Pamir Highway: An epic drive on the roof of the world
bbc.com
bbc.com
The article is a bit dishonest about what the highway is like. The majority of the Pamir Highway (the M41) is actually in quite good condition. There are just occasional unpaved stretches, notably the mountain passes and the stretch down to Khorog. The flat bits have good, wide tarmac that you can do 60mph on.
Still - it was a good lesson in being prepared. There are not many people passing by, so you really don't want to be breaking down. Winter was drawing in when we were there, making it extra dicey.
The real adventure is getting off the Pamir Highway. The Wakhan Valley, Zorkul Lake, the Bartang Valley. That is where my best memories are from, and where most of the photos in the article seem to be from.
Apart from the landscapes, my other fond memory is of the Pamiri people. They are such kind, warm people. It is engrained in their culture to care for travellers. When you live in such a hostile environment, you have to look after each other out of necessity.
It was also interesting seeing how their quality of life has changed recently. There is no cell service, and electricity only in the two large towns. But most of the places we visited without electricity now have cheap solar panels from China. The influx of tourism means that everyone runs a homestay and can start to afford things like that.
I have been meaning to write up the trip in more detail. I haven't recorded it particularly well yet. A few photos are on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bfirsh/
Surprisingly easy to travel as a lone backpacker nowadays as you can arrange transport on the day on all the major stops of the main route. (Dushanbe -> Khrough -> Murghab -> Osh). Cost of the main route was something like $70 in shared taxi costs.
Just go to whatever the local meeting point early enough and you'll get a ride. Tend to leave by 10-11am IIRC. Try to get the front seat as they'll overpack the cars to an extreme.
I only did the main route and didn't head down to the Wakhan valley, where I gather you need to find people to travel with to cover the costs.
Random tips / things to be aware of:
* Breakdowns seems to be pretty normal. They do know how to fix their cars though so you shouldn't panic. Had this happen twice on the Khrough -> Mughrab section.
* There are some lovely villages on the road to Roshtqala. I did a homestay in Tusen and the scenery around there is amazing. The place marked as "Shokhdara Bus Station" in Khrough on OSM is where you go to get transport here.
* Public transport between closer villages and around Khrough is pretty reliable but it doesn't run on Sundays. Bit of an adventure to get though.
* ATMs exist in Khrough and do accept Visa, but none as far as I'm aware in Mughrab (And the banks weren't open in Mughrab while I was there due to the time of year)
* No accommodation in the Pamirs has persistent internet connectivity, even if they advertise it. It's all 3G/4G connections they leave on only for a few hours a day (if that). This becomes an issue when you need to figure out where to stay in the next place on your route.
* The GBAO permit is cheaper if you do it in Dushanbe and don't get it with your evisa.
* Caravanistan and its forum has so much useful information. Planned my whole trip around the site.
It is epic.
http://theroadchoseme.com/the-dempster-highway
http://theroadchoseme.com/the-dempster-highway-fall
Standing on the Arttic Circle on the winter Solstice is a lot of fun (high temp for the day was -49C (-56F), sun just kissed the horizon) and the Dempster is a lot more scenic than the Dalton.
It's also really fun in summer - get sunburnt at 3am, go to bed and realize you still have sunglasses on, etc. etc.
Let me know if you have any questions, when I'm not on the road I live in Whitehorse so I know the area pretty well.
Having someone in your car with a gun is not a good idea. Chances are they'll just run away anyway (they don't want to get shot anymore than you do), and if a "bad guy" sees a gun in your car, the first thing he's going to do is shoot, then ask questions later. If you don't have a gun he'll come over and shake hands and scope out the situation.
I've been to 30 countries here now and have never, ever felt the need for a gun. Recently I rolled up on guys guarding their cows with AK47s. They were more than happy to let me hold it while they cycled the selector from safe to semi to full auto... only after that did he check and I saw there was a round in the chamber, and a full magazine!
You didn’t faced any of these?
I won't be going to Somalia.
Still it looks like a very challenging drive with very beautiful scenery.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/travel/were-the-ame...
Situations obviously change and cannot say how it is now, but as far as I can tell it is similar to then. Cross-border attacks and kidnappings were rare and we neither had an armed escort nor did we want one.
On trip I worried a bit about road safety (still, not nearly as much as in Nepal) and more about food poisoning (stay long enough and you'll experience it :P), but not really about other kind of threats.
People were generally kind and helpful. We did have local guides to help us.
Would love to return again some day.
I do still like the historical attributes of the path, as the ancient silk road etc.
I've been to many places around the world, but east Tajikistan was one of the most breath-taking.
Some pictures from that trip (not taken by me): https://www.flickr.com/photos/29022619@N03/albums/7215766398...
Somewhere around 4500m.
Cycling would definitely be my preference. It's just a great way to see the scenery, appreciate the terrain, and interact with locals. Probably quite a bit safer, too.
A lot of westerners think they can find epic adventure, but they can't. Not when they have a first world family or nest to return to. A true epic adventurer has no safety net, much like me on my homemade glider.