Suggestions requested: Cycling+Hiking in Tajikistan's Pamirs

[arnebleijenberg]

Hi all!

New to this forum but I've already found your posts very, very usefull!

Me and my girlfriend are visiting Tajikistan from mid-July until end of August, total 6 weeks. Our passions are hiking and biking, and we wish to combine these two as much as we can. We are eager to hear your suggestions!
Our gear: 2x Santos travelmaster 2.6, tent+sleepingbag+mat+stove, backpacks suitable for multiday trekking

Our rough plan is roughly the following:

1. Either cycle or take a ride to Khorog from Dushanbe
Question 1: how mucht time for cycling?

2. From Khorog find a nice multiday (4-7 days) trekking, preferably done indipendant without guide.
Question 2: any nice tips for trekking routes around Khorog?

3. After this hike and some rest, we want to ride as close to the Kyrgyzstan border as possible (assuming it will remain closed), and the cycle back via the Barthan Valley
Question 3: how long from Khorog to Kyrgyz border WITHOUT Barthang valley? How long WITH Barthang valley?
Question 4: How long from Kyrgyz border to Khorog via Barthang valley?
Question 5: Where can we find GPX files for different cycling routes?

4. After this, everything depends on how much time we have left. Would be great to travel to the Fann Mountains for some more trekking
Question 5: Can we travel from Khorog to Fann mountains in 2 days by car?

As said, this a very rough outline and can be changed! We look forward to hearing your thoughts and suggestions, feel free to send us other directions and destinations than the ones we mention here;)

Thanks very much

Arne and Nina

[Christian77]

I don't have any knowledge on the cycling, but I can answer the hiking and driving questions...

Question 2: any nice tips for trekking routes around Khorog?

You'll need to fully leave the Khorog area. If you want 4-7 days, then Jizev Valley or Durumkul Lake are too short for you. I suggest driving or cycling to the village of Bachor (there are a couple of guesthouses there that can store your bikes). From here you can do a loop: Bachor - Yashilkul Lake - Langar gorge - Chapdarkul Lake - Uchkul Lakes - Kulen Lakes - Zaroshkul Lake - Bachor. Reverse is fine. But I think it best to save the best for last (Zaroshkul).



Not a fan of cold and elevation? Then settle for shorter treks. Jizev would be a good one.

Use any offline map that uses Open Street Map data. NOT GOOGLE MAPS.

This trek reaches 4600 meters and stays high most of the time. You'll need a warm sleeping bag, and it may be a good idea to cycle to Bachor to help with acclimatization. Here's the start in Bachor.

Question 5: Can we travel from Khorog to Fann mountains in 2 days by car?

Yes. But it's best to have a guesthouse in Khorog reserve you a seat in a car for the next day to Dushanbe (or you take your chances the next day). Then in Dushanbe you should arrange a driver through a guesthouse to wherever you want to go in the Fann Mountains. You can do it yourself on shared transportation, but it can be stressful and complicated, especially after just arriving from the Pamirs.

[willemspie]

You could also rather consider the long trek, a 4 to 7 day circuit, in the Fann mountains.
For hiking maps, I recommend you to download the old Soviet topographical maps from the web, I use maps.vlasenko.net but there are other sites too. Anyway you should learn to read the Cyrillic alphabet. For hitch hiking, you must learn a minimum of Russian, at least discussing the price.

[arnebleijenberg]

Thanks a lot Christian77
That picture looks incredible. We don't mind altitude and cold but we're not equipped for too much snow so we have to see how the longer trek you suggest is suitable by the time we will be there, I suppose. The picture looks incredible, that's the Jivez trek?

@Willemspie thanks for the Sovietmaps tip, I'll look in to that. And I'll try to learn some basic russian too!

[arnebleijenberg]

I also have another question with which you can perhaps help me

We land in Dushanbe om Sunday morning 0:10am. We are considering taking private transportation directly from the airport to Khorog. Would anyone know whether A)this is possible, B)whether we can reliably organize this from home and C) what it would cost us more or less?

Thanks!

[Christian77]

Drivers leave in the early AM (6-7am) for Khorog (but not from the airport). And they don't expect bicycles. So you will have difficulty doing the cheap local shared option, especially with your arrival time and presumed lack of local language skills.

The cheap local option will take some more time, and it has the risk of failure or long delay...

A medium risk option is to book two nights in a private room at Green House hostel (including the night of your arrival) and ask them to find a (shared) driver who can take two bicycles the next day. This may or may not be feasible.

You can arrange anything from home, but it will costs you ($$$). You just need to send inquiries to local tour companies. A private hire ahead of time will save you lots of hassle and risk. And he might even stick your bikes inside the car, not on top to collect dust, diesel soot and road grease.

To be honest, for every person boasting online about how easy something in Tajikistan was, I see many more people booking an extra night at a hostel or guesthouse because their plans failed for the 2nd day in a row. Paying for a private driver to be at the airport for a night drive may be worth it if you have a tight schedule.

[willemspie]

All the vehicles to the Pamirs congregate early morning in their 'terminal', a yard which is actually close to the airport. The practical Sakho Hostel is also in the same yard.