Gorno-Badakhshan

(with kind permission from
Markus Hauser)

 

 

Gorno-Badakhshan is in the far Eastern part of Tajikistan. It borders Afghanistan in the South and West, China in the East and Kyrgyzstan in the North. The Southern and Eastern boundaries are determined by the Pamir and Pyanj rivers. The Pyanj is better know by its ancient name of Oxus, and becomes the Amu Darya after being joined by the river Kunduz from Afghanistan, before continuing along the Uzbek border on the way to the Aral Sea.

Gorno-Badakhshan offers:

• spectacular landscapes

• some of the highest mountains in the world: Pik Somoni / Communism (7,495m), Pik Lenin (7,134m), Pik Karl Marx (6,723m) and Pik Engels (6,510m) and the Fedchenko Glacier – one of the longest in the world (77km); from Murghab there are views of Mustagh Ata – “Father of Ice” (7,546m) just across the border in China

• traces of the Silk Route and other archaeological sites

• the warm hospitality and vitality of its people

• dancing and music, both religious and secular.

• One of the most successful development programmes ever implemented.

The following itineraries are recommended (click on the link and then on the place names for “virtual sightseeing”):

• The Wakhan corridor, with views across the Pyandj and Pamir rivers to the peaks of the Hindu Kush in Pakistan; the Wakhan contains many traces of the multicultural history of the Silk Route and the spread of major religions (see also the section on Archaeology)

• The valleys of the Shokhdara and Pamir rivers; here, in beautiful natural surroundings, there are vestiges of the centuries-long struggle for control of the fertile lands of the Pamirs

• The Pamir Highway, the lifeline to markets in Kyrgyzstan (and, in future, China); this is the real Pamir: high plateau desert and multi-coloured rock formations resembling more a moonscape than mountains; this region used to be at the bottom of the sea and was pushed up by the geological phenomenon of continental drift and the clash of tectonic plates.

• The unspoilt and undiscovered beauty of Murgab, Rangkul, Madyan and Shaimak (Little Pamir), with the legendary Dragon Lake known to Chinese geographers

• The Bartang valley, the longest in Gorno-Badakhshan, with idyllic villages nestling against the valley walls and access to Lake Sarez. Bartang designated among 2014 Global Top 100 Sustainable Destinations - see here and here.
  
  

For most travellers, a visit to the Pamirs is likely to be different from any previous travel experience. This is in itself one of the attractions of the region, but a few words of warning may be necessary, since the experience is both physically and mentally challenging.

Travellers should be aware that the distances involved in just getting to Gorno-Badakhshan are enormous (up to 7 hours flying time from Western Europe to Dushanbe, then some 16 hours by road to the regional capital, Khorog). Osh-Khorog takes 14 hours by road and distances between destinations within Gorno-Badakhshan are significant. A visit to the Pamirs can not be hurried and travellers must be prepared for much driving over difficult roads at high altitudes.

The road from Dushanbe travels a considerable distance along the Afghan border and offers magnificent scenery and views of life in Afghan villages.

 

Afghan villages

 

The road from Osh in Kyrgyzstan is uninhabited between the last Kyrgyz town of Sary Tash and Murghab. A short excursion West from Sary Tash to the village of Saryk Mongol on Kyrgyz territory (inhabited by very hospitable Tajiks from Murghab)
 

offers spectacular views of Pik Lenin (7,134m).

The road from Sary Tash to Ali Chur follows the Chinese border for about 200km and goes over some very high passes (of which the highest is Akbaital 4,655m)

 

The Murghab/Aksu River

The archaeology of the region is barely explored and most of the work that has been done has not been reported in Western languages. This means that there are as yet no comprehensive guidebooks on what to see and do – the Lonely Planet book is good but only scratches the surface. Odyssey Publications will, however, fill this gap in mid-2007with the first guidebook devoted exclusively to Tajikistan and the Pamirs. See here.

Gorno-Badakhshan is almost “virgin territory” for tourism. Do not expect an organised programme of cultural visits and events: the culture is found in the eyes and hearts of the people and in their singing and dancing.

Sanitation in most private houses is relatively primitive: corresponding elementary precautions should be taken. See section Health and other practical advice.
 

 House in Tusyan

Travellers to Murghab district may be able to stay in a yurt.
 

There are hot springs in:

• Garm Chashma (near Anderob, 30km from Khorog on the road to Ishkashim)

• Oudzh (30km from Ishakashim on the road from Khorog)

• Bibi Fotima (Yamchun - 72km from Ishkashim above the Wakhan)

• Issyk-Bulok-Madyan (10km West of Murghab)

• Djelondi (about 110km from Khorog on the road to Murghab)

• Shaimak (126km from Murghab)

The Botanical garden in Khorog is the second highest in the world.

The rewards for the unhurried and open-minded traveller are:

• a wealth of new visual impressions

• a new perception of the meaning of some common-place terms such as “happiness”, “poverty”, “joy”, “hope”, “faith”

• a chance to get some current political and economic terminology in better perspective: “fundamentalism”, “capitalism”, “communism”, “free enterprise”, “progress”, “development”

• an understanding of the strategic importance of this region (from the time of the Silk Route and the “Great Game” to contemporary geopolitics)

• and, perhaps, time for self-discovery

Have your fortune told
 

 

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All text and photographs (c) Robert Middleton 2002

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Web master Romanyuk Mikhail