The Pamir Highway

June 14-20

We took a 7 day tour along the Pamir Highway and the Wakhan Corridor. The driver and jeep cost $1400 for the week, which we split with a couple 18 year old Australian boys. The road is famous for being high and desolate and is also popular with motorcyclists and bicyclists. Beautiful mountain vistas and lush valley oases abound. I never tired of looking out the window. 

Our itinerary was: 

Day 1: Osh to Tulparkul Lake in the Alay Mtns

Day 2: Tulparkul Lake (KZ) to Murghab (TJ)

Day 3: Murghab to Langar

Day 4: Langar to Ishkashim

Day 5: Ishkashim to Rushon (north of Khorog)

Day 6: Rushon to Kalai-Khum

Day 7: Kalai-Khum to Dushanbe (via Kulyab) 

After a good 1.5 hours of running last minute errands in Osh (grocery store, ATM, money change), we finally got on the road. The climb was steep, starting from 963m in Osh to 3600m by lunchtime. We stayed in a yurt camp in the Alay Mountain range at Tulparkul Lake (3500m). After settling in we headed out for a 2 hour round trip hike to the Peak Lenin base camp. The summit is a staggering 7134m (23,400ft), twice as high as the base camp. It was a cold night, even in the yurt. Once the coal burning stove went out the heat seeped away. Tim and I ended up sharing a twin sized bed and thick blanket, and were able to keep warm. Cozy! Dinner and breakfast were served in a converted shipping container and the toilets were basic squat-over-pit variety. It would be our most basic lodging of the trip, but comfortable. 

After a nerve wracking morning figuring out how to download and print one of the Australian boys' visas in the middle of nowhere, we made our way up to the very high and cold Kyrgyz-Tajik border. The scenery was desolate, with huge mountains rising from expansive arid plains. Every time we saw one of the rare houses, Leo would ask the guide "someone lives here?" Much of the drive on the Tajik side followed the Chinese border, marked with a barbed wire fence. Shortly before reaching Lake Karakol where we stopped for lunch, we made a short but steep hike from 4300m up to 5000m for a view of the lake. Thankfully no altitude sickness, just very short of breath. We arrived in Murghab and very happily took a hot bucket-bath at the guest house. 

On the way from Murghab to Langar (Day 3), we stopped by Bulunkul Lake for lunch. Afterwards, we turned off the Pamir Highway and entered the Wakhan Corridor, encountering the river that forms the border with Afghanistan that we'd follow for the next 5 days. We saw a camel caravan on the Afghan side, and our guide stopped to have an (illegal) chat with a couple ethnic Kyrgyz Afghanis. They asked him to pass along a request for food and clothes to the Kyrgyz government. 

The village of Langar (2700m) feels like a fairytale oasis after the harsh, high Pamirs. Lush fields, friendly locals ("HELLO!" -every kid we saw), and majestic mountain backdrop make it a really lovely place. We took a stroll around town after arriving in the afternoon, visiting the local shop and meeting some of the village children along the way. 

We continued through the Wakhan corridor to Ishkashim, following the thread of fertile valley surrounding the Panj River. We visited a 5th century Buddhist temple and two fortresses. We also stopped at Bibi Fatima hot springs, the highlight of the day. A natural hot mineral spring empties into a semi-natural cave. Every hour or so the cave switches from male to female naked bathing. Luckily I was the only one there when we showed up, so I was able to get a few pictures. We ended the day at Ishkashim, which with its (one) stop light, felt like a little city after Murghab and Langer. Ishkashim has an active border with Afghanistan, and there was a lot of bustle with traders, as well as military presence. Even though this is a popular tourist route, we still attracted a lot of curious stares. 

From Ishkashim we headed north, stopping at the Garam Chashma hot springs. It was men's bathing when we arrived, so Tim and the Australians headed in. Tajiks believe that the baths help as skin treatment and many of the men were standing around nude covering themselves in mud and chatting. We continued to Khorog, the biggest "city" around, and had lunch at an Indian restaurant. It was pretty decent! We continued on along the river another couple hours to Rushon, where we settled into the fanciest guest house yet. Private bathroom and a balcony to boot! Luxury digs, luxury prices ($40/night). Tim and I went for a short hike into a nearby valley. 

We spent Day 6 hugging the Panj river and making our way from Rushon to Kalai-khum. It was a long drive made even longer by atrocious road conditions. This stretch of road is on the Dushanbe-China trucking route, so we were sharing the narrow road with numerous semi trucks. At one point a semi was broken down in the middle of the road and the trucker wanted us to squeeze by on the cliff side. Thankfully our driver decided to wait for the truck to move, we for sure would have ended up in the river. 

The final day felt very long, we were just ready to be done with sitting in the car. After one last stint of beautiful valley views and the curiosity of a "natural car wash" waterfall, we said goodbye to the rugged Afghani mountains that had been our constant companion and descended into the plains of Tajikstan. 93% of Tajikistan is mountainous, and even the low-lying plains are at 1000m. We cruised on the first good quality road in a week. The drive was pretty uneventful, and we only got stopped by the cops for a bribe once. Our guide is a pro at getting out of the shakedowns. This time he was caught speeding, but told the cop we had to hurry to Dushanbe to catch a flight. The cop let him go. Another time he knew the cop, and a third he just refused to pull over. It pays to be a local! 

We met many travelers spending weeks in the region, and it's easy to see how. With such varied terrain and mishmash of cultures, there's plenty to explore. We never fully got a handle on the complexities of ethnicity (Kyrgyz, Tajik, Afghan, Wakhan, Pamiri), nationality, and religions (Sunni, Shia, and Ismaili Islam). It was perspective building to visit such a remote corner of the world, where people scrape a life out of so little in the way of natural resources or outside interaction. It's a testament to human resilience.