Tajikistan

Cycling the Pamir Highway

The Pamir Highway was built by the Soviet Union in the early 1930s to give access to what was then one of the remotest corners of the empire. At the end of September 2009 I set off in the company of neighbour Matt Scriven to ride it. We flew into Dushanbe and took a domestic flight to Khorog. We omitted the first section of highway and instead took a scenic detour via the Wakhan valley.

After reaching Alichur Matt had to return to Khorog and Dushanbe to catch a flight home. I carried on to Sary Tash in Kyrgyzstan. Beyond Sary Tash the road to was impassible due to construction work so I hitch hiked to Osh. From Osh I travelled to Bishkek before catching a flight back to Dushanbe for my return flight to the UK.

The photos are divided into two sections:

The route is marked in orange in the map below.

Return to home page.

Pamirs Map
Tajik Visa
Wakhan Permit
Kyrgyz Visa
World's Most Dangerous Roads - Tajikistan - Ice Death