Destination Tajikistan – Country Rating

Executive Summary: Tajikistan is a diamond in the rough. Located in the center of Central Asia, it is a country not often spoken about but its granduer and beauty warrant the worlds attention. The country is not easily accessible, in fact it should probably stay out of your imagination for anything shorter than a two week trip due to its lengthy travel times in country, however if you’ve got the time it’s a paradise for adventure lovers. Hiking, camping, cyclists, motorbikes, and backpackers will love the geography of the region. It is more drastic and jaw dropping than its mountaineous neighbor Kyrgyzstan and sees less tourism. A shortcoming is the less visible history than its other neighbor Uzbekistan. Similiarly to both, the food scene is rather bland and foodies should look elsewhere. But! It’s got some of the worlds most scenic routes (choose your own adventure car, cycle, or motorbike) in the Pamirs with trekking galore. Click here for the how to guide to access Afghanistan, highly recommended if you find yourself in Tajikistan and the thirst for adventure.

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Full analysis: Tajikistan is stunning, a highlight of Central Asia for those looking for adventure or appreciate Earth. You don’t need to be an avid adventurer, but enjoying nature is a prerequisite. You can rent/book everything you’ll need there so it’s accessible for newcomers, though experts will want to bring their own gear for trekking; or enjoy it from a window seat during the long drives from town to town. An average day can be explained relatively easy, wake up, trek/drive in very dramatic scenery, eat with guesthouse family, sleep. Of course a couple rest days will exist but the barren (sometimes unlivable) landscape cuts down on unpredictability or the need to take detours once in a new location. Many of the travelers in this region are cyclists conquering the silk road or groups touring the Pamirs in the standardized eight day tour so it’s unlikely to have the madness of South East Asia. Planning ahead is easy. The two mountain ranges to note in this country are the Fann mountains and the Pamirs. The Fanns are stunning but the Pamirs are the main draw. The Pamir-route starts in Dushanbe and goes to Osh, Kyrgyzstan taking people on average of 8-10 days with three separate routes in the middle. Commonly people group up at one end or the other to book a private driver for roughly 1200 USD total though don’t let that discourage you from using public transit for solo travelers – it’s doable and easy, not to mention cheaper.

Thing	Scale (0 = bad, 10 = Great)
Beaches	3
Geography	10
Architecture	4
Locals	9
Weather	7
Food/Drink	4
Travel Infrastructure	4
Parties	2
Chill out	5
History	5
Culture Uniqueness	8

Overall: 5.5

Beaches – Most the lakeside experience is alpine lakes so you want be sun bathing much here. However there are some very sandy beaches on the river banks so throw your microfiber travel towel down and soak it up. Everything is beautiful none-the-less.

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Geography – Fantastic 10/10 here. It is hard to find the words to accurately describe the terrain. The mountains are some of the highest in the world and some of the most beautiful. The drives from town to town are amazing, the geography often makes it difficult to get from point A to point B but that is half the fun of it. The Fan mountains of the western region are frequently missed due to the popularity of the eastern Pamirs. A quick stop in Iskanderkul is advisable to get a taste but hiking The Seven Lakes is great as well. Doing the Dushanbe-to-Osh Pamir drive, as is previously mentioned the main event. It’ll cost little over a $1000 total for a car of four people and the average trip length is over a week. The scenery is great and you can do as much or as little hiking as you prefer. In the middle the road forks into three different routes, pick one semi-carefully, or loop back and do more, whatever floats your boat). The northern Bartang (requires special permit) is chosen by those really wanting reprieve from civilization, easily achieved in any of the three routes but most so here and people like to go to places requiring special permits. The middle fork, the regions namesake – The Pamir Highway is chosen when time is of the essense as its the most well traveled though has the least reason to visit it. The southern route, a very popular route, the Wahkan by those who want a little taste of culture and civilization though as mentioned the whole of the Pamirs is not overpopulated in the slightest. The Wahkan is a popular destination because it has very friendly people, some historical ruins, some great hiking, and the Wahki tribe is a little less touched with technological develops of the modern era. Also you can see into Afghanistan, actually you can go into it..click here for a guide on how to do it.

Architecture – Not much here although the towns can be fun to photograph, whether climbing up to a high valley wall or having some fun with the high alpine apocalyptic-like towns. It won’t be the most memorable part of your trip but it’s an enjoyable activity to break up the trekking.

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Locals – Great! And surprisingly they speak English well in the GBAO, while in Dushanbe less so. In the GBAO autonomous region aka The Pamirs, considerable development efforts have been made by international organizations thus English has been installed into the region. You’ll find it quite easy to order and get around in Khorog (The Pamir Capital) and the local Ishmaili religion is extremely tolerant and inviting. You can anticipate getting invited into local homes and being chatted to on transports or in restaurants. In fact the friendliness of the locals is a big draw for those wanting a cultural impersive experience versus looking on from the outside.

Weather – The summer months are best, of course, but trekking in the spring and late fall will bring less people and unique scenery that most others don’t see. The deep winter months can bring about delays as much of the country is at high elevation. Travel in the Pamirs is generally discouraged at this time but who is to say that wouldn’t be an interesting time? Just leave the bike at home, maybe.

Food/Drink – Plov, potatoes, shashlik. It’s good and gets the job done but not something you’ll be craving at home. The popular drink of choice is tea so learn to love it. Tea with bread might replace any “regular” meal when you are deep in the bush and instant coffee is a delicacy when you find it, though Khorog and Dushanbe will have Espresso. Travelers flock to the pizza and Indian in Khorog as well after a week of Pamir diet but exercise some caution in the GBAO, meat might not be fresh and stomach bugs are common though getting out scott-free while eating everything is possible.

Travel Infrastructure: Easy but uncomfortable to sum it up and rather long. The predictability of transport is pretty good considering the roads are less good. You can usually get location to location with public transport though hitchhiking is common-place too. The roads can be bumpy so do your best to avoid the very back seat in SUV and 4WD vehicles, they tend to be hard on your body when your head smashes the roof. Bring books or things to keep your mind occupied in the car, there will be some long rides.

Another knock here is getting in and out of Tajikistan. Dushanbe has more expensive flights than other capitals in the region and to see much of the country, you end up in Kyrgyzstan, Osh to be precise. Nothing inherently wrong with that and Osh is well connected with Bishkek by flights which is a cheap hub, but you now find yourself in another country with opportunities afoot. Because of Tajikistan’s difficulty get in and out its usually strung together in a broader Central Asia trip. Wouldn’t be surprised to see this change in the future though.

Parties – Mostly Muslim population so partying is rare. Dushanbe has nightclubs.

Chill out – Not a place for relaxation everyday of the week but there are hot springs in the Pamirs that can provide a restful day. Much of the popular activities are more arduous however so apart from chilling out after a day of hiking with some chai, you won’t find much.

History – You’ve got history from petroglyphs to The Silk Road to Soviet-era-stuff to post-colonized conflict and a new nation that is interesting to compare to its neighbors. Though in historical sightseeing, you are better off finding else where to go, probably uzbekistan. There are ruins in the Pamirs but those are mostly cobbled down rocks at this point.

Cultural Uniqueness – There are varied and unique tribes/traditions in the Pamirs, especially in the Wahkan. Venturing into the different valleys and towns will feel like you have stumbled somewhere that was left behind by time, especially in Afghanistan. Khorog has an Ishmili Center that can give a closer look at the popular religion of the area; a religion that is not well covered by western media. The Western part of the country is dominated by Kyrgyz, which is to say it isn’t unique to Tajikistan but is still something worth experiencing. The eastern is more wealthy and I’ll say it, less interesting because of it. Dushanbe has that Soviet feel to it that is common in large Central Asian cities, interesting to some though for most travelers it serves at the starting/ending point of the Pamir Highway.

Pro Tips:

• Careful of time in the far western parts like Murghab. Though the city is the country of Tajikistan which all operates on one timezone, it is in the culture sphere of the Kyrgyz. Kyrgyzstan is an hour ahead so double check when planning if the operator is working off Tajik or Kyrgyz time.
• If you are going it alone, the big cities to be aware of in the Pamirs that are easy to get to via Public Transport are: Dushanbe – Khorog – Murghab – Osh. The a-little-less-well-connected-but-still-easy are Karakul and Sary-Tash (typically what is done here is you pay for the whole fair Murghab to Osh but you get in or out of the shared taxi early/late, guesthouses can call ahead to reserve spots and it’s still cheaper than hiring a private driver. While the Wahkan Valley is easily connected to Khorog with the big stops being Ishkashim, Vrang, Langer, the Langer to Alichur/Murghab section can be less easy, though plenty of people accomplish it with hitchhiking.
• Hostels are popular in Dushanbe and Khorog. But guesthouses are the hit ticket everywhere else. The nice part is you’ll get quotes, say $15, but that includes breakfast and dinner and you’ll probably get bread and tea for lunch if needed. Don’t worry the locals like feeding you and housing you (for a couple bucks but free is not unheard of) so venturing into the bush, you’ll probably be okay.
• Be aware of guesthouses, especially the ever popular Pamir Lodge in Khorog, pushing guides on you. He gets kickbacks and others do too, everything can be done without a guide and a private driver if that fits your fancy.
• Looking for something a bit more epic – Cycle the Pamirs (you’ll meet people going Europe to SE Asia) or motorbike it. Either way bring a tent, camping in some pretty epic terrain is awesome.
• When taking public transport ask what the price should be between two locations. You might get up-charged if you don’t.
• I would love to be more help here but Caravanistan.com is great for this region. They can help with nitty gritty details. Plus other travel blogs find it hard to keep up with the areas changing tourist narrative. For example the Visa is no longer a difficult bureaucratic process, as things have been revamped in recent years.
• Hunters can hunt some big game here.
• Heres another view of Iskanderkul: