TIME TO CHECK OUT TAJIKISTAN
AS THEY TRAVERSED THE PAMIR MOUNTAIN RANGE THROUGH TAJIKISTAN KIWI OVERLANDER AARON RICH AND HIS FAMILY SPENT SEVERAL DAYS AT DIZZYINGLY HIGH (+3000M) ALTITUDES – BUT LIVED TO TELL THE TALE!
The Pamir Mountains include peaks around 7,500 metres, with the road we drove going as high as 4,655 metres (nearly one kilometre higher than the peak of Mt Cook!). This 2,000 year-old route taught us valuable new lessons as overland travellers... including one learned the hard way!
Most overland travellers would pick just one route through the Pamirs, however I was eager to explore this fascinating region more thoroughly than that. Most go via the not to be missed Wakhan Valley, while others remain on the Pamir Highway, but it seems few even know a middle route exists – we explored them all, as well as two stunning side valleys.
Setting off from Kyrgyzstan’s interesting little city of Osh (963 metres), we gradually ascended
“EVEN JUST WITHIN TAJIKISTAN’S PAMIRS LIFE IS VERY DIFFERENT AT BETWEEN 2,000 AND 3,000 METRES ELEVATION VS 3,000 TO 4,000 PLUS METRES.”
from the lovely warm climate prevailing there, to a far more bitter one in Sary-Tash (3,178 metres).
As I look back through the images we’ve collected from Kyrgyzstan – and now Tajikistan too – I note a number of them look as if they come from different seasons through the year, whereas in fact it’s all just down to the drastic changes in elevation possible in these countries.
Even just within Tajikistan’s Pamirs life is very different at between 2,000 and 3,000 metres elevation vs 3,000 to 4,000 plus metres.
Believe it or not we were perfectly cosy on our first night along this route, camped just outside Sary-Tash in the snow. But only because my diesel-electric tent heater worked through the night and didn’t first fail until the morning, just as we were about to pack up (see the sidebar article
“IN TAJIKISTAN WAS THE TINY VILLAGE OF KARAKUL; DESCRIBED BY LONELY PLANET AS LOOKING AS IF IT HAS WEATHERED ONE TOO MANY STORMS.”
for an explanation as to why the heater kept failing in the Pamirs).
Feeling anxious about heading above 4,000 metres into the snowy mountains without a working tent heater, I changed priorities and set about repairing and testing it in a bitterly cold wind, while Sylwia cooked lunch, and the kids wisely stayed in the Pajero. With the heater fixed, though me not yet aware that the high altitude would only see it fail again in short order, we finally began our ascent out of Sary-Tash late in the afternoon
– not ideal and we briefly considered delaying the border crossing to the next day, but carried on.
The friendly Kyrgyz border guards seemed in high spirits as we exited Kyrgyzstan and were eager to know what I thought of their country; it seemed important to them that I considered it better than Kazakhstan. It’s odd how it eventually becomes fairly normal to be making conversation with heavily armed soldiers at these remote military controlled border checkpoints.
Once through the Kyrgyzstan checkpoint we were immediately out into the ‘no-man’s land’ that exists between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. To reach the Tajikistan border checkpoint, situated at a lofty 4,282 metres, we needed to ascend a lonely, slippery, mud and snow road.
WELCOME TO TAJIKISTAN!
With light falling we reached the remote border checkpoint controlled by Tajikistan’s military, situated all alone on a snowy mountain pass at 4,282 metres. The only large building initially visible through the barbed wire was derelict with broken windows, though after a short while soldiers emerged from a tiny station to open the gate and usher us in. Processing took place at three rough and ready stations within the compound, continuing until after dark. The third and final station was fake – my thorough research prior to undertaking this route had made me aware that this border checkpoint had earned its reputation as the most corrupt in all of Central Asia. But merely knowing this didn’t prepare me for how to handle a confrontation with border guards eager to extort money for fake taxes – in my case a ‘vehicle disinfection fee’. The solution turned out to be much simpler than expected, but only because we were fortunate to find the exit from the compound unguarded.
“TO REACH THE TAJIKISTAN BORDER CHECKPOINT, SITUATED AT A LOFTY 4,282 METRES, WE NEEDED TO ASCEND A LONELY, SLIPPERY, MUD AND SNOW ROAD.”
When presented with an invoice that I knew to be fake, and after attempting to convey that I knew I didn’t need to pay this particular tax, I changed tactic and indicated I would need to go out to the car. The family were already in the car and I’m sure the guards presumed I was going out there to get money, but instead I jumped in, turned the key and we departed. This would sound considerably more ‘James Bond’ like if I permitted you to form the impression we sped away, wheels spinning in the snow...!
However, given the effects of high altitude (see the sidebar article) on the Pajero’s engine performance, it would be more accurate to say that we slowly chugged away in a puff of black smoke.
Damn, why do I have to be so honest about it? I should have left it at the ‘James Bond’ style impression, maybe even have dressed it up further and claimed to have run to my car and slid across the bonnet to shave off the precious two seconds it would have taken to walk around to my door. You might have seen through that one – the bonnet is quite high.
Regardless, the key point is that we ignored the border guards yelling and whistling as we escaped ‘extortion-free’ into a dark and snowy night.
CAMP AT LAKE KARAKUL
And so, another border within Central Asia successfully navigated! On a more serious note, however I only got away with this due to the generally sloppy and corrupt manner in which this border checkpoint is run.
At most of the borders we’ve crossed on our 5GoOverland journey I would never have dared to dare defy strict instructions given by no-nonsense soldiers toting serious automatic weapons.
We drove out of the snow while descending to 3,900 metres and made camp on the shores of Lake Karakul. It was minus five degrees Celsius as I set up the tent, and though it was apparent the tent fabric was frozen and ‘crispy’, it didn’t feel too bitter in the perfectly still air. But mostly I was braving the cold, safe in the knowledge that as soon as the tent was up the heater would be switched on. It was, and it allowed us a warm dinner in the tent before failing again not long after we’d gone to bed.
We quickly put on all our jackets and returned to our sleeping bags. Though it was obviously very cold the next morning, we were pleasantly surprised by just how strong the October sun still was up there and the day warmed up reasonably quickly.
After packing up camp the first settlement we passed through in Tajikistan was the tiny village of Karakul; described by Lonely Planet as looking as if it has weathered one too many storms. The remainder of this day’s drive took in some stunning high-altitude scenery and included driving the highest pass in the Pamirs – the Ak Baital (4,655m) - which I had not expected to find virtually snow-free as late as October.
ARRIVING INTO MURGHAB
There’s only one seemingly quirky hotel in the settlement of Murghab (3,618m) and we quite liked the idea of staying there for an experience, but were to discover it had closed for the season at the end of September. We decided to try a nearby homestay and it turned out to be a great experience. Our accommodation was heated in the traditional way up here, being a dried cattle dung fired stove. Water for our shower was warmed up via the same means, and I’ve no doubt