Pamir Highway Adventure
About this tour
Pamir Highway, Afghan Border, Wakhan Valley, Bulunkul and Yshilkul Lakes, Karakul Lake
Day-by-day itinerary
Day 1: Dushanbe, Tajikistan to Kalaikhum, Tajikistan
Day 1: Dushanbe – Norak – Kalai Khum (370 km, 6-7 hours, 1200 m) Today we will drive to Kalai Khum village. You will see Norak water reservoir that is called Tajik Sea. The highest point of the day is the Shurabad pass (2 267 m) and after the drive along the Afghanistan border starts. This part will amaze you by its unique mountains – it is already the Territory of Pamir Mountains. Over the centuries, the Pamirs have inspired the world’s greatest explorers – Marco Polo, Hsuan Tsang, Mirza Muhammad Haidar. And now you also have a chance to travel here. You will drive along the natural border – the Pyanj River. Having visited the Pamirs, many travellers called this giant mountain system the ocean of white and blue mountains. This night you will spend in a homestay to see the way of local people’s life.
Day 2: Kalaikhum, Tajikistan to Khorog, Tajikistan
Day 2: Kalai Khum – Khorog (240 km, 5-6 hours, 2200 m) It is perhaps one of the tiniest cities on the map of the world. It is surrounded by the Rocky Mountains from all four sides. The town was built on the confluence of the 3 rivers where Shokhdara river and Ghund river flow into Pyanj river. On the way to Khorog, you will meet Pamir people. A number of anthropological features set the Pamir people apart from the Tajik people. Among the Pamiris, there is a high percentage of people with blonde hair, fair skin and blue eyes. Pamirs Mountains are the highest mountains in the world with a human population after the Himalayas in Tibet. Life in the mountains made the traditions of local people different from Tajik people.
Day 3: Khorog, Tajikistan to Eshkashem, Tajikistan
Today we will drive along Tajik-Afgan border to Ishkashim. Situated in in the heart of Asia, the Pamirs are a corner of sky-scraping, snow-capped, majestic mountains, transparent clear blue waters of lakes and rivers, wide valleys and bone-dry deserts. For hundreds of years, people have called these highest mountains of the world as “the Roof of the World”. Today you will understand why. The land of Pamirs is located at elevations from 3 500 to 4 200 meters above sea level. Pamirs is perhaps one the few areas in Central Asia where ancient ethnic and cultural peculiarities of the Pamir people exist. Over the years, communities were isolated from each other by impassable mountain ranges, and developed into separate enclaves with different dialects and sometimes distinct or different languages. We will visit Garmchashma hot spring.
Day 4: Eshkashem, Tajikistan to Langar
We will drive along the Wakhan corridor. On the way, we will visit Kah-Kaha and Yamchun Fortresses, Further up the hillside are the hot spring at Bibi Fatima: dense and very salty minerals, the water at Bibi Fatima is crystal clear. There are several places of interest to stop. Above the village of Vrang, on a cliffside pitted with caves, stands a Buddhist complex dating from 4th to- 7th centuries. At Yamg , we visit the reconstructed home of Sufi mystic Mubarak Kadam , who died in 1910. Near this house there is stone pillar with a hole in it which he used to calculate a solar calendar.
Day 5: Langar to Bulunkul, Tajikistan
Day 5: Langar – Bulunkul lake (150 km, 4-5 hours, 3800 m) The most beautiful lakes of the Pamirs are Yashil Kul and Bulunkul (Blue lakes), stretched on the altitude of 3 700 meters above sea level, are situated in the Murghab district. Today we will spend a night near them. The color of water in Bulunkul is a subtle inter-play of violet and dark-blue in the sunlight. Species of fish like are found in abundance in the lake. There is the opportunity to see yaks, a unique species of domestic animals, sharing features of cow and sheep, traditionally used as a beast of burden apart from giving milk and meat products. On the way to the lake you will drive over Khargush pass (4 344 m).
Day 6: Bulunkul, Tajikistan to Karakul Lake, Tajikistan
Day 6: Bulunkul – Murgab – Karakul Lake (290 km, 6-7 hours, 3925 m) Right on the highway of the Pamir Tract is situated the light-blue lake of Karakul (3, 815 m), the name of which can be translated as “The Black Lake”. On the way to the lake you will drive over the highest Ak Baital pass (4 655 m). Karakul is the highest large mountain lake of the world, excluding those in Tibet and Titicaca. The lake is situated in a meteorite crater and surrounded by swampy and wet meadows and bogs with a rich flora and fauna and several endemic species. Flooding, melting permafrost and buried ice sheets shape the landscape with small hillocks and a large variety of small creeks and water courses between 3 500 and 4 000 m. The rich plant cover is grazed by wild and domestic ungulates.
Day 7: Karakul Lake, Tajikistan to Khorog, Tajikistan
Day 7: Karakul Lake – Murgab – Khorog (470 km, 7-8 hours, 2200 m) They say in the Pamir: “to arrive here and do not see Murgab is like not visiting the Pamirs at all”. After all, by the Roof of the World, we mean Murgab. In the morning we will drive to this town. On the way you will drive over Naizatash pass (4 137 m). At the flat landscape of desolate Murgab there are dozens of peaks with absolute altitude over 6 000 meters above sea level. Often the landscape of Murghab is compared to the surface of the Moon by visitors, viewing the scene with outsiders’ eyes. Indeed, this comparison speaks to the unrepeatable experience of being in Murghab and the uniqueness of the place. The desolate and high-altitude climate of Murghab is almost Arctic. Dry air, short and cool summers and almost snowless, severe, freezing winters characterize the weather.
Day 8: Khorog, Tajikistan to Kalaikhum, Tajikistan
Day 8: Khorog – Kalai Khum (240 km, 7 hours, 1200 m) The road from Khorog to Kalai Khum is the same as you had before. This area consists of high rocky mountains over 6 000 meters and only 1 road was possible to be built. Passing though the Pamirs, the tourists have the rare opportunity to not only marvel the beauty of virgin environment, but also know more about the ethnography, history and everyday life of mountain dwellers and with this imagine how the history of humanity evolved as in the story of creation. On the way we will stop in small villages to communicate with local people and to see their life. Human settlements are located on both sides of the river in narrow mountain valleys. On the other side of the river you will see Afgan stony villages and gardens.
Day 9: Kalaikhum, Tajikistan to Dushanbe, Tajikistan
Day 9: Kalai Khum – Khoburubot – Dushanbe (290 km, 7 hours, 750 m) In the morning we will drive to Dushanbe via mountain road. You will drive over high Khoburubot Pass (3 252) known as Western Pamir Tract. The road goes through the most picturesque river valley and amazing gorges in the terrain, where one can stop for rest and shoot photos of the mountain and rivers. On the way you will see small villages and meet local people. Tajiks are by nature hard working, hospitable, and kind-hearted. This nation greatly respects its traditions and folklore. This trip is attractive for the lovers of exotics, those curious about the ethnic and cultural diversity and captivated by the beauty of wild nature.
Day 10: Dushanbe, Tajikistan to Dushanbe International Airport, Dushanbe, Tajikistan
In the morning transfer to the airport
What's included
Service includes: - Transport (4x4 SUV) - Half board (all breakfast and dinners) - Accommodation: (except in Dushanbe) Kalai Khum – Home stay Khorog – Home stay Ishkashim – Guesthouse Langar – Home stay Bulunkul – Home stay Karakul – Home stay - Entrances to all museums - Mineral water during the tour - National park entry fee
Service does not include: - Single rooms - English speaking guide - Visa & GBAO permit
What to know
This tour can be customized. Please get in touch with me.
Route & locations
Dushanbe, Tajikistan to Kalaikhum, Tajikistan