Hitchhiking Dohuk to Akre, Hitchhiking in Iraqi Kurdistan
I made three major trips Hitchhiking in Iraq but asked for a ride several times both in Erbil and in Dohuk to people who I randomly met on the street or asked for directions.
After traveling in Iraqi Kurdistan for a couple of days using shared taxis, private taxis and buses, I decided to try hitchhiking to see if I could get into a more specific relation with Iraqi travellers. Travellers have always something to tell, they always are going to do something that somehow can be interested for me to learn a little bit more about “local people daily life”.
Road on the way to Akre in Iraqi Kurdistan
Hitchhiking can always be a dangerous activity as we all know that we are going to deal with strange people and travel with them inside their own car now knowing what they can do to us. This also creates fear in some people as they don’t know what people hitchhikers can do to them. 
I felt really comfortable and safe with the idea of Hitchhiking in Kurdistan, people seemed so friendly and safety was above all an effort achieved by all Kurdistan habitants either Kurds, Arabs or Assyrians, and, yes you can feel that safety.
General view of Akre old city in Iraqi Kurdistan
TRIP 1 – Dohuk to Akre – Hitchhiking Iraqi Kurdistan – Total = 141.6 Miles / 228 KM
- Taxi in Dohuk = 3.6 Miles / 5.6 KM
- Walking = 4 Miles / 6.4 KM
- Hitchhiking Car 1= 2 Miles / 3.2 KM
- Hitchhiking Car 2 = 61 Miles / 98 KM
- Hitchhiking Car 3 = 71 Miles / 114 KM
Hitchhiking Dohuk to Akre
In Dohuk I decided to visit the Yazidi temple in Lalish. To go to Lalish I had to get the road to Shekhan in Shekhan District in the Ninewa Governorate of Iraq which the capital city is Mosul but Shekan and Akra District are currently under the Kurdistan Regional Government control.
I took a taxi to one of the ends of the city and walked about 2 miles until someone stop and give me a ride. He was not going out of Dohuk so he took me 2 miles until the Army checkpoint where I had to show passport and tell the guy I was actually walking or hitchhiking myself to Lalish. The army guy found incredible and strange so he tried to get me a car with someone who spoke some English.
After many attempts he finally hooked me up with a guy that was going to Akre, not Shekhan. I end up changing my travel plans and go all the way to Akre town, beautiful place. I got a ride back with the same guy 2:30 hours later. Perfect, he actually showed me some waterfalls in Akre and payed me for lunch on the road back to Dohuk. Go with the flow.
Ismail and Ivan that showed me Kanizark waterfall and waterspring, they payed me for ice cream and water. Ver nice guys that I randomly met on the street.
Map Google with route
[googlemaps http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&t=h&msa=0&msid=100388072949783274147.000474c8f1df9d8af68ec&ll=36.670622,43.38501&spn=0.749012,1.373291&z=9&output=embed&w=500&h=340]
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