Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
from which it's 18km. A taxi from Shahzud
costs 90TJS, if you can find one.
Back on the highway, the ribbon of tur-
quoise-white river slithers through ever
drier upland valleys approaching the func-
tional hot springs outpost of
Jelandy
.
magnificent reflecting the mineral swirls of
a low, multicoloured ridge opposite, one sec-
tion looking like a gigantic stylised butterfly.
Much bigger, but arguably less photogen-
ic,
Yashil-Kul
(3734m) means 'green lake'
though it's actually bright blue, framed by
ochre desert-slopes. From Bulunkul village,
the first glimpse is a 4km drive or uphill
walk. With patience, hikers can find luke-
warm springs on the southern side and
stone circles at the mouth of the Bolshoi
Marjonai River, but technically you'll need
to come prepared with Tajik National Park
permits (40TJS per day), obtained in Khorog
or Murgab.
BULUNKUL & YASHIL-KUL
БУЛУНКУЛЬ & ЯШИЛЬКУЛЬ
The bumpy 4272m Koi-Tezek Pass leads
into lunar-like, high-altitude desert scen-
ery, framed by a series of snowy if relatively
unremarkable peaks. After nearly 40km the
road starts to descend sharply with sweep-
ing views ahead over stark landscapes and
two large salt lakes. As you're descending
look for the signed turn-off leading 14km
(sign says 16km) to the end-of-the-world
settlement of
Bulunkul
. Reportedly the
coldest place in Tajikistan, it is a friendly
but unaesthetic three-row grid of low-slung,
wind-blown houses forming a dusty, func-
tional square. A pretty, if hardly pristine,
stream meanders behind, flowing towards
mirrorlike lake
Bulun-Kul
(3737m). Viewed
in the morning light from the east side (a
4.5km drive from the village), the lake looks
BULUNKUL TO MURGAB
Alichur (Km828) is a wide scattering of low,
whitewashed hovels, many daubed with the
words '
stolovaya
' (canteen) or guesthouse.
It's the westernmost limit of Murgab Re-
gion's predominantly Kyrgyz community
whose occasional yurts dot the mountain-
edged plain that stretches over 50km east.
Several yurtstays are within 400m of the
highway, notably at Km837, Km838.5 and
TO¨GO¨OR¨NOT¨TO¨GO?¨THE¨AFGHAN¨WAKHAN
Before leaving home, many travellers imagine Afghanitan to be a perilously danger-
ous hellhole. Well, that might be true of some areas. But arriving in the GBAO, it comes
as a thrilling surprise for many to hear that the Afghan Wakhan is both peaceful and
actually open. The Wakhan Corridor is that trange Pinocchio nose of Afghanitan
that grew from the machinations of the Great Game, creating a barrier between the
Russian and British empires after border treaties in 1895 and 1907. These days you
too can gaze upon the area's rugged magniicence that is so gloriously depicted in
the photos of
Matthieu¨Paley
(www.pamirbook.com, http://paleyphoto.com). And if you
head up the valley to the Wakhan's incredibly isolated Little Pamir, you can encounter
Kyrgyz herders who are some of the mot remote, forgotten traditional peoples on
the planet. Should you be tempted to go, Afghan visas are usually available within 24
hours in Khorog assuming you have a double-entry Tajik visa. Then from Ishkashim
you can jut walk in.
But do you really want to? Cots add up fat. The visa charges are US$100 to
US$200 depending on your nationality and a taxi for the 6km from the border to
Afghan-Eshkashim village cots an unwavering US$20 each way. That's a lot to pay if
you're only visiting Eshkashim market for the kudos of a passport tamp.
To continue further you'll need permit letters, which are available in Eshkashim but
are hard to arrange without paid help unless you speak local languages. To continue to
the Little Pamir, the local taxi union demands an unwavering US$450 per car each way.
That's a big chunk of cash to pay considering you'll be bouncing along a track that paral-
lels the smoother Tajik-side road for mot of the route, sharing similar views but lacking
the network of hometays. If you do make it to the Little Pamir, exiting to Shaimak isn't
allowed. The 'highlight' is meeting genuine Kyrgyz nomads but these folks are shock-
ingly poor and the region's sanitation is nonexitent so the experience, while humbling
and fascinating, is likely to leave you shell-shocked and possibly unwell. Your insurance
company won't necessarily be sympathetic.
