Khorog

Introducing Khorog

A small mountain-valley town, Khorog is the capital of the autonomous Gorno-Badakhshan (GBAO) region. It is strung out on either side of the dashing Gunt River and penned in by dry, vertical peaks. A few kilometres downstream, the Gunt merges with the Pyanj, marking the border with Afghanistan.

Until the late 19th century, present-day Khorog was a tiny settlement that loosely belonged to the domain of local chieftains, the Afghan Shah or the Emir of Bukhara. Russia installed a small garrison here following the Anglo–Russian–Afghan Border Treaty of 1896, which delineated the current northern border of Afghanistan on the Pyanj River. Khorog was made the administrative centre of GBAO in 1925.

Khorog suffered badly in the wake of independence (at the depths of the economic crisis money disappeared altogether, replaced by barter) but things have picked up in recent years. In 2003 the Aga Khan pledged US$200 million to establish one of the three campuses of the University of Central Asia in Khorog’s eastern suburbs. Khorog has one of the brightest and best educated populations of any town in Central Asia.

The town park, dug up to grow crops during the famine of the 1990s, is being renovated by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture.

Note that the town largely closes down on Sunday, when open restaurants and transport can be hard to find.

Last updated: Mar 24, 2009