Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Finding a ride
Most agencies in Murgab and
Khorog plus many in Osh, Bishkek and Dush-
anbe can find you a vehicle. Prices, but also
standards, will tend to be higher than arrang-
ing in situ. Hamsafar (p323) in Dushanbe, and
PECTA (p346) in Khorog, are good at finding
cars at reasonably short notice. TIC (p354) in
Murgab has a list of local drivers, and all can
help pair travellers to cut costs. The other
option is to visit the standard taxi stand for the
basic route you want to travel, then negotiate
with a driver for a full-car hire. language is the
obvious barrier here, especially if you want to
make side trips or make long stops.
Petrol
Finding petrol can be a problem in the
Pamirs. A trip into the more remote corners of
the region generally involves at least one dash
around town to find a obliging local with a jerry
can of diluted fuel and a bucket.
Dushanbe to Khorog
The spectacular Dushanbe-Khorog flight
is worth considering if you can somehow
get a seat. Otherwise there's a choice from
Dushanbe of two main road routes con-
verging at Kalai-Khum, both part asphalt,
part bone-cruncher. Most traffic (100% in
winter) uses the southern route through
harsh heat-baked hills to Kulob (Kulyab),
then along a fascinating Afghanistan bor-
derside road.
An alternative Northern Route starts out
along the main road to Garm then swerves
south at Labi Jar to Tavildara crossing the
3252m Sagirdasht Pass, which is snow-
bound much of the year and typically closed
KEY¨TIPS¨FOR¨TRAVELLING¨IN¨THE¨PAMIRS
Permits¨&¨Maps
¨
You must have a
GBAO¨permit
to travel in the Pamirs (see p366). It should list each
of the districts: Ishkashim, Murgab, Vanj, Darvaz, Shugnan, Rushan and Roshtqala
(most do automatically, but double check). If you extend your visa, you must extend the
GBAO permit also to remain in the region.
¨
Additional¨permits
are required for Zor-Kul lake, the Tajik National Park or Lake
Sarez.
¨
Buy Marcus Hauser's indispensible 1:500,000
Pamirs¨Map
. It's packed with icon-
based information including sights and homestays. Sold at Murgab's TIC (p354),
Dushanbe's East Vision (p323), Yak Tours (p264) in Karakol, Kyrgyzstan or via www.
geckomaps.com. A fundamentally similar
Pamir¨Tourist¨Map
costs 60TJS from
PECTA (p346).
What¨to¨Pack
¨
Sunglasses and sunscreen
¨
Torch (flashlight)
¨
Plenty of cash in both US$ and somani.
¨
Warm clothing: a fleece and windproof shell should generally suffice in midsummer.
¨
Sleeping bag and tent are sensible precautions if you're hitch-hiking.
¨
Mosquito repellant in summer.
¨
Spare batteries: Khorog, western Pamir and Wakhan villages have mains electricity,
but supply is infamously unreliable in Murgab and can't be expected anywhere else in
the eastern Pamirs.
¨
Water purification tablets: bottled water is rarely available outside Khorog; in Murgab
it costs a whopping 4TJS per litre.
¨
gifts: photos of yourself with the Aga Khan (see p361) would be gold-dust!
Money
The only ATMs are in Khorog. None accept Maetro. Banks in Khorog and Murgab can
change US$, but not always euros. Hometays accept US$ as well as somani. Kyrgyz
som are accepted in Karakul. If you have any somani left over, spend/change them there
or in Sary Tash (Kyrgyztan).
