Tajikistan: The Pamir Highway

You arrive in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, where the team welcomes you and transfers you to the hotel. After a rest, we explore the city centre, including Rudaki Park and Independence Square with its soaring flagpole. In the evening, we meet the group and go through the programme for the days ahead.

We leave Dushanbe in the morning for Kulob, stopping at Nurek Dam, one of the tallest dams in the world, before lunch in Kulob. Beyond Shurobod, the road follows the Panj River, which separates Tajikistan from Afghanistan, through striking mountain scenery all the way to Kalaikhumb, where we stay at Roma Guesthouse.

We continue alongside the Panj River and the Afghan border to Khorog, the capital of the high Pamir region. We visit its botanical garden, the second-highest botanical garden in the world, then rest before climbing towards the higher plateau over the coming days.

We climb gradually from the green Panj Valley to the high desert plateau of the Pamirs, where the landscape changes completely into vast plains and bare peaks. Passing remote Pamiri villages, we reach Murghab, the highest town on the Pamir Highway.

We cross Ak-Baital Pass at 4,655 metres, the highest point on the entire Pamir Highway, before descending towards legendary Lake Karakul, formed by a meteorite impact millions of years ago. We stay in Karakul village on the shore of the turquoise lake, surrounded by peaks rising above 6,000 metres.

We head south through the Alichur Valley to Bulunkul, recorded as the coldest inhabited place in Central Asia after Siberia, where winter temperatures fall below -60°C. Before settling in for the night, we visit nearby Lake Yashilkul and its enchanting turquoise water.

A long return day across the vast Pamir Plateau, followed by a descent back into the Panj River valley. We take in final views of the Afghan border before reaching Kalaikhumb for our last overnight stop on the road.

We return to Dushanbe after our long journey along the legendary Pamir Highway, settling into the hotel for a well-earned rest after days of rugged mountain roads and high-altitude landscapes.

A flexible day to explore Dushanbe at an easy pace: historic Hissar Fortress, the lively Shah Mansur Bazaar for gifts and souvenirs, and the National Museum of Antiquities. In the evening, we share a farewell dinner and look back on the journey’s finest moments.

After breakfast, the team transfers you to Dushanbe Airport for your journey home, carrying memories of a road known as the “Roof of the World” — suspension bridges above deep gorges, otherworldly lakes, and the warm hospitality of the Pamirs despite the cold of the highlands.