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 to Dushanbe via Riga with Air Baltic and took a domestic flight with Tajik Air 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 impassable by bicycle due to construction work so I hitch hiked to Osh. From Osh I flew (with Eastok Avia) to Bishkek before catching a flight back to Dushanbe (with Avia Traffic Company) for my return flight to the UK.
I stayed in Dushanbe, Nishup, Ishkashim, nurse's house, homestay, Langar, Pamir valley†, Khargush†, Alichur, Murghab (3 nights), Ak-Baital valley†, Karakul, Sary Tash (2 nights), Osh, Bishkek and Dushanbe (3 nights). Wild camps are marked †.
The photos are divided into two sections:
The route is marked in orange in the map below.
Return to home page.
Tajik Visa
Wakhan Permit
Kyrgyz Visa