Museum of Archaeology & Fortifications
Tajikistan
The reconstructed eastern gate houses the Museum of Archaeology & Fortifications, which has some interesting 19th-century photos and plans of the original…
Must-see attractions in Tajikistan
Dushanbe
Close to Dushanbe, this 30m-high, single-drop waterfall is one of the most striking in the Varzob Valley. A walking route (8km, two to three hours) leads…
Tajikistan
The vast and colourful central bazaar is a town unto itself. A three-storey, triple arched building indicates the main hub but stalls selling everything…
Tajikistan
Tucked behind the site of a giant new mosque, the 1910 Hauz-i-Sangin Mosque has fine ceiling paintings and a dry octagonal hauz (pool) flanked by…
The Pamir Highway
The road from the Wakhan Valley rejoins the Pamir Hwy via the beautiful Hargus Pass. At 4344m and the highest of the three passes around Alichur, it is…
The Pamir Highway
Much bigger but arguably less photogenic than neighbouring Balun-Kul, 3734m Yashil-Kul (Яшилькуль) means 'green lake'. This is surprising because it is in…
Tajikistan
Southeast of Kurgonteppa is 7th- to 8th-century Ajina Teppe, where in 1966 archaeologists unearthed a stupa, monastery and Central Asia’s largest…
The Pamir Highway
The potholed Koi-Tezek Pass (4272m) leads into lunar-like, high-altitude desert scenery to the east, framed by a series of snowy if relatively…
The Pamir Highway
At 4314m, this pass is the gateway to Murgab and the eastern Pamirs. It has a wild and eerie beauty to it and superlative views in every direction.
Tajikistan
This important shrine complex marks the spot where the remains of the great Persian poet Rudaki (858–941) were found in 1958. The modern complex, built in…
The Pamir Highway
For those who haven't had enough of long uncomfortable journeys on washboard surfaces, then a half-day excursion to Rang-Kul (and neighbouring Shor-Kul),…
Tajikistan
By some accounts, Mazor-i Sharif (meaning 'noble shrine') marks the ancient last resting place of an 8th-century missionary from Basra, Mohammad Bashoro…
The Pamir Highway
This ancient photogenic Chinese tomb features in local tourist literature but it is worth a visit not so much for the unremarkable building as the…
The Pamir Highway
This fascinating Soviet-style old-school museum exhibits crampons and the first Russian piano to arrive in Badakhshan (10 Russian soldiers spent two…
Tajikistan
This religious complex comprises the 1394 brick mausoleum of Sheikh Massal ad-Din (1133–1223), covered porticoes with carved wooden pillars, a 20th…
Dushanbe
This vast festival of modern architecture, based on traditional architectural design and encompassing some exquisite national motifs, is used for the…
Mir Sayid Ali Hamadani Mausoleum
The Pamir Highway
This mausoleum is the burial site of a much revered 14th-century polymath, Mir Sayid Ali Hamadani. Decorated with a golden dome and meticulous brickwork,…
Tajikistan
Beside the main road in Namadgut village, this crumbling ruin commands a view of the Pyanj from two riverside knolls. The oldest sections date to the 3rd…
Dushanbe
The extensive Botanical Gardens, with its Persepolis-inspired gateway, is home to a fine collection of mature deciduous trees (labelled in Latin) and…
The Pamir Highway
In the village of Sezhd (Km71), a tough, easily missed 4WD track spirals up and over a dusty ridge finally petering out after 6km in the green, very…
Dushanbe
This attractive Soviet-style building with a courtyard of fountains is closed to visitors but makes a useful reference point for navigating in the centre…
The Pamir Highway
As the road doubles back beside a small mountain stream there are brief but impressive glimpses of two iconic peaks. At over 6000m a piece, Engels (6510m)…
Tajikistan
Around 10km from Langar, on a promontory fortified for at least 2300 years, these minimal castle ruins are signposted off the main Wakhan road. A path of…
Tajikistan
On cold Friday lunchtimes, dozens of older men with flowing white beards, turbans, upturned boots and swishing purple/green iridescent joma robes make…
Tajikistan
A 22m-tall statue of Lenin was moved here from Moscow in 1974 when Khojand was called Leninabad. In 2011 Vlad was quietly removed from his central plinth…
Tajikistan
At Zong, 5km west of Langar, this fortress was built to guard a branch of the Silk Road from Chinese and Afghan invaders. The fortress ruins, while not…
Tajikistan
Making a striking contrast to the more usual choice of public monuments celebrating Somoni, Rudaki or Lenin, this sculpture in the centre of the…
Dushanbe
Language classes available in Russian and Persian are available at this cultural centre, together with concerts, art exhibitions and a showroom of…
Tajikistan
Unesco-listed Sarazm is a 5500-year-old site 15km west of Penjikent. One of the oldest city-sites in Central Asia, finds here include a fire temple and…
The Pamir Highway
This impressive canyon can be glimpsed from the roadside but it's best getting out of the vehicle to appreciate it properly. A 30-second walk from the…
The Pamir Highway
The M41, with its scraps of pavement barely clinging to the surface, broadens out just northwest of Rushan and the view across to Afghanistan becomes less…
The Pamir Highway
On Friday the menfolk of the town walk down to this attractive old mosque, on the edge of the flood plain below town. It makes for a pleasant stroll and…
Tajikistan
The ancient site of Kobadiyan (7th to 2nd centuries BC) in southern Tajikistan is famed for the nearby discovery in 1877 of the Oxus Treasure, a stunning…
Dushanbe
This grand modern building, dubbed locally as the White House, is the official seat of the president of Tajikistan. Although closed to the public, its…
Dushanbe
This small lake in the middle of the Varzob Valley is a half-hour drive (30km) north of Dushanbe. The whole river valley is dotted with chaikhanas and…
The Pamir Highway
Most active in the mornings, in common with most regional bazaars, this teeming market by the river overflows into stalls shaded by colourful umbrellas…
Tajikistan
Modern-day poet Loik Sherali was born in Mazari Sharif near Penjikent in 1941. He earned the title 'People's Poet of Tajikistan' and when he died in 2000…
Tajikistan
The Sogdian site of Bunjikath, near Shakhristan, was the 8th-century capital of the kingdom of Ushrushana. It is noteworthy for a famous Sogdian mural…
Dushanbe
Tajikistan’s Persian past is invoked in the facade of the Writers’ Union Building. Adorned with sculpted-stone figures of Sadruddin Ayni, Omar Khayam,…
Tajikistan
This 16th-century place of worship was built by an Uzbeki khan. A portion of the understated mosque was destroyed in a flood in 1836; another portion has…
