Pamir Tajikistan Expedition

21 days - from $5795

Jaw-dropping landscapes, antique hamlets and one of the world’s greatest road trips – travel through a rare and rarely visited realm for the adventure of a lifetime

This one-off Expedition provides an unparallelled opportunity to explore the spectacular mountain ranges shared between Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. Exploratory in nature, there is a degree of flexibility in the itinerary so we can take advantage of opportunities that present themselves along the way. You are accompanied by leaders with many years' experience in this little-known and remote region, ensuring that this is truly a unique opportunity for the well-travelled adventurer!

Incorporating some of the most spectacular mountain passes and ancient cities of the Silk Road, our journey takes us through culturally rich and ethnically diverse areas that rarely see foreign travellers and have little tourist infrastructure. We drive from cosmopolitan Tashkent to Dushanbe - a national capital more on the scale of a rural centre - before several days of travel skirting Afghanistan's northern border. Far above the river valleys the road winds with kilometre after kilometre of stunning mountain landscape broken by tiny villages that seem to be cast back in time. We journey to the remote Gorno-Badakshan Autonomous Oblast (GBAO) of Tajikistan, a region better known for the colourful 'Great Game' events that took place here in the late 19th Century. Traversing the full length of the Pamir Highway from Khorog to Osh, our route incorporates rugged roads and stark yet beautiful high-altitude desert plateaux, each day revealing a new and more beautiful aspect to little-known Tajikistan. Finally we cross one of the world's most remote and desolate borders into Kyrgyzstan, overnighting in yurts at the very crossroads of the Silk Road at Sary Tash, a caravanserai that has served weary travellers for many centuries. Combining breathtaking landscapes with glimpses of a centuries-old way of life, this Expedition will amply reward the traveller who is willing venture to what locals call 'Bom-i-Dunyo' - the Roof of the World

Highlights

• Khorog's bazaar and Botanical Gardens
• 18th Century Hissor fort and its two madrassa
• Bazaar bargaining in ancient Osh
• 4th Century sulphur-infused Buddhist stupas at Vrang
• Dushanbe to Kalaikhumb - the relics of Tajikistan’s civil war
• Istaravshan's blue-domed mosque and madrassah complex of Kok-Gumbaz
• Lunar Ak-Baital Pass (4655m) and Karakul Lake - the highest lake in Central Asia
• The silk artisans and colourful bazaars of Fergana Valley
• Penjikent - the ancient ruins of a 5th Century Sogdian settlement
• Pamir Highway - the world's second highest international road
• The 14 metre reclining Buddha and diverse pre-Islamic cultural heritage of Dushanbe's Museum of National Antiquities
• The petroglyphs at Ak-Jilga
• Chorsu Bazaar of Tashkent - one of the largest and oldest farmers' markets in Central Asia

Itinerary:

Day 1: Arrive Tashkent2: Tashkent3: Tashkent to Istaravshan4-5: Istaravshan to Dushanbe6-7: Dushanbe8: Dushanbe to Kala-i Khum9-10: Kala-i Khum to Khorog11: Khorog to Ishkashim12: Ishkashim to Langar13-15: Langar to Murghab16: Murghab to Sary Tash17: Sary Tash to Osh18: Osh to Fergana19: Fergana Valley20: Fergana to Tashkent21: End in Tashkent
Included:

Local tour leader, local guides, arrival transfer, transport, sightseeing and entrance fees.

Departure taxes, departure transfer, visas, Pamir region permits, insurance, other meals, drinks, optional additional tours or activities during free time, tips and items of a personal nature, sleeping sheet (optional).

Travellers should be prepared for rough driving surfaces and basic conditions in Tajikistan.