3 Stans In 10 Days - Central Asia Tour

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Afghan border, Pamir Highway, Wakhan Corridor, Day trip to Afghanistan, Ak-Baital Pass (4655m)

$1061

per person

Tajikistan Afganistan

3 Stans In 10 Days - Central Asia Tour

Day 1

Dushanbe – Norak – Kalai Khum

Today we will drive to Kalai Khum village. You will see the Norak water reservoir that is called Tajik Sea. The highest point of the day is Shuraba pass (2 267 m) and after a drive along Afghanistan border starts. This part will amaze you by its unique mountains – it is already Territory of Pamir Mountains. Over the centuries, the Pamirs have inspired the world’s greatest explorers –, Hsuan Tsang, Muhammad Haidar. And now you also have a chance to travel here. You will drive along the natural border – 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.

Kalai Khum – Rushan

Day 2

In the morning we will drive to Rushan. 10 km from Kalai - Khum we will drive up to the ancient fortress. This fortress was built in 3 century and in 2013 got restoration. After sightseeing, we will keep the drive to Rushan. On the way, we will see a lot of afghan villages and risky path on the rocks from the left side of Panj river. Overnight is in a homestay.

Day 3

Rushan – Bartang Valley

Today we will drive to Bartang valley. The Bartang Valley is one of the wildest and most memorable valleys in the western Pamirs. Even the Pamiri themselves consider the Bartang valley as the maybe most prototypical region of their homeland. On the one hand most of the Non-Bartangi view their compatriots, especially those from Upper Bartang, with reverent respect due to their harsh living conditions, which do not seem to have anything in common with those in the provincial capital Khorog. On the other hand, they are fascinated in the face of the age-old traditions that are still alive in this particularly remote region. We will trek to Jizew valley to feel the real life in the mountains. In the morning we will continue our hiking in the main valley will back to homestay. Overnight with locals.

Jizew - Rushan – Khorog

Day 4

We will leave early morning to arrange visas for Afghanistan in Khorog. 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 the human population after the Himalayas in Tibet. Life in the mountains made traditions of local people different from Tajik people. The night is in a guesthouse.

Day 5

Khorog – Sultoni Iskashim

Today you will have a day trip to Afghanistan. We leave Khorog in the morning and seeing Afghanistan on the right side of the route we will continue to the cross border point in Ishkashim. Then we cross to Afghanistan through the bridge on the Panj River in Ishkashim. Our afghan guide will meet you on the border and accompany to Sultani Ishkashim. After arranging the Wakhan Permit you will have lunch. Our guide will show you the traditional houses of afghan local people. Today you will see their way of life and how they are living in the mountain areas. Overnight is in a homestay.

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.

Bulunkul – Murgab

Day 8

Day 9

Murgab – Karakul Lake

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. Dinner and night is in a home stay.

Drive towards the Wakhan corridor. On the road, we will visit Kah-Kaa 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 cliff-side pitted with caves, stands a Buddhist complex dating from 4th- 7th centuries. At Yamg , we visit the reconstructed home of Sufi mystic Mubarak Kadam , who died in 1910. Near this house, there is a stone pillar with a hole in it which he used to calculate a solar calendar. In the cool of the morning, we climb up above Langar village to see petroglyphs. Overnight in homestay.

: Sultoni Ishkashim Yamg Langar

Day 6

Day 7

Langar – Bulunkul lake

Today we will drive to Kyrgy border and then to Osh city. The road will go along amazing mountains and high passes. On the way you will drive over a high mountain pass – Taldik. It is 3 615 meters high! You will never forget the amazing views of the road and mountains around it. With 93% of mountains in Kyrgyzstan, nomadic life in remote places – our country is a real paradise for people that are in love with mountains and unusual cultures. The route takes you along roads that wind along incredible gorges. During the day be prepared for amazing views of the impressive mountains and gorges. Night is in a hotel.

Karakul Lake – Osh

Day 10

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 colour 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). Dinner and night are in a homestay.