Hitchhiking the Pamir Highway

Gunt Valley

Its been a couple months since my last blog on Tajikistan which had to be cut short of completion. There was an important trip to India coming up which needed pressing attention.

Murghab plateau: the domain of the Marco Polo Sheep

This sudden intervention involved combing through material from the past few years – it was neither my want nor something I knew I was going to enjoy. What I found (and knew) was that there was a lot of good in there but Alas... a lot of troubling memories too. All of it had been locked away for the past twelve months hoping I’d never need to revisit it, but I suppose I was naïve to think I’d never need it.

The beautiful hanging smooth mountains in the Murghab Plateau

Needless to say, in between combing through the material and summarizing it, it was a drain on time and emotions so I’m hoping I don’t have to do something similar again. I’d rather also remember my trip to India for all the good reasons – I got to spend time with family and friends and my new nephew was christened as Rikkin – a word that my family as claiming is Russian in origin. I found its got meaning in three languages. Glory in Russian, Love in Greek and that which is unknown in Indian.

Pamir (M41) highway

Now, having returned from India I will try to pick up where I left on Tajikistan. The events might not be fresh but I’ll take a crack nonetheless…!

The visit to Bartang and the trek to the Grumm Grzhimaylo Glacier was top of my agenda and having checked it off so early in my trip, it opened several other opportunities for adventures with 10 good days left still.

It didn’t make sense to hurry through the Pamirs just so I could squeeze in a few more geological regions of Tajikistan but, I could make it to a couple more valleys in the Pamirs. With the culture in each valley having evolved in isolation for centuries due to their remoteness, it would be fascinating to see how different the Gunt and/or the Wakhan valleys were to the Bartang…what I found that this uniqueness also extended to the geography as well.

After returning from Pasor, Mir and Purdil dropped me off in Khorog. Mir was going to stay a night or two until he found work eventually taking him towards home around Dushanbe while Purdil being a local, would be recuperating after his hardships in Bartang.

Overlooking the Murghab river

Purdil recommended a centrally located hostel for the night’s stay - I preferred to go to the Pamir Lodge instead. This lodge was popular among backpackers, cyclists and overlanders and I reckoned I’d have a better chance to hitch a ride if I wanted to go further south or west. I was open to either the Wakhan or the Gunt valley as long as I didn’t have to spend a lot of days in Khorog because although it was a charming little town I had to make the most of my remaining 10 days; there was still time for Khorog later…perhaps.

Sunset in Murghab

Post check-in I found Maria and Vincent, a Belgian couple who I had briefly met in Khigiz, lounging around the lodge. I remembered them having mentioned their likely arrival in Khorog around the same time but I didn’t really anticipate running into them.

Over a round of decent Tajik vodka, they mentioned that they would be headed towards Murghab on their way to Kirgizstan in the morning and offered a ride if I was interested. Even though I was leaning towards going to the Wakhan valley the offer was too good to turn down. I would be saving a lot of time and they both were fantastic company.

In the morning we met up over a scrumptious breakfast with the customary cherry and apricot jam and soon left Khorog in their rented Russian Lada. Khorog to Murghab was a small stretch going east through Gunt valley on the legendary M41 Pamir highway.

Yashikul Lake

Like the Bartang, the Gunt takes its name from the river that flows through it but the similarities end there. If Bartang is narrow then Gunt is much wider having a better panorama. The river is also a quintessential mountain glacial blue unlike the muddy brown waters of the river in Bartang.

The highway, considering its altitude and remoteness was in decent conditions in patches and probably explains why it’s the preferred route for overlanders traveling between Tajikistan and Kirgizstan. As we climbed higher towards the plateau the jagged mountains gave way to a smoother outline, the winds picked up speed, the mercury dropped and Kyrgyz nomadic yurts came into view dotted along the stark beautiful landscape. The Kyrgyz are different people compared to the rest of Tajikistan standing out with their mongoloid features. They also differ from the Pamiri since they follow Sunni Islam instead of Ismaili Shia.

Climbing near the Panorama Ridge

Somebody had highly recommended a restaurant serving fried fish to Vincent in the small settlement of Alichur so we chomped down of some tasty trout caught from the local Alichur river and washed it down with hot green tea.

As evening fell we entered Murghab and checked into a namesake hotel with a bizarre feel to it. The town itself is a distant and cold outpost of Tajikistan and the travelers who had checked in that night added a vibrant but eclectic feel.

Since Maria and Vincent would be headed across the border into Kirgizstan the next day I approached the knowledgeable hotel receptionist for tips on treks in the plateau. He gave me a few recommendations and put up a notice board by his desk to see if anyone else was interested in joining. My chances of finding others were bleak as most travelers to Murghab are overlanders or bikers rather than hikers. As I went to bed that night I was resigned to the fact that I will have to go solo again.

The next morning over breakfast I heard a couple guys talking in Spanish and fortunately I could pick up a bit of their conversation which was extremely important. They were talking about going from Murghab to Langar that morning - a very isolated stretch of road in the Pamirs that connects the Gunt and the Wakhan valleys.  I knew this was my chance to find a ride into Wakhan and without a hesitation I asked if I could hitch a ride with them. Normally I wouldn’t be so trigger happy but circumstances mandated I move quick. My other options were waiting for someone else to go that route which was highly unlikely or taking a private car and a driver, which would be very expensive.

It turned out that they were from Spain and Mexico and were traveling with a South Korean who they met in Osh. This was great news for me since it meant a vacant space in their 4X4…all I was asked to do was get the permission of their driver and guide Muhammed.

Wakhan river from a different vantage point

The very crossable Wakhan river. Other side is Afghanistan

His tepid approval and I quickly packed my bags, told the receptionist that I changed my plan and joined the crew towards Langar. Since they had come the opposite direction from Osh in Kirgizstan, a part of their ride out of Murghab was the same patch of the highway I had traversed the previous day. We retraced all the way past Alichur and then to a place called Bulunkul, reputedly one of the coldest place in Central Asia with a minimum record of -63 degrees Celsius!

Wakhi of Afghanistan

Another stopping point was the high altitude Yashikul lake just a short distance from this cold and bleak settlement. Even though I was retracing a bit of the journey from the previous day I was not complaining getting an opportunity to soak my eyes with the stunning scenery along the Pamir highway.

Eventually we detoured towards Langar and stopped at a place called Panorama Ridge for a cold two-hour hike up a hill with stunning 360-degree view. South as far as the eyes could see were the distant Hindu Kush mountains and behind us lay the stark high-altitude landscape of the Murghab plateau.

Marco Polo (or Argali) sheep is an key attraction in the Murghab plateau since its got one of the highest density of the animal. I was on the plateau for just a little over a day so probably didn’t deserve to see it. However, I did get to see a lonely ibex.

Afghan's living in the shadow of the Hindu-Kush

Leaving the Panorama Ridge, we gradually started descending the high-altitude plateau on vertigo inducing roads cut through the cliffs. If I thought the Pamir highway was breathtaking then the road to Langar was even more spectacular.

We stopped by to take pictures whenever we got a chance but the driver’s anxiety was palpable. With the dangerous condition of the road, there was little if any protection to prevent vehicles from tipping over into the chasm below and traversing this section is not something to even contemplate attempting in low light. One small mistake and it would could be the last one they make.

We descended further down until we reached the Wakhan river separating Tajikistan from Afghanistan. This river fed by the mighty snow-clad mountains was shallow enough that one could easily cross on foot…. doing that is another matter but really if anyone desires to cross into Afghanistan on foot this would be the spot.

The Afghan Wakhi’s waved at us and some even called out for some vodka.

A couple hours later we make it to the town of Langar straddling the spectacular Wakhan valley. I checked into the same homestay that my co-travelers were going to stay but I sensed my hitching part was coming to an end that night. I would be on my own from there onwards.

Hindu Kush Mountain Range

They had graciously helped me ride with them and I sensed the displeasure of Muhammad for me to ride with them further even thought I had pretty much the same travel itinerary as them. I didn’t feel bad…afterall I was just glad I even made it

to Langar and was thankful they got me that far.

Arriving into Langar in the Wakhan valley

Traveling through the Wakhan valley would not be as difficult as it’s a few notches lower in remoteness than the Murghab - Langar stretch. It was time to go into the mentality of getting out of my comfort zone.