Tajikistan – Pamir Highway

Itinerary:

Day 1:  Dushanbe.

Arrival to Dushanbe.Meet and transfer to the hotel. Sightseeing program of Dushanbe – the capital of Tajikistan.

Day 2: Dushanbe – Kalai-Khumb(370 km, 8-9 hrs)

Departure to Pamir Mountains on Highway M41 via Tavildara and Khaburabad pass (or via Kulyab region). You may notice more conservative attitudes of local dressing style and beards, but the hospitality is just as welcoming. We pass over the Khaburabad mountain pass to Kalai-Khumb, which is located on the Panj River. Overnight in guesthouse.

Day 3: Kalai-Khumb – Khorog (240km 6-7hours)

Our road lies along the Panj River, a tributary of the mighty Amu Darya River. Continue driving to Khorog, a small mountain valley town, the capital of the autonomous Gorno-Badakhshan region. The city lies 2000 m above the sea level, strung out irregularly along the slopes of both sides of the dashing Gunt River.

A few kilometers downstream, the Gunt merges with the Panj, the river that marks the border with Afghanistan. In Khorog, visit Botanical garden and the local museum. Overnight at guesthouse.

Day 4: Khorog – Yamg(220 km, 6-7hrs)

In the morning, visit the famous mineral hot spring Garam Chashma and ruby mines of KuhiLal in Khorog (where Badakhshani rubies were mined as early as 14th century). Later depart to Ishkashim, a small town at the mouth of the Wakhan corridor, where the 19th century Great Game ended.

Continue up the north side of the river with amazing views of the Pamirs to the left and the Hindu Kush to the right; a number of peaks in view are above 6,000 m. Overnight at guesthouse.

Day 5: Langar –Murgob (360km,7-8hrs).

Drive from Langar to Murgob. On the way, visit one of the old fortresses on the Silk Road Kah-Kaha in Namadgut. Continue to the Museum of Sufi Muborak-Kadami Vakhani, a local Sufi scholar, theologian, poet and traveller, who died in 1910. There is a stone pillar with a hole near his house, which he used to calculate a solar calendar and a building with inscriptions and decorations made by the scholar.

We will also visit Buddhist Stupa in Vrang, sacred hot springs of Bibi Fatima Zahra, and ruins of Yamchun Fortress (IV-III B.C.) that guarded once Pamir branch of the Great Silk Road. Overnight at guesthouse.Start the day with a trip to petroglyphs.

There are more than 600 rock carvings made by prehistoric people lying under the open sky in that area. Continue to Khargush, source of Amu Darya River. Cross the road via pass Khargush (4344 m). Pass Nayza-Tash (4137 m). Arrive in Murgab. Overnight in guesthause.

Day 6: Murgab-Osh (135 +450km, 8-9hrs).

Drive to Karakul Lake via Rangkul. The Kirgyz keep yak, sheep and goats, and in summer take them to the higher pastures. Stay in a yurt camp with local herders. Bactrian camels are native to this region, and at Rangkul we have the opportunity to tryriding a camel.

Spend the afternoon camel trekking near the lake. Picnic, drive to Karakul. The views of mountains and glaciers along the way are breath-taking as the road takes us to the Ak-Baital Pass (The White Horse Pass 4655 m). This is the highest pass in the former USSR, real “The Roof of the World” and the hidden site in this expanse of arid landscape is the stunning Karakul Lake created millions of years ago. Overnight at guesthouse.

Drive via Kyzylart and Tajik Passes to Osh in Kyrgyzstan. Arrive at border check point. Cross 9 km neutral zone. Arrive at the Kyrgyz border crossing point, which is at the bottom of the pass.