Pamir - Gorno-Badakhshan

I love to travel, and to all lovers of mountain scenery advise if the opportunity arises, take a trip to the Pamirs.

Badakhshan - is conditional, as well as the historical name of the present territory of the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region of Tajikistan. Badakhshan is located in the south-eastern part of Tajikistan and the north-eastern region of Afghanistan. These two parts of Badakhshan were divided in 1895 by agreement between the Russian and British empires.
Still exists today the border runs along the Panj River (Amu Darya).
In Soviet times, it was transformed into the Badakhshan region in 1925 in the autonomous Tajik as a separate administrative division.

photo - view from the side of the Afghan Tajik.

"Roof of the World" has always been a difficult place for a voluntary travel - a hundred years ago, the road here takes months path on dangerous paths, and then, under Soviet rule, the road was built, but declared the territory of the border zone, and independent travelers not really complain, and finally the recently Pamir was embroiled in a civil war. After the war ended in 1997, tourists are becoming more and more, the situation remains calm, and particularly pleased Badakhshan traditional hospitality and very grateful attitude towards Russia and Russian.

probably had enough of geography.
Let there will be a guide to GBAO.
So ...

photo - airport administrative center of Gorno-Badakhshan - Khorog.

If you are going to the Pamirs, the way your probably lies along the Pamir highway, from Osh or Dushanbe, so you do not pass the border zone: in the east of the route passes in the 30-40 km. from the border with China, in the south - on the bank of the Panj border with Afghanistan. In this regard, there are the following bureaucratic formalities:
1) Pass the frontier. It indicates the period of stay, the route or visited areas. The cost and complexity of the design passes different in different places, for example bargaining.
2) The Tajik registration in OVIR. It is believed to register within three days of their arrival in the Republic of Tatarstan. It operates on the entire territory of the Republic of Tajikistan. The cost of registration in August 2005 - 24 pp., Payment on receipt by the bank.
3) The local registration at the police station or the KGB. It's free and easy.
4) To get to Lake Sarez require a separate permit is issued in the Ministry of Emergency Situations in Dushanbe or, for example, the travel agency Sayoh bucks that way for 30.

photo - Lake Sarez

Communication with the outside world is carried out by means of Pamir Highway - Osh - Khorog - Dushanbe. In 2004, it opened the road to China Murghab - lane. Kulma - Kashgar, but now here allows only citizens of China and Tajikistan.
Pamir highway kruglogodichen, but in winter and spring can be closed for several days due to avalanches and snowdrifts. Cala Khumb - fork: short road through the Tavildara - Obigarm open from the end of March and beginning of April to November. Along the same goes Panj winter, Kulyab road, absolutely stunning - one car wide, punched in almost sheer cliffs, combines sharp corners with slopes greater than 20%, somewhere far below stretched Afghan villages. The most dangerous areas of passengers are asked to walk, but there is a place which is safe inside the machine to overcome: right on the way from the top falls waterfall. However, this will soon disappear exotic - Turks build a super-highway to four lanes, about 80 km has already been done.

Amazing people inhabit these mountains. Perhaps here and it could not be otherwise: you feel a small part of nature, not its master. Hospitality in the blood: the house invite even small children. The first thing for you to melt the stove and drink tea with cake; sometimes it will be the only food in the house, but the hospitality is unchanged. It does not need any "scientific" methods of night and day - just passing by the village, at lunchtime hear - "Come, pochaykuem" in the evening - "rest me," Well, all you will have to call for a visit for a reason - to know that you It led to the Pamirs, to inquire about the distant Russia, to share the joy or grief. Hospitality is reflected even in the planning of the home: in every house there is a special guest room where you and try to write, in the cold, all live in the central room with a stove.

What is nice, the attention you will be less intrusive and idle than is usually the case in Central Asia: often you will not even ask who, where, and smile - "how on the road? ',' How the mood?", Will be treated or donate something a.
Domestic some simple conditions: Electricity is not everywhere and not always, especially in winter and spring, when little water in the rivers; warm water hard - wood often drag on itself for several kilometers., so that will have to take a bath in hot springs or in Khorog where there is room.
Russian language they know almost all men over 30 years old (there was such a policy: the Pamirs military service took place in Russia). And now it is very relevant - 5-10% of the population works in the Russian construction sites.

In most villages in Badakhshan spend money on all sorts of goods and services difficult. You can only rely on the "lump" of cigarettes, alcohol, biscuits, canned meat and cereals. Prices above the plains and a half times. The regional centers: Roshtkalle, Ishkashim, Rushan, Kalaikhum- you will find a small bazaar, telephone office, cafe.

If you want a break from the hospitality and communication, features a roadside teahouse-hotels located in 50-100 km. along the Pamir Highway. Services designed for local, cheap: a portion of pilau - 2-3 TJS overnight on the floor 1-2 somoni. Also, these places have in Ishkashim - Vrang in the village, as well as in Rushan - between Chadudom and Yapshorvom. In Murghab cheap hotel located on the south road. In the regional centers and other large villages there are guest houses in the MSDSP ($ 10-15). At the hot springs in Djilandy, Garm-Chashma, Avci, Yamchun can stay in a sanatorium.

Khorog - the only city in Badakhshan, stands out in terms of life and advancement. We will describe it in detail. It stretches almost 10 km. along the river. Gund, on either side. City center - along the streets of Lenin, for 2 km - from Hukumat to the bazaar. There are shops in the building address - poor quality and high prices. Several banks - can be exchanged for the Bucks, transfer money from Russia and even withdraw money from a credit card (in AGROINVESTBANK). There are mobile communications. Many offices IP-telephony in Russia is 30 g. / Min. Best Internet cafe - on the left of the stadium, in the yard - 3. / Hr. At the market - cheap Chinese clothes, local fruits and vegetables and expensive products from Dushanbe and Osh. Here are numerous cafes - 3 seconds. nourishing meal can operate mainly to three hours. And the market, in general, is also minimized early - even people on the villages of disperse.

Khorog - overcrowded cities, people from all over come here Badakhshan and fit with their relatives. Cheap hotels little! A huge three-story "Friendship" is now under repair, with 3-5. It is in the "Bartang" hotel - it is on the left coast, ten minutes to climb from the car park Ishkashim. Guest Houses in the NGO's, calculated on their workers and Western tourists are from 15 somoni.

The situation in the city has recently become calm, people walk at night, and in the villages of security problems never existed. In the border, the Panj villages sometimes there are people who will suspect you spy trespassers, etc. - Will be asked to show documents, will ask - are the remnants of Soviet patriotic education. However, this does not happen too often and ends happily.

several ph Khorog
just ...

two ...

three ...
contrast is stunning ...

four ...

five ...
view from the Botanical Gardens. Yes, in Khorog has a unique alpine botanical garden and museum.

another view from the Botanical Garden

and another kind of Khorog ...

In the winter and especially in spring on the slopes of ravines lot of snow - and then the real danger - rockfalls and avalanches, in 2003 (especially snow) roads were closed for the winter half machines. As for the upper reaches of the river, passes between the valleys, they are passable only in July-September, covered with glaciers and require special equipment and training.
In the mountains every corner is unique, but here are the most interesting: the highest peaks Zaalai range, which can be seen from the Pamir Highway, a huge lake Kara-Kul Lake Sarez, formed in 1913, when an earthquake brought down the cliff, dams Bartang glowing rock Chrak Tash and the legendary cave of Mata-Tash, mineral springs - from the ice to the boiling sulfurous Narzanov: by Gunta - near Djilandy at Panj - Garm-Chashma, Avci, Dorshay, Yamchun and others.
From man-made objects are allocated grandiose fortress Yamchun Kaka and (III-IV in BC. E.), 20 and 70 km. Panj up from Ishkashim, several fortresses - in the valley-Schoch gifts. There are also interesting and shrines - the holy places of Islam. In Vrang (Ishq. District) preserved Buddhist stupa, there are also the remains of Zoroastrian temples, and in the eastern Pamirs - cave paintings and traces of Stone Age settlements.

Garm-Chashma - a unique hot springs

Garm-Chashma

The national currency's called somoni (in common parlance - "TJS"), divided into 100 dirhams. There are papers 1, 5, 20 and 50 diram as well as 1, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 TJS. There are coins in denominations of 5, 10, 20, 25, 50 and diram 1, 3 and 5 somoni (the last three are quite rare).
As of June 2006,
$ 1 = 3, 25 somoni, 1 Euro ~ 4 somoni; 1 somoni = 10-11 rubles.

Residents of GBAO profess the Ismaili Shia Islam wing, which absorbed many of the features of earlier religions - Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, and probably the local pagan beliefs. Women ismailitki looks much more liberated than Sunni. They never knew the veil, and the men and each other, they usually greet handshake and a kiss on the cheek. Photographed here love everything from small to large and regard photography as a nice token.

Being in Badakhshan, be sure to try a wide choi - hot black tea with milk (in a ratio of one to one), salt and butter. "Shir-cho do not drink - where you take the power?" - The Pamir saying the best way shows the popularity of the drink. Very often drink it at breakfast or lunch, adding hot liquid pieces of cakes.

Badakhshan is famous for the fact that here the most numerous stratum of people with higher education. In the regional center of Khorog still functioning university. They are going to build another one. It will be called something like "Central Asian University."