How To Cross the Gabd Rimdan Border – Pakistan to Iran by Road

There are two main borders to cross travelers from Pakistan to Iran. There is a newly opened “Gabd Rimdan Border” and the most famous border crossing between Pakistan and Iran is the Taftan – Mirjaveh border crossing. Taftan is a town on the Pakistan side whereas Mirjaveh is a town on the Iran side. The other newly opened border crossing is the Gabd Rimdan Border. It is 90 kilometers from Gwadar and 750 kilometers from Karachi. While Chabahar is 135 kilometers from the border and a taxi takes 2 hours to reach.

Recently, I traveled to Iran from Pakistan by road, and I crossed every border while departing from Pakistan and arriving in Pakistan. Now, I can say, have an experience with both borders. I will share my experience and will tell you at the end of this blog which border should you have to take to cross the border.

Pakistan Border shares

Pakistan shares a border with four countries namely India in the east, China in the northeast, Afghanistan in the northwest, and Iran in the west. While the Arabian Sea is in the south of Pakistan. The coastal line of Pakistan is short, and it is about 850 kilometers from Iran to India. The easiest border crossing for a Pakistani passport is in Iran. India doesn’t allow visas to Pakistanis and vice-versa, except for relatives and friends. China is a good friend of Pakistan in the news, but it is not giving tourist visas to solo travelers.

You can get an Indian visa from the Indian embassy, based in Islamabad if you are a foreigner in Pakistan and can easily cross the border. The most famous border crossing between Pakistan and India is the Wagah-Attari border in Lahore. The Wagah is a border name in Pakistan, and it is in the heart of Lahore. While Attari is on the Indian side, New Delhi, the capital of India is just 70 kilometers from the border. Also, foreigners can easily cross the Khunjerab China border and Afghanistan border too.

There is a direct bus service from Islamabad, Pakistan to Tashkurgan China with a cost of about Rs 30,000 ($105), meals, and night stay included. It takes 48 hours to reach its destination.

Transit visa holders

Travelers must travel to the Taftan border to cross the border from Pakistan to Iran if they have a transit visa. No entry will be granted from the Rimdan border for Transit visa holders either locals or foreigners who wish to just cross the border to Iran on a transit visa.

I have been planning to go to Iran by road since early 2020, but due to COVID-19, the border has been closed for a long time. So, I read a lot of blog posts from different websites about how to cross the border and what are the difficulties during COVID-19. Maybe, many travelers who have dreamed of traveling overland without skipping flights or have an environmentally sustainable or go green approach. All travelers may be familiar with the most famous border crossing between Pakistan and Iran Taftan – Mirjaveh in the west of Pakistan. Many travelers did not know that there is a major border crossing between Pakistan and Iran has been opened and the name is the Gabd Rimdan border.

In this blog, I will share my border experiences in sequence, as first crossed the Gabd Rimdan border and then the Taftan – Mirjaveh border.

This border is located between the port cities of Gwadar and Chabahar. A journey from Pakistan to Iran by road by land border crossing along the Makran Coastal Highway (N10) covers hundreds of kilometers of pristine beaches and spectacular views as the journey begins from Karachi.

How to Travel from Pakistan to Iran by road

After the biggest Eid, I had the chance to travel to Iran from Pakistan by road via the Gabd Rimdan border. There are a lot of Pakistanis who cross the border to Iran every day for tourism, pilgrims, work and to go to Iraq and Turkey. While few foreigners did border crossing from Pakistan to Iran and Iran to Pakistan via the Gabd Rimdan border. The one foreigner from Germany, I hosted him via Couchsurfing, he came from Iran to Pakistan by road via the Gabd Rimdan border on his bicycle. Initially, the police said to him on the border we will escort you to Karachi, but he refused and came solo.

I started my journey from Hyderabad around 3 pm towards Karachi and at 6 pm from Karachi towards the Gabd Rimdan border. It gets dark when we are on the Makran Coastal Highway. So, I just slept in the whole journey. The bus stopped at midnight at a restaurant on Makran Coastal Highway. We stepped out as heard seashores. Firstly, we went to the beach but couldn’t see anything because of the darkness. Later, I went to the restaurant, it was very expensive and there was nothing around it. The tea rate is Rs 100 ($ 0.35) and for meal is about Rs 600 ($ 2.25).

We arrived at the Gabd Rimdan border at 4 early in the morning. I advise you as a traveler, to bring some biscuits, bread or fruit or whatever you like, because it is very expensive on the border on the Pakistani side and the Iranian side too.

The bus fare from Karachi to the Gabd Rimdan border is about PKR 3000 ($ 11) and the bus will take around 9 hours.

Facilities at the Gabd Rimdan Border (Pakistan side)

The Gabd Rimdan border is situated in the barren land in the west of Pakistan and east of Iran. There is no town or population near there. However, there is a Gabd town near 2 kilometers from the border. There is an office of a private bus company, a small rest area with fans inside, limited charging points, a small restaurant, a mosque, and washrooms not in good condition.

Many persons live at night with mosquitos who are traveling from Pakistan to Iran by road. I arrived early morning at 4 am. Many travelers already slept there. I went to a restaurant and ordered a tea that cost Rs 60 ($ 0.25). The restaurants have plenty of Iranian food products like chocolates, buttermilk, milk, biscuits, drinking water, etc.

There is no FREE drinking water available. I found FREE normal drinking water installed by the Pakistan army but it’s not cold. As I crossed the border in June’s hot sun, everyone needed very cold water to drink. Whereas we find it on the Iranian side.

I get permission from the army to go to get some free cold drinking water from the Iranian side with no exit stamp after standing for 4 hours continuously in a long queue. It was scorching heat, a very hot and humid June day.

Facilities at the Gabd Rimdan Border (Iranian side)

There is a better condition of the border than Pakistan on the Iranian side. There are double the no. of counters, a small shop but closed (maybe due to the weekend starting) and plenty of washrooms. And at least a big Immigration control building with air-conditioned.

Border Open Timing

The Rimdan border opening time is 9 am (+5:00). The immigration staff came late around 9:15 am and they started work around 9:40 am. The Iranian side border open time is 7:30 (+3:30). Don’t be confused it means a similar open time for borders due to Pakistan-Iran’s time difference.

The Gabd Rimdan border is usually closed every Friday due to the weekend in Iran. Pakistan side and Iranian side borders also closed on Friday.

Where is the Gabd Rimdan Border ?

The Gabd Rimdan border is in the west of Pakistan, in Baluchistan province. It is located between the port city of Gwadar Pakistan and Chabahar Iran. Gwadar is 90 kilometers from the Gabd Rimdan border and by car, it takes one hour whereas Chabahar is 135 kilometers from the border, and by car takes two hours. The border is located on one of the best scenic and Makran Coastal Highway (N 10). It is in the desert and there is no population near the borders even in Pakistan and Iran side.

Who can Cross the Gabd Rimdan Border?

Unlike other borderland border crossings like Taftan Mirjaveh, everyone can cross the border with having following conditions.

Pakistani nationals with valid Iranian visa

Iranian nationals with a valid Pakistani visa

Foreigners who have valid Pakistan visa or Iranian visa

Corruption at the Gabd Rimdan Border

This incident did not happen with me but with all Pakistani nationals who did cross the Gabd Rimdan border from Pakistan to Iran.

I just traveled from Pakistan to Iran by road crossing the Gabd Rimdan Border. The Gabd Rimdan border opening time is 09:00 am (PST), but the Immigration Control Staff came at 09:15 am and went to the immigration room. After 09:35 am they called the travelers to come and get their exit stamp.

The border was too crowded, and we stood in a queue, I was the fifth number in the queue. But the Immigration staff called special persons, like relatives and those who are giving bribes to them. All the travelers bribed them and easily got their passports stamped and gone. But I was just standing in a queue (from 8 am to 3 pm) and they didn’t listen to me. At 03:00 pm, a person came to me, seems that he was the head of immigration control, and his named “Kareem Bux” (maybe it’s wrong). He said give me 5000 PKR ($ 20) and get your exit stamp and without money, I can’t give you the exit stamp. I was the last person, and without giving money I had no option because time was almost near to end and it was the last date for the visa to expire, so what could I do? So, I gave him 5000 PKR. After getting money he just stamped my passport in a few minutes.

The immigration staff didn’t let go of even a single person without a bribe and the rate is fixed for solo travelers which is 5000 PKR. Some Karwan (Pilgrimages) gave them 10,000 PKR and one of them bribed 85,000 PKR. I talked to many persons including solo travelers and group travelers, Karwans, nobody is allowed without a bribe of 5000 PKR.

There is no cold water or even normal water on the Pakistani side. But, On Iran’s side, there is a lot of cold water, big shades, and kind behavior of immigration. I hope the concerned will act very quickly to my concern and make travelers get rid of from bribe.

Weather at the Gabd Rimdan Border

The weather conditions are different in summer and winter. The border is almost in the desert of nowhere, so summer is very hot. I crossed the border in the summer season, and it is very hot, and humid and sandstorms get to hot weather. You cannot find chilled water on the Pakistani immigration side, but you can find it on the Iranian side.

Whereas winter season is also tough due to strong northern winds in the desert and there is no place to hide from these strong winds. When you have a plan to cross the Gabd Rimdan border make sure to plan accordingly.

The Gabd Rimdan Border to Chabahar

After crossing the border smoothly on the Iranian side, many taxis will take you to Chabahar. Don’t worry about currency if you have no Iranian currency. Taxi drivers accept Pakistani currency PKR.

They charged PKR 1300 per person ($ 5) to get to Chabahar at Makran Terminal. Makran Terminal is a bus terminal in Chabahar. The main city of Chabahar is about 2 kilometers from the terminal.

I used a Snapp taxi to get to the host around 90,000 Tomans ($ 1.50), but he didn’t have a change, so I gave him 100,000 Tomans ($ 1.70) and was very happy and waited until my host received me.

Chabahar to Tehran Bus

I changed my currency here at Makran Terminal. They gave me a very bad rate and I exchanged PKR instead of dollars. The rate was PKR 1 = 200 Tomans (PKR 1 = 2000 Iranian Rials) and the dollar is about USD 1 = 50,000 Tomans (USD 1 = 500,000 Iranian Rials IRR). They are trying to give you low rates because they know you have no option but to refuse.

Initially, they will tell you about no seat in the bus, all buses are full. They just give you a Tehran ticket not any other cities like Kerman, Yazd, or Shiraz. Once you get your Tehran ticket you can get off any city or any place you want.

In my compulsion, bought a ticket to Tehran. The cost of the bus ticket is around PKR 5000 ($ 20) (1,000,000 Tomans). Yes, you heard right, I bought a ticket in Pakistani currency, and they didn’t accept Iranian currency. After exploring 25 days in Iran, I realized that they charged very high. The distance from Chabahar to Tehran is about 1850 kilometers and the bus took almost 28 hours to cover. The bus left from Chabahar at 5 pm and arrived the next day at around 9 pm at Jonoob Terminal (South Terminal) in Tehran.

Use VPN

I just traveled overland from Pakistan to Iran and struggled to find a good VPN connection. Because like China, everything or all social media applications are banned in Iran too. Except few things works well. Thanks to Iranian authorities, Google works well, and Google Maps too. I installed 4 to 5 VPNs in Pakistan, but they didn’t work in China. Well, an Iranian told me about this VPN, Geph and it works well. You can browse on Google and download APK if you are already in Iran.

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Iranian Weekend

Iran’s official name is the Islamic Republic of Iran and Thursday and Friday are weekend holidays. It means almost the bazaar and other shops are completely closed. The weekend is starting from Thursday around 3 pm till Friday. Main tourist attractions like Tehran Grand Bazaar are also closed on weekends.

If you are coming on weekends, you won’t find any open shop for sim card and money exchange. I also arrived in Iran on weekdays, got a currency exchange at Makran Terminal bus agency, and got a sim card on Saturday.

The official website of the Iran visa application: Online Visa Application Form