Tajikistan - Central Asia - page 361

To/From Afghanistan
Kunduz BEWARE. The border at Panj-e-Payon
to Kunduz is reportedly open but visiting the
Kunduz area is highly discouraged for security
reasons.
Wakhan The Afghan Wakhan was peaceful at
the time of research. Sadly the ideal crossing
point for the little Pamir region (ie langar)
is not open to foreigners but the Ishkashim
border is (from 8am to noon and 1pm to 4pm,
Monday to Saturday). You'll need a double-
entry Tajik visa (with gBAO permit) since con-
tinuing to the rest of Afghanistan would mean
transitting the risky route via Faizabad. A taxi
to Afghan-Eshkashim village (6km) costs a
whopping US$20 from the border bridge. See
boxed text p352 before you go.

Khorog A bridge over the Pyanj River at
Khorog connects the Afghan and Tajik sides
of Badakhshan at the Sheghnan crossing
(limited times, closed Sunday), offering 4WD
access to remote lake Shiva but you will need
to have transport pre-arranged on the Afghan
side. The region is snowbound from October
to June and the roads are often washed out in
early summer.
To/From China
Qolma Pass DUE TO OPEN. The 4762m Qolma
Pass links Murgab to the Karakoram Highway
in Xinjiang, north of Tashkurgan, with splendid
views of icy Mt Murtagh-Ata ahead of you
as you approach from the west on heavily
degraded roads. Open to Chinese and Tajiks
for years, the border was supposed to open to

VISAS¨FOR¨TAJIKISTAN
Technically a Letter of Invitation (LOI) is an oicial requirement for mot visa applica-
tions but in reality, Tajik embassies will usually issue a 30-day (sometimes 45-day)
tourit visa without one. Annoyingly, there aren't too many Tajik embassies around so
you might have to pot your passport to an embassy in a neighbouring country and
arrange return potage and a method of payment (often in a foreign currency). Allow
plenty of time for this.
Bishkek, (p307) in Kyrgyztan, is a great place to apply for visas that include a
GBAO permit (US$75), generally available the same day, as long as the consul is in
town. In Tashkent (p222), Uzbekitan, the visa is cheaper (US$37/55 in one week/
one day) but they don't give GBAO permits. Vienna, Berlin, Ankara and Delhi are also
reportedly ok, while Moscow and Tehran are more diicult. There is a plan to tand-
ardise tourit visa prices at all Tajik embassies to US$25 or local equivalent, which
has already led to price reductions in London and Washington but those embassies
till charge a hefty whack for the GBAO permit.
While we'd advise getting your visa before heading to Tajikitan, tourits from 80
countries (including the EU, USA and Autralia) can theoretically obtain a 30-day,
single-entry visa on arrival at Dushanbe airport (but not other airports, nor any land
border). You'll need a photo, a photocopy of your passport and - annoyingly - an LOI
which rather undermines the appeal of the sytem. GBAO permits are not available at
the airport and sometimes the sytem breaks down, as it did for a week or so in April
2012, leaving visa-less visitors tranded.
If you need a LOI, mot Tajik travel agencies can get you one within a few days.
Typical cots average US$30 to US$50 with Tajikintourservice (p323), Stantours
(p68) or Hamsafar Travel (p323). Although Tajikistan¨Visa¨Company (www.
tajikitanvisa.land.ru) can prove considerably cheaper, several readers have reported
problems using them.
In May 2013 the Tajik Lower House passed a law aimed at scrapping visas for tour-
its of many Wetern nations but don't get excited yet: the law has not been ratiied
by the senate and that could take years. Keep a virtual eye on the changing situation
through http://sites.google.com/site/tajikitantourism/information.
Visa¨Extensions
Extending a tourit visa from 30 days to 45 days is usually possible with some persever-
ance. If you extend your visa, you'll also possibly need to separately extend your GBAO
permit and, remember, once over 30 days in the country you'll also need to regiter with
OVIR. Extensions beyond 45 days are unlikely. The extension process can take several
days and the exact procedure is likely to change given that the Minitry of Foreign Afairs
is till completing the process of moving oices.