ve seen lots of goats and sheep on the move, but this is the first time we’ve seen herds of horses on the move.  And the only way they can get down is by using the road.  And we’re right in the middle of them.

There are broken-down cars on the side of the road. We pick up a family of four (Nigel is in the back with them, I’ve got the front seat), but two are small kids, and drop them at a restaurant where they’ll be safer. 

We run up against a huge herd of horses, moving downhill.  In the snow.  There’s us and a load of other vehicles trying to go down.  Trucks and cars are trying to come up.  Kyrgyz drivers use all the roads whenever and wherever they want.  So there is no order.  Just pandemonium.  We’re stuck in the herd of horses for about 2 miles.  And escape, but not before one pissed off horse (every driver is honking their horn) kicks the car!

There’s a brief toilet stop, but only brief, as the snow is coming down hard now.

We go down in altitude, but back up again, then through the Too Ashtu tunnel with no ventilation or much light (it’s 3 kilometers long).

We come out of the other side, and it’s driving snow.  And foggy. 

And there are more horses.  We go down a little bit further, and there’s a three-car pile-up, and it looks like all three are totaled, and to be honest, I think anyone would be happy just to get out of one of them alive.

Our “shared” taxi is supposed to drop us at the “new bus station” in Bishkek, which is 45 minutes outside of the city. It’s where transport goes from for the popular route from Bishkek to Almaty too, but we negotiate and he drops us off right in the center, near the apartment we’ve rented.  We got a message this morning saying that the apartment we booked was “unavailable for technical reasons” and that we were ok to have this other one.  I know, I know.  But we’re here now.  There’s a sofa, a washing machine, and it looks and feels better than the apartment we actually booked. 

Final Words on Going from Osh to Bishkek

You’d have thought that the last thing we wanted to do was get into another overland vehicle after spending 7 days on the Pamir highway.  But it definitely feels as though flying is cheating when traveling in Central Asia.  The distances are vast, the landscapes huge, but that’s the entire point.  To us, anyway.  Whether you choose to take a seat in a shared taxi or aim for a little more comfort with a car to yourself, this is an incredible journey to take.  Don’t miss it.

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