Fann Mountains trekking - tips?

[Gabemasca]

Hey guys, by the end of the week I plan to start a 5-7 days trekking in the Fann Mountains.

How easy is it to rent camping gear in Panjikent, and how is the price compared to Karakol?
Is it possible on doing a trek of this length without camping, relying solely on homestays?
Any recommendations for a guesthouse in Panjikent?

Thanks!

[TomasS]

It is easy to rent, i do not know about prices, but frankly, you do not have other option, if you do not have own gear. But it should be cheap, do not worry. Its impossible to do the best treks without it or without being member of a organized group, there arent homestays.

[Wolkman]

Hi all,

Around half June, me and my gf will be doing some trekking in the Fan Mountains. We will travel from Samarkand to Penjikent and do some trekking, before going to Dushanbe. We would love to do a few singe-day treks or one 2/3-day treks. Any recommendations? I also have some specific questions:

1) When doing a few single-day treks, is it possible to use one base camp for several treks? Or best to use multiple base camps? I read about treks starting from Rashnar, Iskanderkul or Artuch, but I suppose you cannot easily get from one town to the other (only connected to each other by multiple-day treks), correct?

2) Is it posibble to get from Penjikent to Dushanble, (partly) by trekking, via 7 lakes and Iskanderkul? How many days would such trek take? Staying overnight is only possible in tent camps or are there huts/homestays on the way?

Thanks so far!

[steven]

1) Yes, you would need a multi-day trek.

2) Yes it is possible to trek via 7 lakes to Iskanderkul, but you would need to camp en route.

[Wolkman]

Hi Stephen, thanks for answering all my messages
Just to clearify:

1) If we want to get from Rashnar (7 lakes) or Artuch to Iskanderkul, we need a multiple day trek, correct? How many days you think it takes?

Is it also possible to do one-day hikes from each of these places and get from one place to the other by car? Probably we need a taxi and mashrutkas do not travel to those towns?

2) Besides the 7-lakes hike, do you have any other recommendations for one-day hikes (for instance from the places I mentioned)?
Does Caravanistan offer any other hikes then the ones mentioned on your website?

Thanks again!!

[bwv812]

You can trek from the 7-lakes valley over to Artuch without camping. You can cross over into the next valley from a pass near the 6th lake, and there are villages where you should be able to find a homestay in the next valley. From there you can follow the valley road to Artuch. So maybe 2 days to Artuch.

http://ai.stanford.edu/~latombe/mountai ... ann-06.htm

Traffic down the valleys tends to leave very early in the morning, as it's generally headed to the market in Penjikent. Outside of that, you'll likely need to hire private transport.