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TRAVEL

 

 

There are several ways of getting to Tajikistan and Gorno-Badakhshan.

N.B. For general (and very useful) travel advice, see http://www.britishembassy.gov.uk/servlet/Front?
pagename=OpenMarket/Xcelerate/ ShowPage&c
=Page&cid=1054569971482


1. via Dushanbe

a) Turkish Air flight from Istanbul (new from March 2006) in summer outward on Sunday (return Monday) and Wednesday (return Thursday) - the 2007/2008 winter schedule shows also a Friday/Saturday flight see the Turkish Air website for details:
http://www.thy.com/en-INT/index.aspx

N.B. This is by far the most comfortable (and probably safest) option, and relatively cheap fares can be obtained through booking well in advance.

b) Domodedovo airlines and Tajikistan Airlines fly daily Moscow-Dushanbe from Domodedovo Airport in Moscow (on some days more than one flight). The schedule can be found on http://www.domodedovo.ru/en/main/timetablenew/. and http://www.akdal.ru/eng/live/timetable.asp.

Most of these flights allow an onward connection to Dushanbe the same day from international flights arriving in Domodedovo. For flights arriving in Sheremetevo, at least 2 hours travel time - not counting immigration and check-in - must be allowed for the airport transfer (expensive by taxi), otherwise, on the way to Dushanbe, travellers must spend a night in Moscow, which can be expensive and for which a Russian visa is required (also expensive). The timing of the return flight, however, makes it possible to connect the same day with flights to most international destinations. Several international airlines now use Domodedovo rather than Sheremetevo. A complete listing can be found on http://www.domodedovo.ru/en/main/timetablenew/.

c) Other connections: Dushanbe can be reached from other airports in the CIS and elsewhere. Probably the best alternative route to those listed above is via Bishkek in Kyrgyzstan. This is particularly useful for travellers planning to combine Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan on their tour.

The information given below is subject to change - please don’t count on it for travel plans without confirming it with a local travel agent or the airline concerned. See http://www.tajik-gateway.org/index.phtml?lang=en&id=4577 for some timetables from and to Dushanbe (N.B. the timetable is not up-to-date).

 

Altyn Air flies from Bishkek to Osh and used to have a flight from Osh to Dushanbe but this is no longer on their website (see http://www.altynair.kg/en/). Avia Traffic Company also flies several times a week from Bishkek to Osh. See http://www.aero.kg/eng/. N.B. Both airlines are on a list of carriers banned by the European Union.

 

Kyrgyzstan Airlines flies Bishkek-Dushanbe-Bishkek but their website is very difficult to find! At 1 August 2007 they fly on Sundays Osh-Dushanbe-Osh, but this too should be confirmed before counting on it.

Tajik Air flies Dushanbe-Bishkek-Dushanbe and Dushanbe-Almaty-Dushanbe.

In February 2008 a new private Tajik airline, Somon Air, was announced. See http://www.somonair.com/.


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 16 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”.
 

pamirs travel flight mountain rushan pamirs travel flight mountain rushan


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:
 

pamirs travel khorog hotel serena pamirs travel khorog hotel serena


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 Kara 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 tour operators, 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

e-mail pamirad@tjinter.com or info@pamir-adventure.com; tel (00 992 372) 23 54 24, mobile 00 992 95 151 7567
(See also his website http://www.pamir-adventure.com). – see section on Trekking, and


Goulya Petrova goulya@tajiktraveller.com

For trekking in the Bartang valley, including Sarez, and around Bulunkul, you could contact Odina Murmamadov, who comes from the village of Bassid in the Bartang, on odina.nurmamadov@yahoo.com.

If you are a hunter, or want to see Marco Polo sheep - or just want to visit one of the most remote corners of the Pamirs and stay in a hunting camp (Jarty Gumbez) with a hot spring, get in touch with

Atobek Bekmurodov


Tel Murghab (00 992 3554) 333
Khorog (00 992 35220) 2982 / 4113
Dushanbe (00 992 372) 23 34 00 / 21 17 43
Moscow (00 7095) 362 0830 / 361 42 84.
e-mail murgabhunt@mail.ru.

or

 

Tolibek Gulbekov

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
 




All text and photographs (c) Robert Middleton 2002


Web master Romanyuk Mikhail