Jamal.

“I wish Jamol was our guide.” We heard this several times from several different Western tourists on our 9-day Pamir Highway journey. “Jamol is so funny. He speaks such good English. Our guide doesn’t say anything,” is what we heard quite often. “Can Jamol tell our driver we want to do X, Y and Z? Because our guide isn’t listening to us.” If you hire Jamol, rest assured you will have one of the best guides (if not the very best guide) in Tajikistan. Unlike many other companies, Jamol is both the owner and the driver. So you won’t be surprised when you get to your car and discover your driver is not what you expected. Jamol is extremely educated, loves geology, aviation, talking about cultural differences, and also he loves jokes. He has a very fun and dry sense of humor. He also loves Tajikistan with all his heart. He loves to talk about the origins of Tajiks vs Pamiris vs Kyrgyz. And he stops to pick up litter because he wants Tajikistan to stay clean. If you are lucky enough for Jamol to reach out and offer his services, you should accept it. He truly is probably the best Tajik guide out there at this time. Love you, Jamol!

Rob

August 2026

Response from Jamal August 2026

Thank you very much for the fun company and training with me.

We spent with Jamal nine days in Pamir and it was an absolutely fantastic time. From the very beginning, we felt like family. His communication skills, intelligence, curiosity, and sense of humor allowed us to talk about every possible topic. The trip itself was a wonder. Thanks to Jamal, we constantly improved our original plan; we mention something and he'd come up with a way to make us happy. Jamal, you truly love your country and your work; we hope you had a great time too. Muchos gracias amigo!

Maciej

July 2026

Overall: Excellent driver, good English language (as well as Russian, Tajik, Pamiri) with a great sense of humour. Can tell he is proud to be an ambassador of the Pamirs. Also was kind to accommodate flexibility depending on my needs (e.g. nighttime photography, extra hours of rest). Noted that he also cared about the environment by picking up roadside litter. A geologist by training, he had good knowledge of the geography of the area as well as the history. He also has good relationships with homestay hosts. Communication: Good, responsive on WhatsApp. Although one area of improvement could be more information and detail on the plan. Pricing: Jamol made clear the expected expenses before setting off and made sure I was not disadvantaged during the trip. The vehicle/safety: Toyota Prado. Handled the bad road conditions well, as Jamol was experienced at navigating the numerous potholes! The actual trip and highlights: We followed a 9 day Pamir Highway trip (Dushanbe>Kalaikhum>Pastkhuf>Khorog>Zong(Wakhan)>Bulunkul (2 nights staying in different locations)>Murghab>Karakul>Osh. We also did side trips to the Khuf valley, Yashilkul and the Yamchun Fortress. Highlights included Jamol cooking at Khorog (Chid Homestay) for the host family, friends and fellow travellers, Maljuran yurt homestay near Bulunkul with a very satisfying hot spring, and experiencing local Pamiri life at the high valley of Khuf. People sometimes describe the Pamir Highway as a “life-changing experience”. I was a bit skeptical before, but given what I saw and experienced, I would probably agree with them! I'd happily book Jamol again and recommend him without hesitation.

Hon

June 2026

He is an experienced and sociable person. In addition to English, he speaks Russian, Tajik, and Pamiri. As someone originally from the Pamir region, he has in-depth knowledge of the area.

Gyeongrim

August 2025

I can’t recommend Jamal highly enough. We had a fantastic time driving the Pamir Highway with him. He is so much more than a driver, essentially he plans an entire tour. His English is excellent, he is intelligent and informed. He made accommodation bookings in advance which we saw other drivers had failed to do for travellers we met. He is also generous and made an incredible Plov for all the folks at one of the homestays. He has all the qualities of any good guide, engagement, flexibility and the capacity to give you time on your own. As we are in our 50s and 60s we were uncertain about making this trip. But we coped with the altitude and I’m so glad that we had the chance to travel with Jamal. There were so many highlights including stopping and helping some nomads put up their yurt! Thx for everything and hoping to make it back to see more of Tajikistan.

Angela

June 2025

Response from Jamal June 2025

Thank you dear Angela and David for all. My trip with was wonderful with you. I saw how love can be strong. You changed my mind in many things. Hope to see you again.

Due to my tight schedule and flight availability from Malaysia to Dushanbe (which is non existent), Jamol has carefully planned and arranged our dream to travel across the Pamirs and also the Wakhan Corridor. The route covering Dushanbe , Khalaikumb, Khorog, Alichur, Murghab and Langar. It was an unforgettable and a mesmerizing 10 days trip, the view of mountains , beautiful lake (esp Karakul Lake ) was breathtaking, not to forget the hospitality of Tajik people. Traversing across using Land Cruiser, we feel safe and not a single worry comes to mind, everything was well taken care of by Jamol and Ali, the driver, both speaks good English and we have no trouble in communication. All our homestay are very good, nice and comfortable. Especially in Khorog, we stayed in a room full with artifacts from the Pamir Mountain, the homestay owner collection for the past 11 years, which was very interesting and unique. Jamol patiently answered all our questions about Tajikistan (no matter how small and silly it is) and about the Pamir Mountains and it's people. You can know he has a vast knowledge, highly experienced, an organized and a very enthusiasts guide by listening to him talking about Tajikistan passionately. He has a very good rapport and connection with the locals in Pamir, thus making our travel with zero worries, all we have to do just soak in the view and enjoy every minute of it. To Jamol, thank you for the incredible experience, and amazing moments when both us (me and Rozita) was there. To those still looking for a guide/driver to travel across Tajikistan, look no further, highly recommend for you all to contact and reach out to Jamol,

From the start Jamal was very professional and answered all of my questions promptly and directly. He gave a clear itinerary and once I arrived everything was set up according to the itinerary. Once on the road, I felt safe for the entire length of the tour and I feel like I got to see more and do more things along the way than most of the other tourists that I spoke with. He was kind, funny and patient. It felt more like traveling with a friend than a tour guide. I hope to return to Tajikistan someday and when I do I hope I can have the same driver. I would recommend Jamal to anyone looking for a fun trip through Tajikistan.

Jamol is a friendly, thoughtful, and incredibly knowledgeable guide (and geologist by training) which meant we learned a lot about the incredible landscapes we were driving through. He speaks very good English which was invaluable. In total we booked for 10nights which seemed about the right amount of time - we covered all of the Pamir highway and some extras along the way like visiting the locals at remote mountain pastures. Jamol was flexible and helped us to tailor the itinerary per our wishes. Jamol knew the Pamir highway like the back of his hand and this was especially important on some of the more remote and unsignposted roads. If you are searching for a guide and driver rolled into one, choose Jamol. The Pamir highway is not for the faint hearted - make sure to pack lots of water, snacks, but at the same time, you will be one of a small number of people to experience a truly other worldly landscape and so many kind people along the way. Thank you Jamol!

My friends and I had the most amazing time travelling across Central Asia, but the part with Jamol was on a whole another level! Although I was a bit skeptical of the unknown (I’ve never travelled this far away from home), Jamol made fear disappear and managed to truly show all the true beauty of Tajikistan. I can’t imagine driving on these wild roads with someone I don’t feel safe with, but Jamol and his car do it just fine! Also, after travelling from Russia to Kazakhstan To Kyrgyzstan I learned that people don’t really speak English, I was surprised how well Jamol spoke the language which definitely helped us in making the experience even better, I can’t imagine how many funny situations and interesting information we wouldn’t understand, or couldn’t ask the locals stuff that interested us (it’s like having subtitles in real life). He made sure we had fantastic time filled with laughter and sometimes did things on his own hand for us! After spending just a few days with him you really feel like you’ve known each other for years, a really pleasant experience and a guide to recommend. Not only did I come back home praising about the wonders of beautiful Tajikistan, but I also told my fellow traveller friends : exploring Tajikistan with Jamol is obligatory!

Great

I was a solo female traveller and wanting to go to Tajikistan and also Afghanistan. After contacting 38 other people I decided on Jamal and I was not disappointed. I told him exactly what I wanted to do and he created an itinerary to suit me. Professional, accommodating and funny! He made the trip that extra bit special by being personal and kind. His knowledge of the area and incredible driving Oh the roads (which aren’t easy) made it easy and enjoyable.

Jamal is more a pilot than a driver and more a friend than a guide! We had a wonderful time in Pamir with great conversations and lots of laughter. He was very flexible and spontaneous and always willing to take our wishes into account. For his clients Jamal fights wolves and and climbs to mountains, always assuring their safety! It was a great pleasure to travel with Jamal and we highly recommend booking a tour with him!

Very unique guide! You won’t be disappointed! ,)

Jamol is an enthusiastic and reliable guide. We were with him for 14 days and we had a really good time. He showed us a lot of wonderful things and added some places that were not planned on the itinerary just because he wanted to show us more of his country. He speaks many local languages and he is the Robin Hood of the Pamir, always trying to help fellow travellers. His car is very good, which is a must on Pamir roads. Jamol is more relax and funny then he appears on his video. You can have a better idea of him by watching some videos on the Wonton Don Youtube channel (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xbrkQFXJzU) . Highly recommended!

Really great trip with Jamol from Dushanbe-Osh over 5 days. Excellent driver and experienced with the roads. His English is excellent and all of the home stays he chose for us were comfortable and extremely hospitable. He’s got a great sense of humor, and really by the end it just felt like we were 5 friends traveling through Tajikistan. I highly recommend choosing him, he even assisted us for 2 days in Dushanbe, figuring out our Permits/ showing us around a bit.

We are a group of three guys from Hong Kong. As frequent travelers we have hired drivers in many places such as Peru, Bolivia, Jordan, Georgia, Armenia and so on. Jamol is definitely one of the best drivers so far. He speaks good English and knows a lot about the people, history and politics of Central Asia and even Eurasia. He is cheerful, helpful, reliable and funny throughout the trip. Can`t ask for a better driver than Jamol. If we do visit the Pamirs again, the only thing we want to change is the itinerary. Instead of staying overnight in Karakul, it is better to drive straight from Murghab to Osh. I believe there is no good accommodation between the two places, or else Jamol would have definitely arranged it for us. Moreover, for staying overnight in Murghab, make sure you reserve Pamir Hotel in advance which was full the night we arrived in Murghab. We didn`t like the idea of going outdoor to the bathroom for a shower under freezing temperatures, which was the case for most ordinary homestays we had in the last few days in Pamirs. If this is not a problem for you, then ignore this. Accommodation would not be a problem for you throughout the area. Lol After all, we would definitely recommend Jamol to our friends who are planning to visit the region.

Jamol was an amazing guide and driver. He’s very friendly and funny and I enjoyed exploring Tajikistan with him.

Jamol Tajikistan guide with Landcruiser and a heart! We were 2 Male friends from singapore making our way from Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan entering Tajikistan via Dushanbe. He arranged an excellent accommodation on the first nite and very early in the morning took us all the way to Khorog because we missed one day due to visa timings. We then went through various terrains and snow and he proved himself a safe and competent driver and able to explain the local lifestyles and customs of he villages we visited. He was most alert and flexible when he realized we had to chnage course and head to the chinese border when the oh to Kyrgyzstan we troll snowed out at the high altitude pass. I would recommend him to anyone!

Jamal was an excellent driver and guide and just the way the other testimonials described him. His English is great - and improving - he`s a good sensible driver with the right car for some of the Tajik roads. He`s curious about the world and is eager to impart knowledge of his own country. Plus he`s a great dude who`s very funny. I am coming back to Tajikistan to see the parts I missed and will be engaging Jamal again.

We had a great ride from Osh to Dushanbe with Jamol.He is a good driver, knowledgeable, reliable and flexible.He is also helpful and good company.His car being in top condition he could take us to some incredible remote spots that other drivers do not dare reach. Thanks Jamol for the amazing journey! Claude Robert

We are really greatful that we found you! Our trip was more than perfect. Pamir Highway is amazing, but we are sure that 50% of that was thanks to Jamal. He was so helpful, he explained us a lot of things but above all, we was funny and kind so we have a great time with him. We highly recommend Jamal as a guide. Thnks for one of the best experiences in our life!

We had such a fantastic ten days in Tajikistan with Jamal as our guide, our companion and a great driver, with his decent vehicle. We are two (demanding) Asian women and he really made us feel very comfortable in his company, safe and that we were being well looked after. Even at times when things seemed difficult, he went out of his way to make it all possible for us. We had enormous amount of laughs and full of fond memories to take home with. Our most favourite spot was at Bulunkul lake , the little town was fascinating, as where we were most welcome at Nisso homestay, they made so much effort that we were comfortable, splendid tea, dinner, cozy bed and breakfast of a 5 stars treatment, plus a yak ride into the sunset. We will definitely be back to your memorable country. Thousand kisses to Tajikistan. Thank you very much.

Jamal is, first and foremost, a kind, sincere and genuine guy who really seemed concerned about us having an enjoyable, safe and satisfying tour with him. He is a safe driver and takes no unnecessary risks on Tajikistan`s insanely inadequate roads. His car is sturdy and comfortable, and certainly a good model for those hours on dirt tracks. If you want to take photos you`ll need to tell Jamal to stop, which he`s happy to do, but don`t expect photo opportunities to be suggested at every turn - the onus is on you, and he`ll be happy to oblige. Jamal`s personal strengths lie in his relaxed conversational abilities, his desire to improve his (already very competent) English and his ability to know when to remain quiet during long drives...we appreciated that he wasn`t the kind of guy who just needs to fill the silence and keep talking...after all, these stunning landscapes speak for themselves. In time, we hope he`ll acquire more and more facts about those kinds of things tourists often ask (How many people live here? What`s the highest elevation of the road today? What kind of place will we stay in tonight?), as he wasn`t always forthcoming with this information - but this is a minor point and all except one of the home-stays he arranged for us were exceptionally good. The one in Jelondi hot-springs was not good, and in hindsight we should have asked to stay elsewhere when we arrived...a request we`re quite sure Jamal would have accommodated, so don`t be shy to make your feelings known, and he`ll do his best to accommodate. Overall, highly recommended!