The following e-mail addresses of Central Asia Tourism may be helpful in obtaining current information on flight schedules (it is not easy on the Internet!): fvk@centralasiatourism.com in Almaty and cat-dushanbe@tajnet.com or cat-valeria@tajnet.com, in Dushanbe (branch manager: Victoriya Nearonskaya).

Once in Dushanbe, unless they have been able to obtain a mention of Gorno-Badakhshan on their visa, travellers must spend up to three days obtaining a special stamp in their passport authorising them to travel to Gorno-Badakhshan. (See the section on Visas for help in obtaining this.)

From Dushanbe, travel to Gorno-Badakhshan is either by air to Khorog or by road (approximately 14 hours in a western four-wheel drive vehicle, longer in a commercial bus). Subject to the provisos listed below, there are one or more flights every day to and from Khorog.

Flights to Khorog are in a small plane that only departs Dushanbe if there is no cloud cover on the mountains on the way into Khorog and if Tajik Air determines that there are sufficient passengers to make the flight economical. All flights originate in Dushanbe, which means that there is only a flight Khorog-Dushanbe if the flight Dushanbe-Khorog has taken place. In the absence of flights, arrangements must be made for travel by private car or bus.

The Lonely Planet guide describes the flight as “one of the main attractions of Khorog” and “one of the most exhilarating or terrifying experiences of your life” – the plane “flying in the shadow of the rockface with its wingtips so close you could swear they kick up swirls of snow”.

In Dushanbe there are a few acceptable hotels: information can be obtained from several websites (search on Dushanbe and hotels)

There are at present only a few hotels of acceptable standard in GBAO: the Serena in Tem, just outside Khorog, run by the Aga Khan Development Network; the Parinen in Khorog, 69/50 Lenin Street (in the centre of town, near the bus station and main market); the Pamir Lodge, at Kuchai Gagarin 46, UPD Microrayon; and the Bizmitch Hotel, Karamshoeva Street 17/4, Khorog. This situation is rapidly changing, however, and a number of new bed-and-breakfast places are being opened.

The Serena offers the high quality associated with the Serena group (see here ) and is recommended for those seeking the best comfort available in the Pamirs. See pictures below:
 

The 2008 basic room rate for tourists is USD 80 for a single and USD 100 for a double room - including breakfast, but not tax - with substantial discounts for groups of three or more and for stays longer than a week. The Serena also offers four-bed tent accommodation for USD 120, including breakfast. Reservations can be made at the following address:

Serena Inn,
Tem (Khorog)
Tel (local line): +992 35222 3228
Satellite Tel/Fax : +882 1689 802184
Mobile : +992 93 511 4474
e-mail: khorogserenainn@akdn.org.

At the Parinen, room rates are USD 35 for a single and USD 50 for a double room. Reservations can be made by e-mail: parinen_hotel@mail.ru; or by phone: 00 992 35 2220 54 99.

The Pamir Lodge is a bed and breakfast, run by a married couple who know western tastes well; he is from the UK and she is from Khorog. Reservations can be made by phone +992 35222 6545, mobile + 992 93 592 1004 - e-mail pamirlodge@hotmail.com. Their website is http://www.geocities.com/pamirlodge/. 2007 room rates at the Bizmitch were USD 25 for a single and USD 50 for a double including breakfast (tel. +992 35222 6492 or mobile + 992 93 581 4696 - e-mail).

The Aga Khan Foundation and its local NGO the Mountain Societies Development Support Programme (MSDSP) have just supported the establishment of a Pamirs Eco-Cultural Tourism Association (PECTA) that will be the central point for marketing and information on local tourist service providers (travel agencies, homestays, drivers, guides etc.). During the course of the next few years PECTA will be establishing quality criteria and training programmes for the improvement of these services.

Pamirs Eco-Cultural Tourism Association (PECTA)
c/o MSDSP
Lenin street 50
Khorog
Telephone: +992 35222 2647 (MSDSP Office) or
+992 93 598 4410 (mobile)
e-mail: pecta@pamirs.org

Updated infornation on PECTA's activities will be posted here.  

2) via Osh in Kyrgyzstan

Osh, the second largest city in Kyrgyzstan, is situated in the South of the country. A paved road runs South from Osh to the last Kyrgyz checkpoint, Sary Tash (190km, 4 hours by private vehicle). From there a partially paved road leads across the Pamir plateau to Khorog (540km, 12 hours – several passes at altitudes higher than 4,000m). The various checkposts will not allow travellers to pass unless their Tajik visas mention specifically the destination of Gorno-Badakhshan.

There is no public transport available between Osh and Khorog. Travellers must try to make their own arrangements either with private vehicles or with one of the trucking companies operating out of Osh. N.B. There is only one human settlement (at the Kar Kul lake) between Sary Tash and Murghab (230km, altitude 3,640m).
 

3) via Tashkent

Transiting via Tashkent requires travelling by road to Khujand in Northern Tajikistan and then flying with Tajik Air to Dushanbe or continuing by road; an Uzbek visa is required. Until the Uzbek frontier posts are more accommodating to international tourists, travel via Tashkent to Dushanbe is not recommended.
 

TOUR OPERATORS

Local tour operators in the Pamirs are listed in the section Help for Tourists

For foreign and Dushanbe-based agencies, use your web browser to find existing tours – for general information begin with the search terms Tajikistan and tours – refine your search with one or more specific locations, e.g. Pamir, Somoni, Pik Lenin, Sarez, Bartang, Zorkul.

Two Swiss agencies, "Horizons Nouveaux" in Verbier, and "Globotrek" in Bern organise tours to the Pamirs. See http://www.horizonsnouveaux.com/ and http://www.globotrek.ch/.

A French agency has just added the Pamirs to its programme - see http://www.oriensce.fr/tadjikis.html.

Central Asia Tourism Corporation in Almaty, Kazakhstan, may also be able to help – (see http://www.centralasiatourism.com/)

For trekking, contact Surat Toimastov in Dushanbe

66 Lenin Street Murghab
Tel (00992 3554) 21 639
Also in Dushanbe:
Dekhoti Street 21/3 Apartment 33
Tel (00 992 372) 34 06 20

Links :

http://www.eurasianet.org/resource/tajikistan/links/travel.shtml