Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Km848, and it's quite possible to see yak
herders in the side valleys.
There's a lonely
stolovaya
serving fresh
fish beside the tiny, 'holy' pond of the
Ak-Balyk
(White Fish) spring at Km840.
To find the photogenic
Chinese¨tomb
that features in local tourist literature, turn
south at Km858 towards Bash Gumbaz,
itself 7km off the main highway. The tomb is
3km outside that village.
A police post at Km928 guards the
entrance to Murgab.
4
¨Sleeping
There's one hotel and roughly a dozen
homestay-guesthouses, most (but not all)
with outside toilets. Some are signed but
several others make no attempt to advertise
themselves. Ask at META (p354), who have a
room themselves, and TIC (p354).
Sary¨Köl¨Lodge¨
HOMESTAY $
(
%
217 89, 93-569 71 01, 93-547 33 91; Sorok let
Pobieda; dm/s/tw 44/58/106TJS, breakfast/
dinner 15/20TJS;
i
)
Murgab's most char-
acterful accommodation has several
imaginative touches like the goat-horn
bathroom pegs. Timber ceilings and
whitewashed walls are set off with colour-
ful fabrics. Transformers ensure that the
solar power is steady enough to charge
your electronic devices though the (out-
door) toilet light is very dim. If you don't
have wheels, the location can feel a little
inconvenient, 1.5km northeast of the TIC,
set back off the lower road in a small, nas-
cent garden.
Erali¨Guesthouse¨
HOMESTAY $
(
%
93-563 75 14, 216 18; dm/B&B/HB
US$10/12/16)
On the slope northeast of
Agroinvest Bank, Erali's has sweeping
views across town and as far as Mustagh
Ata. It's an older house with aged beams,
plenty of traditional Kyrgyz motifs and
even a yurt in the yard. Erali speaks Eng-
lish and claims that wi-fi will be installed
by 2014.
Suhrob¨Guesthouse¨
HOMESTAY $
(
%
93-848 37 33, 216 53; per person/with din-
ner/full board US$10/15/18)
Suhrob's pluses
are the great views from its dining-room
terrace and the super-friendly, English-
speaking Pamiri welcome. It's the half-
wooden house with attached yurt uphill,
behind the apartment block at Somoni 33,
around 200m northwest of Pamir Hotel.
Tulfabek¨Guesthouse¨
HOMESTAY $
(
%
93-538 91 59; half-board 45TJS or dm 20TJS,
shower 10TJS, veg/non-veg meal 8.60/17.60TJS)
Opposite Agroinvest Bank on the upper
main road, Tulfabek charges separately
for showers, beds and each food item, so
if you have a modest appetite and don't
use the Heath Robinson-esque shower
contraption, this homestay is about the
cheapest in town. Rooms have real beds,
there's an indoor loo and a shared lounge
with relatively new sofas.
Murgab Мургаб/Мурғоб
%
3554 / POP 6500 / ELEV 3576M
Utterly isolated, the wild-east town of Mur-
gab is the logical base from which to explore
the eastern Pamirs if you arrive without
your own transport. Murgab's box houses
and criss-crossing power lines don't create
an immediately charming effect, but rocky
bone-dry ridges create some interest, as does
the ever-white bulk of 7546m Muztagh Ata
which, on exceptionally clear days, hangs
like a strange cloud upon the eastern ho-
rizon. A meandering river valley below the
main road level creates the area's nearest
approximation to greenery. Murgab's popu-
lation has significant Tajik and Pamiri con-
tingents, contrasting with surrounding com-
munities which are almost entirely Kyrgyz.
Murgab's layout is confusing, even
though there are just two asphalt roads both
running south-northeast. The upper one
(Somoni) is the main Pamir Highway, bend-
ing in front of Pamir Hotel. The lower road
is initially called Lenin as it diverges from
Somoni 700m south of the hotel. It passes
the TIC (directly down partially pedestrian-
ised Ayni from the hotel), the bazaar, petrol
stations and very close to META before wig-
gling around to the 40-Let Pobeda suburb.
Beware that addresses usually denote areas
not streets.
z
¨Festivals
At¨Chabysh¨¨
HORSE FESTIVAl
(www.atchabysh.org;
h
2nd weekend of Aug)
F
Aimed at reviving and strengthening
the horsemanship traditions of the Kyrgyz
Pamirs, this annual festival features tradi-
tional horse sports interspersed with musi-
cal turns and poetry recitations. The festival
ground is above the main M41, around 5km
southwest of central Murgab. Shared taxis
shuttle to the site from the bazaar.
