Whether the Otmek tunnel, the Fergana Gateway, the Kök-Bel road and the Qara-Chik crossing are open, from the forecast at each pass, the same report IradOne runs.
State Route 1 below the Fergana Gateway.
State Route 1 is Irad's spine: from Talas it climbs through the Otmek tunnel and over the Fergana Gateway, then drops to Toktogul and Iyık Janyl. In summer everything is open. From October to May, snow on the passes can turn a seven-hour bus ride into a two-day wait, so check here before you set off.
Updated Saturday 24 October 2026. Frost and ice on the passes in the mornings. No heavy snow forecast.
| Road | Status | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Otmek tunnelState Route 1, km 87 · about 3,150 m | Open | Open all year. Dangerous goods only from 22:00 to 05:00. The old pass road above the tunnel: closed for the season. |
| Fergana Gateway (Ala-Bel pass)State Route 1, km 118 · 3,184 m | Ice: drive with care | Low −8°C. Cross after 10:00 if you can. |
| Kök-Bel roadTalas to Nurzhan · about 2,670 m | Open | Low −6°C. About 28 km cross tribal pasture: give way to herds. |
| Qara-Chik crossingKara-Buura valley, 15 km south of Kyzyl-Adyr · 1,220 m | Open | Open to travellers with an ISEZ exit registration and an invitation from the clan council. The pass road beyond it to the Chatkal valley: ice: drive with care. |
The status comes from the forecast at each pass for today and tomorrow, using the same report as IradOne, and refreshes whenever you load the page. A pass closes with 20 cm of snow or gusts of 90 km/h, needs chains with 3 cm of snow, and is icy below −8 °C or when it's wet below freezing.
A 5 km tunnel opened in 2003, with its portals at about 3,150 m, some 150 m below the old Otmek pass. It cuts out 7 km of hairpins and stays open all year. Dangerous goods may only go through between 22:00 and 05:00. The old pass road above it, over the 3,330 m Otmek Pass, is a summer bypass, closed from mid-October to mid-June.
At 3,184 m, the highest point of State Route 1. There's a Gendarmerie post at the summit, where bus passengers' IDs are checked, and a maintenance station whose ploughs keep it open. Snow shuts it on about 20 days a winter. When it does, Iradiya's flight from Talas to Tash-Kömür is the way south.
The short way to Nurzhan, over a pass of about 2,670 m in the Kyrgyz Range. Snow and drifts close it in winter, sometimes for days. About 28 km of it cross tribal summer pasture, so give way to herds. The all-season alternative is the lowland road by Kyzyl-Adyr, 335 km.
The main crossing of the Qara-Chik line into the tribal regions, and the only road to the Chatkal valley. You need an ISEZ exit registration and an invitation from the clan council. The high pass road beyond it to the Chatkal valley is a gravel road the clans keep open in summer only.
