Saturday 26th August – Dushanbe

• Arrival at your convenience into Dushanbe – a the largest and the capital city of Tajikistan.
• Pre-tour meeting and get-together with guide and other travellers at the lobby of our hotel at 10:30am to go over the tour itinerary and plans for the coming days.
• Visit Victory Square with the Victory Tank Monument – WWII monument
• Drop by the botanical garden of Dushanbe for a stroll
• Explore Victory Park – located at the top of the hill the park has an impressive World War 2 memorial & provides a spectacular view over the city.
• Visit Rudaki Street, Central Park and the Somoni monument – the most important landmark in Dushanbe. It was Ismail Somoni that united the Samanid states in 892. His empire ruled over what is now Iran, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
• Explore Nowruz palace – the largest teahouse in the world.
• Stop by Dushanbe’s flagpole – built in 2011 for the 20th anniversary of Tajik independence. It was the tallest freestanding flagpole in the world for 3 years at a total height of 165 metres.
• We visit the Ismaili Centre, a cultural centre and praying house for the local Shia Ismaili minority.
• Overnight stay in Dushanbe.

Sunday 27th August – Dushanbe – via Kulyab – Kalaikhumb

• We begin our epic road trip heading east towards the Pamirs and Kalaikhumb.
• Along the way we stop at the monument of the terrorist attack against cyclists in Tajikistan, in the summer of 2018.
• We take the scenic route via Kulyab, also called Kulob – which traverses the lower Shurabad Pass at 2,200m altitude, and follow the Afghani border along the Panj river gorge, passing through beautiful scenery and quiet villages on the way.
• We will stop for breaks for photography on the seven hour journey through the Kulyab region.
• Explore the partly restored Hulbuk fortress – this medieval citadel once guarded the western entrance of the Pamir Highway.
• Overnight stay in a guesthouse in Kalaikhumb. “Fortress on the banks of the river of Khumb” in Arabic, Qal’ai Khumb sits at the meeting point between the Pamir Pass and the Panj River right in the very south of Tajikistan. You can see across into Afghanistan from this view.

Monday 28th August – Kalaikhumb – Emts Village: Bartang Valley

• Start the day by following the Pamir Highway until we reach the turn for Geisev, through the Bartang Valley.
• Our drive runs alongside the Panj river parallel to Afghanistan.
• Once we reach the turn off to Bartang Valley – the 30km spectacular terrain lies ahead of us before reaching our local homestay in Emts village, also called Yemts or Emtz.
• Here you’ll learn how farming is down in isolated rural villages in Pamir culture.
• Overnight stay in a homestay in Emts Village.

Tuesday 29th August – Emts Village – Khorog  

• We head up further the Bartang River where we start our hike by crossing the river via a wire suspension bridge. We rate this as the best hikes available in the country. Jizeu Trek (pronounced gee-sao, seen spelled Geisev, Jisev) is a mountain village only accessible by foot. The hike is a gradual ascending 8km trek to the Giver Valley. We gain 500m elevation during the hike which takes 2 to 3 hours in each direction.
• Along the hike you’ll see spectacular landscapes with 3 crystal clear lakes reflecting like a mirror off the Pamiri sky.
• Lunch in Jizeu village with time to explore the village.
• We hike back down to Bartang river to meet the cars before driving to Khorog.
• Overnight stay in Khorog, the capital of Gorno-Badakshan Autonomous Oblast (GBAO).

Wednesday 30th August – Khorog – via Wakhan Valley – Langar

• Begin the day by visiting the Garmchasma hot springs – the hot spring reaches a high temperature around 75 °C with the pools filled with hot turquoise water that contains rich healthy natural elements.
• Explore Khahkha Fort – offering another fantastic view of Afghanistan. It’s one of the ancient sights of Pamir and the Wakhan corridor. Originally it was was built off a huge cliff over the Panj River. This fortress had been serving as defence from the 2nd century BCE up to the 7th century AD.
• Visit Sufi Muborak Kadam Museum – about a famous Sufi scholar whom created the solar calendar.
• We depart the Pamir Highway and enter the Wakhan Valley – one of the most wildest landscapes on Earth. It is 210km long and between 20km to 60km wide valley splitting the Pamir Mountains from the Hindu Kush and named after Wakhi people who inhabit the area.
• Drop by the Yamchun Fort – an ancient fort that served to protect the Pamir route, built on the top of the cliff overlooking the valley. It is thought to have been a greatest defence fortification in the ancient Wakhan.
• Visit Bibi Fatima natural hot springs – named after the Prophet Mohammed’s sister, this is where local women believe they can increase their fertility.
• Overnight stay at a guest house in Langar, located at the end of the Wakhan Valley and is the point where the Wakhan and Pamir rivers combine to make the Pyanj. The village is set deep within the gorge, where steep, rocky slopes surround the valley.

Thursday 31st August – Langar – via Pamir Highway – Khorog 

• We set off northwards towards the Kargushi Pass reaching a total altitude of 4344m on a six to seven hour journey.
• This morning we leave behind the lush valleys of the Wakhan Valley and enter a landscape that is mostly barren but nevertheless dramatic. This is the famous Pamir Highway we have anticipated, with the route between Khorog and Osh completed in 1931 across a Tibetan-plateau style high altitude terrain.
• We’ll stop for photo opportunities and breaks
• We’ll reach the Kotezek Pass at a total attitude of 4,272m on a potholed route of lunar-like, high-altitude desert scenery.
• Overnight stay in Khorog, a small town on the Afghan-Tajik border, where you can unwind and enjoy a relaxing night with locals.

Friday 1st September – Khorog – Kalaikhumb 

• Today we make our grand return towards Kalaikumb on a six hour journey
• On the way you’ll see the vast contrast of life across the river. Whilst Tajikistan is a developing  country, life in Afghanistan is a lot harder.
• The highway wasn’t a road as we now see it, but just a trail suitable for wagons, horses or trekkers. The highway was built much later by Soviet engineers exploding granite walls, breaking thru the rocks and by building the bridges over the Pyanj. It was complicated as the road could only go by the right side of Pyanj river as the left one belong to Afghanistan.
• Overnight stay in Kalaikumb guest house.

Saturday 2nd September – Kalaikhumb – Dushanbe

• We begin our final seven hour stretch back towards Dushanbe, this is where we’ll say goodbye to Afghanistan.
• Lunch and tea stops along the way for a last chance to sample some authentic dishes.
• Final group dinner and Dushanbe nightlife, and enjoying a few local beers known as ‘Sim Sim’.
• Overnight stay in Dushanbe.

Sunday 3rd September – Dushanbe

• Tour concludes – YPT is also able to arrange post-tour accommodation or advice for flights.

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