Tajikistan - Central Asia - page 360

Both Uzbek and Kyrgyz som are accepted in
relevant border areas.
Travellers cheques are virtually impossible
to cash.
POST
Tajikistan's postal service is ropey. Mail can take
a month or more to reach its destination, if it
arrives at all, but an international postcard costs
only 1.65TJS.
Couriers such as DHL ( % 222 19 99; Druzhba
Narodov 62, Dushanbe; h 9am-6pm Mon-Fri,
9am-noon Sat) are the only reliable way to send
important documents.
REGISTRATION
If you have a non-tourist visa, you must register
within the irst three days of arrival in Tajikistan.
Fortunately, however, most nationals holding
a tourist visa are spared this annoying formal-
ity unless planning to stay for over 30 days. In
that case you should visit OVIR before the 30
days are up with a photocopy of your passport,
visa and one photo. You'll need to pay two fees
(40TJS plus 100/50TJS for non-CIS/CIS citi-
zens) into the appointed bank, and return with
the receipts. Khorog and Murgab are relatively
painless places to do this as long as the sole
accredited oicial is in town.
There is some confusion over 45-day tour-
ist visas. Some sources claim that such visas
always need registration but in our experience
(conirmed by OVIR in Murgab and at two border
posts) you don't actually need to register if your
actual period of stay is less than 30 days.
TELEPHONE
To call internationally (including to other Central
Asian republics) dial 10, followed by the country
code, the area code (without the 0) and the
number. From mobiles no 0 is required, so if call-
ing mobile-to-land-line use the full international
format, % 992 plus the zero-less city code.
We found the widest coverage for mobile net-
works to be on T-Cell (best for Murgab and the
only choice for the eastern Wakhan) and Mega-
fon (only carrier in parts of the Zerafshan Valley
and Alichur), though Beeline (www.beeline.tj)
and Babilon-M (www.babilon-m.com) also have
a few places where they too seem to be the only
carrier. As buying a sim card rarely costs more
than 5TJS (including 5TJS credit), consider buy-
ing a SIM for each carrier.
TRAVEL PERMITS
For travel in the Pamirs you will need a GBAO
permit . This is quite essential and will be
frequently checked. Many embassies abroad
will now issue a gBAO permit alongside a visa,
which will save you time and hassle in Dushanbe.
Some charge around US$50 but a few (notably

Bishkek) issue it for free on request. You can
alternatively get one in Dushanbe for 20TJS,
usually in one working day.
Several speciic places including Zor-Kul
require permits (p355), but most are easily
organised by PECTA (p346) in Khorog.
lake Sarez (p343) permits are especially
awkward to obtain and the lake has been out of
bounds to foreign trekkers at times.
VISAS FOR ONWARD TRAVEL
Afghanistan
A 30-day visa (from US$100 depending on
nationality) requires a self-penned letter ex-
plaining your motivation and route for travel,
one photo and a copy of your passport. Usually
available the same or next day from either
Dushanbe (p364) or Khorog (p364).
China
Only gives visas to long-term residents. Apply
elsewhere.
Uzbekistan
Many travellers have reported Dushanbe (p365)
a very bad place to apply for Uzbek visas, even
those with letters of Invitation (lOI) being left
waiting for a week or two. Better to apply in
Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan).

8 Getting¨There¨&¨Away
With a limited number of lights and internation-
al border crossings, Tajikistan isn't the easiest
republic to get to.
ENTERING TAJIKISTAN
Uzbek-Tajik border crossings are hostage to the
current state of political relations between the
two republics (which are often poor) and sudden
unannounced closure by the Uzbeks. The closed
Penjikent-Samarkand and Karamyk borders
severely reduce Tajikistan's tourism options.
AIR
Tajik Air (www.tajikair.tj) and Somon Air (www.
somonair.com) are the main national carriers.
The latter has a direct Dushanbe-Frankfurt
light. More popular routes into Tajikistan are on
Turkish (www.thy.com) via İstanbul, FlyDubai
via Dubai, and Aerolot via Moscow. There are
lights to various Russian cities from Dushanbe,
Khojand and Kulob.
Regional connections include four weekly
lights from Dushanbe to both Bishkek
(Kyrgyzstan) and Almaty (Kazakhstan).
LAND
If you're driving your own vehicle to Tajikistan,
beware that entry documents for the car are
usually only valid for 14 days creating a bureau-
cratic headache.