Pamir Highway and Bartang Valley Tour from Dushanbe

10 days Dushanbe → Dushanbe

Best Time Jul–Aug

Tour Style Private tour

Tour Type Culture, Hiking, Jeep (4x4), Nature

Difficulty Moderate

Group Size Max 4 travellers

Accommodation, guides, transport included.

Pamir Highway and Bartang Valley Tour from Dushanbe Highlights

A 10-day private 4x4 loop from Dushanbe: out along the Afghan border and the Wakhan, back through the wild Bartang Valley. Instead of driving back along the Pamir Highway, the route crosses the high plateau to Karakul Lake and returns west through the Bartang – the shortest but roughest way across the Pamirs, with almost no people for a hundred kilometres and a good chance to see wild animals such as Marco Polo sheep.

The first day is a city tour of Dushanbe with the Mehrgon Bazaar, the Museum of Antiquities and Rudaki Park. You then drive past the Nurek reservoir and the Hulbuk Fortress to Kulob, over the Shurobod Pass to Kalai-Khumb and along the Panj River, with Afghan villages across the water, to Khorog. In the Wakhan you bathe in the Garm-Chashma and Bibi Fatima hot springs, see the ancient fortresses of Qah-Qaha and Yamchun, the museum and solar observatory of Yamg – where you sleep in a traditional Pamiri house – the Buddhist stupa of Vrang and the petroglyphs of Langar, before crossing the Khargush Pass to Bulunkul, the coldest village in Tajikistan.

Through the Alichur valley and over the Neizatash Pass, past the Chatyr-Tash rock formation and the first Russian post, you reach Murghab, cross the Ak-Baital Pass (4,655 m) and spend the night at Karakul Lake (3,900 m). From there a remote track leads via Kokjar to Ghudara in the upper Bartang, then down the valley's gorges to a 5 km hike up to Jizev village. The last day follows the original Pamir Highway over the Sagirdasht Pass (3,255 m), through the Tavildara valley and past the Rogun dam back to Dushanbe. Accommodation, all meals and a Land Cruiser with driver are included, a guide is not. Expect long drives on rough roads, simple homestays and warm Pamiri hospitality – a private trip for 1–4 travellers in July and August.

Difficulty: Moderate Long driving days of 130–360 km on mountain roads and the rough, remote Bartang track, nights at 3,700 m (Bulunkul) and 3,900 m (Karakul), passes up to 4,655 m (Ak-Baital) and a 5 km hike up to Jizev village and back down; simple homestays.

bulunkul lake, pamir without kyrgyzstan tour

view from yamchun forttress in pamir. Pamir without kyrgyzstan tour

Karakul lake by the Pamir highway. View on the lake and Peak Lenin near Karakul village in the Pamirs, Tajikistan, Central Asia.

A man with his donkey in Jizev village in Bartang, Pamir

Tour Itinerary

Sightseeing in Dushanbe: the Mehrgon Bazaar, the Museum of Antiquities and the city centre with the Somoni Monument, Dusti Square, the National Library, Rudaki Park and the Flag Park. Lunch at the Forel restaurant and dinner at the Rohat teahouse. Overnight at the Atlas Hotel (4*) in Dushanbe. Altitude: 750 m (Dushanbe).

Dushanbe, Mehrgon Bazaar, National Museum of Antiquities (Dushanbe), Rudaki Park

Overnight: Dushanbe (Hotel)

Meals: Lunch, Dinner

Drive south-east with a stop at the viewpoint over the Nurek reservoir and a visit to the Hulbuk Fortress and its museum. Lunch in Kulob, then over the Shurobod Pass with a short walk at Boboi Jamol, and along the Panj River to Kalai-Khumb with views of the Afghan villages on the other bank. Overnight at the Roma homestay in Kalai-Khumb. Altitude: end of the day 1,250 m (Kalai-Khumb).

Nurek dam, Hulbuk Fortress, Kulob, Shurobod, Pyanj River, Kalai Khum, Pamir Mountains

Dushanbe → Kalai Khum (360 km)

Overnight: Kalai Khum (Homestay)