Pamir Highway

Line of Horses and Peak Lenin - Sary Tash, Kyrgyzstan

Horses queue up in the fields near Pik Lenin between Sary Tash and Sary Moghul, Kyrgyzstan. Read more about our adventures in the Pamirs.

Planning Travels on Jeep - Sary Tash, Kyrgyzstan

We examine a map with our driver, Saeet, in order to determine our route to Tajikistan the next day. Read more about our adventures in the Pamirs.

Marco Polo Sheep Statue - Tajikistan to Kyrgzystan

The statue of the Marco Polo sheep marks the entrance into Tajikistan from Kyrgyzstan. The official border crossing and passport control is a few kilometers away...in an even more remote corner of the universe. Read more about our adventures in the Pamirs.

View of China from Pamir Highway, Tajikistan

The barbed wire fence on the left marks the border between Tajikistan and China. It was unmanned, but menacingly stretched for miles and miles. Read more about our adventures in the Pamirs.

Yamchun Fort - Pamir Mountains, Tajikistan

The ruins of the 12th-century Yamchun Fort against a beautiful backdrop of the Pamir Mountains. Another kilometer up the road, you'll find the delightful Bibi Fatima hot springs. The first dose of hot water we'd had in days. Taken in Tajikistan's Wakhan Valley. Read more about our adventures in the Pamirs.

Funky Soviet Cafe in Murghab - Pamir Mountains, Tajikistan

This recycled metal tanke-cum-cafe typifies life in Murghab, Tajikistan. This is a barren town in the high desert of the Pamir mountains. The altitude and dry climate mean that nothing grows here, not even potatoes. And, the only animals able to withstand the altitude are yaks and donkeys.Life is difficult, people are poor and the market is filled with reused Soviet containers like this one. Read more about our adventures in the Pamirs.

Laughing Kyrgyz Women - Murghab, Tajikistan

These two ethnic Kyrgyz women put on smiles in the village of Alichur, Tajikistan..Taken en route from Murghab to Langar. Read more about our adventures in the Pamirs.

Donkeys Walking Home - Wakhan Valley, Tajikistan

Donkeys carry firewood and hay on their way home to Langhar in Tajikistan's Wakhan Valley. ..On the other side of the river is Afghanistan and in the distance, Pakistan's Hindu Kush mountains. Read more about our adventures in the Pamirs.

Inside a Pamiri Home - Langar, Tajikistan

This cat was caught in the act of trying to steal breakfast from the sleeping/dining area of the Pamiri house where we stayed in Langar, Tajikistan. Read more about our adventures in the Pamirs.

Pamiri Woman and Teacher - Langar, Tajikistan

This woman greeted us in English, which surprised us, and then invited us into her home in Langar, Tajikistan. She had studied English for two years in Khorog and then became a teacher in the village school in Langar, but had to stop working when she got married. She was eager to practice her English and seemed excited to have engagement with someone outside her family. Read more about our adventures in the Pamirs.

Farmers Preparing for Winter - Wakhan Valley, Tajikistan

Farmers get ready for winter in the Wakhan Valley village of Langar, Tajikistan. Read more about our adventures in the Pamirs.

Road Trip through Pamir Highway, Tajikistan

Once all the tires (plus the spare) were equipped with some more hand-pumped air, this packed-to-the-brim Volga would take off. ..That is, until all the tires would go flat again after a few more kilometers...Taken in the Pamir Mountains of Tajikistan en route to Murghab. Read more about our adventures in the Pamirs.

Wakhan Valley - Pamir Mountains, Tajikistan

Along the Wakhan Valley in Tajikistan in the Pamir Mountains. We followed the Pyanj River with Afghanistan on one side and Tajikistan on the other. The views into Afghanistan and the Hindu Kush of Pakistan were stunning. Read more about our adventures in the Pamirs.

Kyrgyz Man with Kalpak - Pamir Mountains, Tajikistan

An older Kyrgyz man in his kalpak (traditional Kyrgyz hat) waits for his ride at a remote cafe in Tajikistan. This area of Tajikistan is inhabited my mainly ethnic Kyrgyz. One of Stalin's lasting legacies is that the borders in this region mean that ethnic groups are divided between two countries - the country of their passport and the country where most of their people live. It still creates political and economic difficulties today in Central Asian countries. Taken en route to Murghab, Tajikistan. Read more about our adventures in the Pamirs.

Pamiri Women with Buckets of Water - Pamir Mountains, Tajikistan

These young women carry water from a spring back to their homes. Almost nowhere in the Pamirs could you find running water. Fortunately, the Wakhan Valley had many mountain springs so you never had far to look. Taken in Langar, Tajikistan. Read more about our adventures in the Pamirs.

Young Pamiri Boy - Pamir Mountains, Tajikistan

Pamiri Boy. Taken in Khorog, Tajikistan. Read about our adventures in the Pamirs.

Crossing the Pass in Soviet Car - Pamir Mountains, Tajikistan

The packed Volga guns its engine to make it up the Ak-Baital (White Horse) Pass (4,655 meters) in Tajikistan on the way from the Kyrgyz border to Murghab. ..The sky and clouds take on a different look from the "Roof of the World" Pamir Mountains. Read more about our adventures in the Pamirs.