Hi everyone,
this april (late) im looking at crossing from tajikistan into afghan to the Wakhan Valley for some trekking for maybe a week or so.
my plan was to cross from tajikistan into Afghan at Ishkashim. Hitch for a day to Sarhad-e-Broghil. Grab a donkey + guide from there and trek for a few days into the little Pamir.
looking for a travel buddy if someone's up for some adventure.
if anyone's got any advice it'd be more than welcome :)
cheers timmy
Sounds tempting. Do you know how one goes about getting the visas and permits? Presumably it is essential to have a double entry Tajik visa and a double use Gorno Badakhshan permit? - or is there a special way around that?
Cheers
Mark
I am currently in Kabul and just came from Ishkashim.
Misc:
So from Khorog a shared taxi is easy to find to Ishkashim. I think I paid 40 somoni because the car wasn't full. Ask to be dropped off at the border and be aware that cars aren't allowed to pass.
I crossed into Afghanistan and one of the guards offered to "help us out" by calling us a taxi. It is just a few KMs into town but the taxis extort you. They tried charging 20$ for the 8km round trip ride. The "Wakhan Valley tourist association" has an over inflated price list for everything and charges 15$. I paid 10$.
The taxis in town are crooked and went on about how it is "10$ into town and another 10$ to guest house". I should have just walked it but my friend was exhausted.
The Aria guest house in Ishkashim is closed. Your two options to sleep is the "hotel" in the center which is a restaurant and a few curtains or Juma/Marco Polo guest house. They tried to charge us 30$ a person with meals. I paid 12$.
IMPORTANT. If you plan to see anymore of Afghanistan other than the Wakhan valley than do not enter from the Ishkashim border. I told the embassy in Khorog that I wanted to go to Faizabad-Mazar. She assured me that Ishkashim was the best route. The road to Faizabad/only road out of Ishkashim into the rest of Afghanistan is closed due to Taliban fighting in Vurduj (sp?). Me and my travel partner had to hire a guide, car, and hike through a snowy pass for 10 hours to get around.
I mean to do a write up of my last few weeks in Afghanistan eventually.