Tips about a quick Pamir travel

[adrdilauro]

We are three people, we are planning to cross the Pamir from Osh to Dushanbe in 5 full days, towards the end of September. Day one departing early from Osh, day five arriving late in the evening in Dushanbe. I know it's a short time, we don't have a lot of holidays, life is what it is.

I have two main questions, if anybody with more experience can help

First, what is the situation with shared taxis?

I have traveled in a lot of other parts of Central Asia, and transport was never a problem, shared taxies are super cheap and in some cases I was even able to afford to hire one on my own, let alone if we split the price in three.

So, what about the Pamir? If we show up, let's say, in the place where shared taxies depart in Murghab, and bargain a price with a car to take us to the next city stopping in a few places to visit, how much we are likely to end up spending?

If prices are too high, alternatively is it possible to rent a car in Osh and drop it in Khorog instead of Dushanbe? The idea would be to self drive in 4 full days from Osh to Khorog, and the fifth day just jump on a regular shared taxi to Dushanbe

Second question: what places you would recommend to see / stop by, having 4 full days from Osh to Khorog?

Thanks in advance

[bwv812]

Well, locals haven't been able to cross the border for the last 4 years, so shared taxis haven't been a thing for a while. It looks like this my change relatively soon, though.

If you only have 5 days, share taxis in their truest sense are not going to be a good option, as they can involve waiting for the car to fill up. Chartering the entire taxi may allow you to avoid waits, but the drivers won't speak English and they'll be mainly interested in getting to their destination as quickly as possible.

You will not be able to pick up a rental car in Osh and abandon it in Khorog (at least not cheaply).

There's a reason that most people take a tour for the Pamir Highway.

[adrdilauro]

Thanks for the reply.

Regarding shared taxis, I speak Russian fluently, so communicating won't be a problem. Do you have an idea about how much a taxi driver would ask, if I asked them to charter the whole car for a day from city A to city B, stopping by to take some photos?

Also, I am aware of the fact that locals are not able to cross. Would it work if we asked a Kyrgyz driver to take us to the border, cross on foot, and take a new taxi on the other side? I heard there is a no-mans-land between the two border posts.

Thanks for the information about dropping the car in Khorog, I understand that if we take the car we have to drive until Dushanbe. Do you have any particular car rental agency you would recommend?