Is the road, border or area open and accessible to foreigners? Is there danger?
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Update of the info we were able to gather :
- Tadjikistan Tourist Police is advising to NOT cycle the Whakan valley and any area on the border
- Tour operators we could contact are not mentioning any safety issues/limitation so far
- we are in contact with cyclist in currently in the area that so far did not report any issues (they left Khorog yesterday, and taxied from Dushambe to Khorog)
- French Ambassy has no official recommendation for its resident or tourists but is insisting on high "activity" on cities on the Afghan border, Khorog in particular, whithout taking position on recommending or not to avoid the area
Hi Colin_o, can you let us know what you end up doing please and any further reports you have from contacts? We're planning on cycling the Pamirs late in the summer so grateful for any intel.
Thanks.
Hi Morley,
We reached Khorog cycling through the north road when leaving Dushanbe. Appart from the particularly bad condition of the road, nothing to report on the safety side. We however decided to skip the Whakan Valley (from both a timing and also risk assertion point of view).
Amazing landscapes and incredibly welcoming people all along the way so far.
We also met a group of 3 people who went through the Whakan by car and did not report any safety issues.
Colin
Also in Khorog. I came by bike. Note, rutted road between Qalaï Khum and Vang valley.
90 km of misery ...
Strictly no Afghan level issues. 3 soldiers who circulate on the sections of road having an opposite with an Afghans village. In total, between Qalaï Khum and Khorog I came across 5 patrols of 3 soldiers. That's all !
Note that the Afghans side is really very beautiful. Everything is cultivated, many fields and trees and crops on all levels of the mountain. All optimized by irrigation canals that bring water over great distances.
To sum up, no alarming signs !!!
Driving from Rushan to Khorog now on day 4 of a 10 day loop. Have been within 50 meters of the afghan border like 90% of the time so far, and so far zero issues. My personal opinon is that there's nothing to worry about with the Taliban if you make the road trip
Has anyone tried to visit the Afghan Wakhan since the change in control? Any updates on the situation on the ground? If people are allowed to cross, my guess is that the last thing Taliban would want given their current PR push is an international incident involving foreign tourists in the Wakhan, so my gut says that it should be fine, but that could be naieve.
I wouldn't count on Taliban giving a penny about what others say about them But from what I know their presence in border area with Tajikistan is really sparse.
Yeah, I’ve also heard it’s pretty sparse, but they’re definitely there. One of those cases where definitely better to ask for permission/get their blessing as opposed to ask for forgiveness…
"The Taliban have created an exclusive battalion of suicide bombers to be deployed at the borders of the country, especially in the Badakhshan province which is at the border between Afghanistan and Tajikistan, reports said."
Has anyone tried to visit the Afghan Wakhan since the change in control? Any updates on the situation on the ground? If people are allowed to cross, my guess is that the last thing Taliban would want given their current PR push is an international incident involving foreign tourists in the Wakhan, so my gut says that it should be fine, but that could be naieve.
Yeah, thats not gonna happen. Ever. Ishakshem border crossing been closed now for 2 years and it is not going to re-open and crossing at Wakhan bridge been closed close to decade and only temporarily opened it few months ago when they needed to evac one south american tourist who got stuck in valley during Taliban offensive.
Of all Afghanistan neighbours Tajikistan is probably most anti-Taliban, hosts former government and army officials on its territory and there are valid reports of Taliban having in ranks various militants originally from Tajikistan about whom Tajikistan is extremely worried about. So far nothing happened, but who can say how long that will last and how much Taliban central command has control over various of these insurgency outlets that exists in Hindu Kush.
Hello guys,
my family and I are going to Tajikistan next week. We plan visiting the Pamir highway. How far can we drive past the Karakul lake to the...
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Pamir Highway by car 2022, Tajikistan, Panj, Khorog, GBAO.
But from what I know their presence in border area with Tajikistan is really sparse.
