Tajikistan (July 29 - August 14, 2017): Southern Valleys of Gorno-Badakhshan
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For previous trips to Tajikistan, see 2004,
2006,
2009,
and 2010.
During this trip I visited valleys of
the southern part of the province of Gorno-Badakhshan
(often referred to as GBAO) in Tajikistan: Rivak and Badomdara/Restovdara valleys (on
foot) and Shakhdara and Panj
valleys (by car). I had planned two rather hard treks in this southern part of
the Pamir mountains, but I eventually cut both of them short (see links below).
Like in my 2009 and 2010 trips I found the Pamir mountains more physically
demanding and unforgiving than expected. Perhaps, I am also getting too old for
them. Nevertheless, despite some disappointments, this was a superb trip, with
a bigger-than-planned cultural component in the Shakhdara
and Panj valleys (old fortresses and shrines with
pre-Islamic flavor).
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[Here Tajikistan and
Afghanistan are separated by the Panj river and on
the east the Pamir river.] |
On this trip I was helped by Jumash, Almaz,
Nozimbo, and Muboriz (see photos below). Jumash served as my guide and
interpreter during the entire trip. Almaz joined us on both the Rivak and the
Badomdara/Restovdara treks. Nozimbo and Muboriz only participated in the Rivak
trek. Both Jumash and Almaz are Kyrgyz from Murghab (though Almaz now lives in
Osh, Kyrgyzstan), whereas Nozimbo and Muboriz (two brothers) are Pamiris from
Khorog. All four were wonderful English-speaking companions, who did their best
to make this trip as successful as possible. Note that Nozimbo and Muboriz can
arrange day hikes around Khorog (contact: muboriz.muborakshoev@gmail.com).
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[From left to right:
Almaz, Jumash, Nozimbo, and Muboriz.]
The logistics for this trek (transportation,
support team, hotels/homestays...) was arranged by Kudaibergen Mamadiev of Pamir CENTRAL ASIA, with the
assistance of Boris Karpov, my friend in Tashkent (Uzbekistan) who had arranged
all my previous trips in Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan. Kudaibergen
was very flexible in accommodating changes from the original travel plan. A key
component of the trip, transportation, was quite expensive but flawless.
To see photos
of the various parts of this trip click on the links below. (For 2009 photos
along the Panj river north
of Khorog click here.)
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