The Pamir Highway
Destroyed by the Mongols, the sparse remnants of this fortified palace have been undergoing excavation since 1951 and now a fine reconstruction of the…
Must-see attractions in The Pamir Highway
The Pamir Highway
Mirrorlike lake Bulun-Kul (3737m) looks magnificent in the morning light, reflecting the mineral streaks of a low, multicoloured ridge opposite. The water…
The Pamir Highway
With any luck, there will be enough light left in the day after any delays crossing the Shurabad Pass to enjoy the first glimpse of the raging Pyanj River…
The Pamir Highway
It’s hard to believe that Khorog’s Central Park was dug up to grow crops during the famine of the 1990s. It has since been renovated by the Aga Khan Trust…
The Pamir Highway
Perhaps the most appealing stretch of the A385 is between Rogak and Khostov (after the popular Yakhchi Hisor roadside springs). From this vantage point it…
The Pamir Highway
Soviet archaeologists apparently took shelter in the caves at Shakty (Шахты; 4200m) during a storm one night in 1958, only to awake the next morning to…
The Pamir Highway
At the entrance to the Shokh Dara Valley, 5km east of town, this arboretum encompasses a couple of hundred hectares of parkland and is claimed to be the…
The Pamir Highway
Set within a traditional walled enclosure and now protected within an octagonal cover added in the 1990s, this is one of several authentic ancient Ismaili…
The Pamir Highway
Although salty, lake Kara-Kul is frozen and snow-covered until May but throughout the summer this huge lake is transformed into a beautiful, sky-blue…
The Pamir Highway
One of the most dramatic of the many high passes in the Pamirs, Ak-Baital Pass at 4655m is one of the highest passes along the whole of the Pamir Hwy…
The Pamir Highway
Some 5km west of Khorog, a bridge linking Afghanistan with Tajikistan crosses the river at the point where the Gunt merges with the Pyanj. Every Saturday…
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…
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.
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),…
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…
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,…
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…
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)…
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…
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…
The Pamir Highway
At the head of the Ak-Suu Valley, there are a collection of interesting beehive-shaped tombs at Konye Kurgan. Just 7km east of Murgab, they make an…
The Pamir Highway
A 1928 truck on a plinth just below the hydroelectric dam at the eastern end of Lenin, commemorates the opening of the Pamir Hwy to Osh after over 20…
The Pamir Highway
The minimal ruins of this old 'red fort' has lent its name to the valley's main town. The town has a small bazaar and a fine location at the base of a…
The Pamir Highway
These springs lie alongside the Pamir Hwy in Jelondy. A Soviet-era hotel offers basic accommodation and a spa of sorts.
The Pamir Highway
This 8th-century Shashbuvad Fort is easily missed as it resembles an unfinished local house but it makes a necessary leg-stretch on this long and rough…