Why do travelers share a transport on Pamir Highway?
Traveling Pamir Highway is expensive to travel due to several factors. I will try to list the reasons for that.
1.Bad Road Conditions. The worst roads start in a few kilometers far from Kalaikhum onwards Khorog city. Starting from Kalaikhum all the way to Sarytash village in Kyrgyzstan are the worst roads in the world except for some parts nearby Murgab village. Only the best 4WD Jeeps can give a comfort. Make sure the cars have air conditioners and good seats. The roads are very well maintained in the cities near Dushanbe. The roads connecting Dushanbe with Panjakent, Khujand, Tursunzada and Kuliab are in good condition and paved.
2.The high cost of petrol. The petrol is about 2 USD in Pamirs which is very high in comparison with neighboring countries. You can feel it as soon as you enter Uzbekistan or Kyrgyzstan. The price of food products can be also high due to transportation.
3.Drivers pay at each checkpoint for carrying passengers. The border points in Pamirs, especially, the checkpoints at Bor Dobo and Kyz Art is difficult for drivers to cross due to different fees to pay. Drivers pay eco-fees and vet-fees. Moreover, the military and customs have certain fees for each car to pay for carrying passengers. This is the only way the military and customs try to make a cash. A few years ago when there was a trade, customs and military did it with traders. Now there is no any trade. So they charge drivers a lot. This is the way military and customs officials live and make money. If you don’t pay, they scare delaying you by checking all your car and luggage.
How do you find other travelers to share the cost of transport to your Pamir Highway Trip?
Well, there are a few companies who arrange it.
The most popular one is the Caravanistan website. It has a special section called Pamir Highway Rideshare in Travel sharing page. Here travelers can post and write to other people’s posts looking for tourists to share. It is simple and easy to use. Here at this Ride Share, you can see other travelers’ emails to contact directly. Anyway, you have to get a quote for your travel itinerary from the company or driver to know how much your tour costs. It will help you to tell others about how much they will share. Go ahead and negotiate with others to fix the final price.
There are no other Pamir Highway Rideshare forums. The next thing is the company you have found to arrange your Pamir Highway Trip. You can ask them to find others to join you. Of course, these companies have partners who arrange the same tour. They can put their clients into one car. The companies as Osh Guesthouse and Visit Alay in Osh city or PECTA in Khorog have a list of travelers who contact them asking to join a group. You should contact these offices asking if they have people in their list awaiting for others.
For example in Osh city, Osh Guesthouse and Visit Alay collect tourists to make a group in summer. You can also visit their offices and leave a message about your plans. They will tell other interested people if you have gone somewhere to do a trek.
There are many hostels in Dushanbe as well who can help you to join a group. The good one we know so far is Green Hostel & Hello Dushanbe Hostel in Dushanbe. However, local travel agents are better than hostels since they know the route details ranging from trekking to accommodation options on Pamir Highway.
If you don’t find any traveler to join you, then the last option is to go with locals.
Local Taxis
You can find local taxis at all taxi stands in bigger cities.
Osh city. There is a special shared taxi stand in Osh city to Murgab village. It is about 12 hours from Osh city to Murgab village and costs 30 USD per person for locals. There is no fixed date when they go. You should go there one or two days before you depart. They usually leave early in the morning. The good thing with locals that you feel local comfort with them. The bad thing is you are very tight with 6 people in a car. Your backpack will go to the roof with the luggage of locals. They wrap with the tent to protect from wind and rain. So take the most important things with you. The second thing is you miss nature and nice side trips on the way.
The side trips you miss when you go with locals are:
a) the Lenin Peak Base Camp with magnificent views of glaciers. Here you can stay in a yurt on your first at 3500 meters and do a morning trek to Traveler’s pass to see Lenin Peak in a close distance.
b) The alpine lake Karakul with its trek to 5041 meters.
c) The Rangkul Lake is right before you get to Murgab village. Here you can also do camel riding. There are other treks possible if you are interested in day treks on the way.
Murgab city. If you have managed to get to Murgab village from Osh city, then the next place to join locals in Murgab village going to Khorog city. Here you can find shared taxis going to Khorog. The price per person is about 30 to 40 USD per person. It takes 7-8 hours. Again, the driver takes 6 people to maximize the budget. Very tight.
You will miss two sights when you go with locals:
a) Alpine Lakes Bulungkul & Yashilkul , a side trip on the way. It has nice lakes with only 10 households residing.
b) The Wakhan Valley. This is a must-see spot in Tajikistan. However, it can be reached by shared taxis from Khorog city. We will discuss in the next paragraph.
Khorog city. It is a central city of GBAO region. So, you can reach several spots from here.
1.To reach Dushanbe, it is one-day trip and takes 14-15 hours from Khorog city. Again, a driver takes 6 people to maximize the budget. Very tight with the worst road conditions up to Kuliab. Most travelers claimed that it almost kills you. Avoid it if you can. What you miss is
a) Jiseu Valley in Bartang Valley. Most travelers take this side trip to their bucket list. It has become a highlight of Tajikistan.
2.To Wakhan valley, you can find local taxis going to the villages in Wakhan Valley. It is not frequent. Note: Time and Date is not scheduled for shared taxis to all these directions. You need to go in advance to book your seat to avoid a long awaiting.
Dushanbe city. This is an easy part of traveling. You can find shared taxis to all the cities located in the western part of the country. Roads are in good condition and prices are reasonable. Go to the main taxi stations to take a shared taxi. Again, you need to go always in advance to save your time. Just showing up makes you wait until the car is full.
Hitchhiking in Tajikistan
Doing hitchhiking is possible. All depends on which cities and when you go. It is easy and there is much traffic from Dushanbe to the north and south-western cities as Penjikent, Khujand, and Kuliab. You can do it all year around.
Doing hitchhiking on Pamir Highway starting from Kalaikhum to Khorog and onwards to Sarytash village in Kyrgyzstan is something you should consider seriously.
A) There are less traffic and locals always go full. There might not be a space in the car.
B) You will see other travelers who have taken a car to split the cost. They can take, but they have paid a lot of money already. They might ask if you can share some cost.
C) There are company arranged cars who are doing tours. They will take you if the tourist inside asks him to take you.
D) You will see some tourists who rented a car as self-drive. They can be a good option for you. Again, they have already paid a lot of money and they might refuse for the sake of comfort. All in all, you need time and good planning to do hitchhiking in Tajikistan. Only those who are, indeed, short of budget or seeking adventure do this type of traveling.
