Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Valley
, which branches east towards the
Fedchenko Glacier, one of the world's long-
est. The glacier nose is a full day out-and-
back hike from
Poi-Mazar
where Jafar
Kholov has one of the Vanj Valley's two
homestays (the other is in Dursher).
Back on the main road, the last 65km into
Khorog is decently asphalted from Rushan.
fuel for 400km) have managed to traverse
the whole valley in a few days. If you man-
age to get beyond Ghudara, it should be
possible to continue to Kara-Kul (p356) on
the Pamir Highway via Kök Jar and Shurali,
where geometric stone symbols are thought
to have acted as an ancient Stonehenge-like
solar calendar.
Fortunately, Jizeu, arguably the Bartang's
most enticing highlight, is far less challeng-
ing to reach, its access point reachable even
by under-powered Tangem minivans.
Rushan (Vomar) Рушан (Вомар)
If you're heading into the Pamirs from Dush-
anbe and want to see Jizeu without first go-
ing to Khorog (65km further south), you can
hop off at Rushan and organise things there.
However, if you're planning to go much fur-
ther up the Bartang Valley it may be worth
heading to Khorog first where there's far
more English-language help and a much
wider choice of transport.
Though not a special attraction in its
own right, Rushan is a pleasant village with
shops and mini-restaurants, plus a hotel
that's under construction behind the petrol
station.
At the far western end of town, tucked
behind the big school,
Mubarak¨Homestay
(
%
93-405 23 04; Rushan; per person US$10)
is a
family home set in shady, flower-filled gar-
dens. There's an indoor shower, sit-down
toilet, and a kitchen for guest use. Mubarak
speaks some English, and Kurbon (another
family member who works in the shop at
Rushon's central taxi stand) speaks it even
better.
The homestay can help you organise a
car to the Jizeu cable car. Shared minivans
from central Rushan to Khorog (10TJS to
20TJS) take around one hour on a decent
asphalt road, but most depart before 10am.
Some mornings there's a Rushan-Dushanbe
shared 4WD (300TJS per seat).
Jizeu Valley
POP 105
One of the best short-hike destinations in
the region, the Jizeu (Jisev, Geisev) Val-
ley offers idyllic scenes around a series of
seasonally over-flowing, treelined river
lakes. The prettiest lakes are bracketed by
two halves of the tiny traditional hamlet
of Jizeu (pronounced Jee-sao) which has a
wonderful, timeless feel. An added thrill of
the visit, albeit a potential logistical prob-
lem, is that there's no road and the access
footpath starts with a remarkable 'cable
car' - a wooden contraption looking more
like a sentry box that dangles on twin wires
and is hand-wound to take up to four peo-
ple across the gushing river.
The cable car is 23km east of Km553 on
the Pamir Highway, around 6km beyond
Bargu. Don't mistakenly use the suspension
bridge to Red, a former village evacuated in
2012 after floods essentially washed all the
houses away.
From the cable car, the start of the village
is a largely unshaded, two-hour walk up a
steep scree-sided valley. Another half-hour
brings you through glorious scenery to the
upper village. And beyond this, two more
lakes and a horizon of high peaks beckon
you to walk ever further towards distant
summer pastures.
Seven of the 14 Jizeu village houses are
homestays
(dm incl breakfast & dinner 60TJS)
.
Our favourite is the homestead furthest
from the cable car, around 10 minutes'
walk beyond the upper village. Here a
new yet traditionally styled Pamiri house
has space for a sizeable group, and Dasha
speaks English well. Gulsha's place, the first
house in the lower village, is also charming
and Gulsha speaks some English. There is
no shop nor do any of the homestays have
signs. Several drinkable springs provide
good water.
Bartang Valley
Долина реки Бартанг
Stark and elemental, the Bartang Valley
is one of the wildest and most memorable
valleys in the western Pamirs. Only the oc-
casional fertile alluvial plain brings a flash
of green to the barren rock walls. At times
the fragile road inches perilously between
the raging river below and sheer cliffs above.
Indeed it's not rare for sections to become
impossibly rough or require knee-deep
fords. Still, strong 4WDs and even some ad-
venturous motorcyclists (carrying enough
