Tajikistan - Central Asia - page 348

Pamir¨Hotel¨ HOTEl $
( % 93-050 58 63, 217 62; dm/s/tw US$10/20/30)
This two-floor building at the central bend
of the Pamir Highway is the town's only ho-
tel and is a handy landmark. Don't be misled
by the new glass frontage: the whole struc-
ture is gerry-built with off-line walls and
uneven floors. Still, the simple rooms have
been very recently repainted and staff regu-
larly clean the communal hot showers and
sit-down toilets. Tair speaks English and can
fix many traveller problems.
5 ¨Eating
Most travellers dine at their (or another)
homestay-guesthouse. Otherwise Aida
(mains/samsa 8/5TJS) is marginally the best of
five very basic cafes backing the container-
box bazaar. Their samsas make good snacks
but opening times are unpredictable and if
other stocks run out sometimes only greasy
egg-and-sausage lunches are available.
Pamir Hotel's unmarked bar-restaurant
has a range of booze but their meals are
rather unimaginative. Beware of the 3TJS
extra charge should you decide to have sugar
with your tea! Basic groceries are startlingly
(if understandably) expensive compared to
Dushanbe.
7 ¨Shopping
Yak¨House¨ HANDICRAFTS
( % Salamat 93-410 51 79; Murgab House; h 9am-
1pm & 2-6pm Mon-Fri or by arrangement) Of the
traditional Pamiri and Kyrgyz crafts sold
here, the most impressive are pure-woollen
shoulder-bags (61TJS) and colourful felt shy-
rdak squares. The shop is within the beau-
tifully designed, circular Murgab House,
symbolically incorporating architectural el-
ements from both Kyrgyz yurts and Pamiri
houses. It's 1.8km northeast along the M41
from Pamir Hotel. Consider phoning first.

MONEY
Agroinvest Bank (Somoni; h 8am-noon &
1-5pm Mon-Fri, 8am-noon Sat) Changes US
dollars and euro cash. It's 300m northwest of
Pamir Hotel.
TOURIST INFORMATION
TIC (Tourist Information Center Murgab;
% 93-547 56 82; [e-mail]; Ayni;
h 10am-1pm & 3-6pm Mon-Fri, 2-6pm Sat &
Sun, closed Dec-Apr) Helpful for free, non-
commercial tourist information including con-
tacts for drivers and accommodation through-
out the region. Handicrafts are sold here, as
are useful Pamir/Murgab maps (97/10TJS).
Miserably slow internet costs 12TJS per hour.
META (Murgab Ecotourism Association; % gul-
nara 93-519 18 02; www.meta.tj; Osh 91; h call
ahead) META was the original driving force for
community tourism in Murgab and its website
remains an ever-evolving treasure trove of re-
sources. Re-organised in 2012, they plan a new
information office but til then there's just the
front room of valiant volunteer gulnara's house.
Tajik National Park Officer ( % 91-732 16 97,
93-848 37 77) If you are going to Karakul or
anywhere else in the Tajik National Park you
are supposed to have a ticket (40TJS per day).
Call the officer on duty and he should be able to
come and sell you one.
TRAVEL & TOUR AGENCIES
local tour agencies include META spin-
ofs Pamir Highway Adventure (http://
pamirhighwayadventure.com), Pamir Ofroad
Adventure Guide ( % 934 65 20 05; 2005@
gmail.com; opposite TIC) and Pamir Guides
(www.pamirguides.com; Murgab House).
Kyrgyzstan-based Pamir Trek ( % 996-77-237
60 36, 996-77-343 80 32; www.pamirtrek.
com) can also be competitive, especially if
you're starting from Osh.

8 Getting¨There¨&¨Away
From the bazaar, two or three vehicles (4WDs
or minivans) leave most mornings to Khorog
(120TJS, seven to nine hours, 320km), and one
or two head for Osh (150TJS, around 12 hours,
420km). Ideally arrange a place one day ahead.
Otherwise expect several hours' wait while they
ill up. Frequency reduces in cold months.
Alternatively consider hiring a 4WD between a
group of travellers and making a three- or four-
day multi-stop trip via the Wakhan Valley. This
can be arranged either directly with a driver or
through agencies.
For hitching to Khorog, the best bet is with Chi-
nese trucks (ofer 30TJS) which stop overnight
at a terminal around 2km northeast of central
Murgab. These tend to leave en masse around
midday for Khorog (stopping 30km short). In the

8 Information
¨ Murgab district (as far west as Bulunkul)
operates on Kyrgyzstan time, ie one hour ahead
of Dushanbe and Khorog.
¨ Electricity supply is irregular, and often
pitifully weak. Pamir Hotel seems to get a more
regular supply than most, but you'd still be
advised to bring a safety plug for any electrical
equipment. Sary Köl lodge has a transformer
and stabiliser for its solar-powered plugs.
¨ T-Cell has the best mobile signal in town, but
Megafon also works here and covers the outly-
ing valleys too.