The “Highlights of Tajikistan” tour is a 12-day journey through Tajikistan’s stunning landscapes, including the Pamir and Fann Mountains. The itinerary starts in Osh city and includes visits to picturesque locations like Lenin Peak Base Camp, Karakul Lake, and the Wakhan Valley. Experience the vibrant Tajik culture with stays in local homestays and yurts, and indulge in exhilarating treks to scenic passes and charming villages. Ideal for outdoor enthusiasts and culture seekers alike. Get an unforgettable exploration of Tajikistan’s natural and cultural wonders.
Destinations: Pamir Highway, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan
Duration: 12 days, 11 nights
Best Season: May – October
Altitude: passes at 2400 – 5041 m
Overnight stay: homestays and yurtstays
Itinerary: Osh city – Sarymogol – Lenin Peak Base Camp – Karakul lake – Murgab – Alichur – Wakhan valley – Ishkashim – Khorog city – Darvoz (Kalaikhum) district – Dushanbe city – Fann Mountains – Penjikent
Day 1: Osh – Sarymogol village – Tulparkol Lake at Lenin Peak Base Camp, 5 – 6 hr
Breakfast. Drive to Sarymogol village, 4hr. A nice valley opens up when you reach Taldyck pass before Sarytash (3600 meters) with green pastures and yaks grazing around. Arrival in Sarymogol village and cross the bridge to get to yurt camp at Tulpar Kol Lake (3500 m) next to Lenin Peak Base Camp, 1hr. Enjoy the beauty of snowcapped mountains. Walk around this turquoise alpine lake Tulpar Kol. Overnight & dinner in a yurt.
Day 2: Tulpar Kol Lake – Border Crossings – Karakul Lake – 5 – 6 hr
Early breakfast. Take a day hike from your yurt camp to the Traveler’s pass at 4130 meters, 3 hrs. Enjoy the beauty of glaciers while walking up to the pass. Rest at the top of the Traveler’s pass to gaze at glaciers tumbling off the massive peak. Back to your yurts, 2 hrs. Lunch in a yurt. Drive to the checkpoint, 2hr. Cross the borders and travel to Karakul Lake in Tajikistan, 1 hrs. The otherworldly landscape opens up confirming that this is Tajikistan. Accommodated in a guesthouse. A short walk around the lake.
Day 3: Karakul Lake – Ortoboz Pass trek to 5041 meters – Murgab village
Drive to the south shore of Karakul Lake up to the starting point of the hike, 10 minutes. Trek starts at about 4150m altitude. The first half of the hike is in grassy meadows. The second half is on rocky ground. Reach the pass and celebrate your accomplishment at 5041 meters. Enjoy the 7000-meter high Pamir Mountain ranges all around you in a distance. After the summit, descend to the car. Continue to drive to Murgab village, 3 hrs. Accommodation in a homestay.
Day 4: Murgab village – Pshart-Madyan trek – Alichur village, 6-7 hr
Leave Murghab and head 14km to the northwest of Murghab on a dirt road. The trail begins at a yurt camp. After 90 minutes, walk on loose stones called talus and reach the Gumbozkul Pass t 4731 m. Enjoy the fantastic Pamir scenery. The trail down is obvious and descend 500 meters of altitude in what seems like minutes. 4 to 5 km from the end, you pass a yurt and are invited in for cheese and tea. Arrive at the unpaved road to meet your driver and go to Alichur village for overnight.
Day 5: Alichur – Bulungkul & Yashilkul Lakes – Panorama Ridge Hike – Langar village in Wakhan Valley, 5-6 hr
Breakfast. Take a side trip to visit alpine lakes Bulunkul & Yashylkul with nice hot springs. Drive back to the main road and head up to the Kargush pass (4 344m). Arrival at the Kargush pass and start the 3-4 hr trek to Panorama Ridge at 4800 meters. While walking up, two small lakes behind you at roadside open up to cheer you. You will be rewarded with a stunning view of the Wakhan Range of Afghanistan in a distance on top of the pass. The whole valley of Great Pamir at the foot of Wakhan Range looks otherworldly. After the hike, drive along Panj river dividing Afghanistan and Tajikistan. Try to spot nomadic Afghan Kyrgyz caravans. Great rugged Hindu Kush Mountains welcome you right before entering Wakhan Valley. Overnight and dinner in a friendly homestay in Langar village.
Day 6: Langar village – Yamchun fortress – Hot Springs – Ishkashim village – Khorog city, 5-6 hr
Breakfast. We do a side trip to admire the 12th century Yamchun Fortress rising from a platform of natural rock. Walk up to edge of the fort and you will have an amazing view of Wakhan Valley. Up the hillside are located the hot springs of Bibi Fatima, with its crystal waters rich in minerals. Back to the main road. Another fortress Khaaka comes up along the way at Namadgut village when you get closer to Ishkashim village. It is worth a 10 minutes stop. Continue to drive to Khorog city. Afternoon, visit the interesting Regional Museum and Central Park of Khorog city. Evening hike in a Botanical Garden that has various plants and trees to explore. Dinner at a cafe. Night in a hotel.
Day 7: Khorog – Jiseu Valley, 3-4 hr
Drive about 3 hrs along nice villages to Bartang Valley. Arrive at the bridge and cross it. Walk along the stream up to the seasonally over-flowing, tree-lined river lakes, 2 hrs. Arrive in the village and be accommodated. Walk around the First Lake and experience the local culture in this wild and remote community.
Day 8: Jsieu Valley – To Darvoz (Kalaikhum), 5–6 hr
Breakfast. Take a morning hike to the second lake about 2,3km beyond the last guesthouse. Enjoy these azure alpine lakes and the horizon of high peaks that needs one more overnight to do it. Return to your car on the same way you came yesterday. Drive to Kalaikhum on a gorgeous road along the river up to the Vanj valley where the road widens up. The road continues along the Afghan border up to Kalaikhum village with picturesque scenery. Arrival in Kalaikhum village and be accommodated in a guesthouse.
Day 9: Kalaikhum to Dushanbe, 5–6 hr
Breakfast. Travel to Dushanbe along the Panj River through numerous local villages along the way. Deep rocky valleys and gorgeous mountains accompany you up to the Shurobod pass before Kulab village. Lunch in a Chaikana (local cafes). Visit 11th-century Hulbuk Palace on the way and enjoy the views of the world’s highest hydro power station Nurek in a distance. Arrival in Dushanbe. Accommodation in your hotel.
Day 10: Dushanbe to Mountain Camp in Fann Mountains, 3-4 hr
After breakfast, take some time go around the city to explore Dushanbe. Lunch in a café. After lunch, drive on the main road M34 to Artush mounain camp in Fann Mountains (4 hours). Scenic and rugged mountain edges open up when you get to the Anzob Tunnel. Cross the tunnel. Continue to drive over the pass up to Artush village. Arrival at this mountain camp. Dinner.
Day 11: Hike to Kulikalon Lake – Back to Camp
Breakfast. Start the hike along the river upwards. Turn right into the gorge at the junction of three valleys. A trail goes slowly all the way up to the top of the pass. On the top, enjoy a magnificent view of alpine Lake Kulikalon at the foot of glaciated Chimtarga Peak, the highest peak standing at 5,489 m in the Fan Mountains. After you fill up your gaze, then take another walk southeast towards the foot of Alaudin Pass to see Bibijannat lake. Enjoy the views of scenic landscapes with turquoise lakes around. Hike back to your camp.
Day 12: Artush village– Seven Lakes – Penjikent city
Drive to Seven Lakes, locally called Haft – Kul. Nice terraced villages on mountain slopes. A one-hour drive from the main road brings you to the first lake. Start exploring different colored lakes by stopping at each lake. Arrival at the seventh lake called Hazor Chashma. Get to the hill blocking the lake and break for lunch while enjoying the beauty of this turquoise lake. Back to your car and return to Penjikent city. Accommodation in a hotel. Or You can cross the border and go to Samarkand in Uzbekistan, 1 hour.
Price Highlights of Tajikistan Tour in USD:
| Number of Tourists: | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| Price per person: | 2500 | 1250 | 840 | 625 |
Included:
English speaking driver
Transport
Side trips
Deriver’s meals and accommodation
Fuel
Border fees for transport
Taxes
Not included:
Your meals and accommodation
Entrance fees to sites
- If you plan for a private tour, you can choose your own start date and book it exclusively for yourself.
- If you prefer to join a group and share costs with fellow travelers, visit this page to view available group dates.
- Should none of the listed trip dates suit your schedule, you are welcome to set your own date. We will then advertise your chosen date to gather other interested travelers to join you.
Highlights of Tajikistan Tour Photo Gallery
Combine the following activities with your Pamir Highway Trips
Practical Information for Highlights of Tajikistan Tour
In 2022, Tajikistan government introduced a unilateral visa-free regime from January 1. Visa-free regime applies to citizens of the following countries for 30 days:
1. Australia
2. United Arab Emirates
3. Grand Duchy of Luxembourg
4. State of Brunei Dorusalam
5. State of Kuwait6. State of Qatar
7. New Zealand
8. United States of America
9. Iceland
10. Canada
11. Swiss Confederation
12. Malaysia
13. Hungary
14. Austrian Republic
15. Argentine Republic
16. Federal Republic of Germany
17. Dominican Republic18.Republic of Indonesia
19. Italian Republic
20.Republic of Korea
21. Republic of Cuba
22. Republic of Latvia
23. Republic of Lithuania
24. Maldives
25. Republic of Poland
26. Portuguese Republic
27. Republic of Singapore
28. Turkish Republic
29. Republic of the Philippines
30. Republic of Finland
31. French Republic
32. Republic of Croatia
33. Czech Republic
34. Republic of Chile
35. Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
36. Republic of Ecuador
37. Republic of Estonia
38. Hellenic Republic
39. Principality of Liechtenstein
40. Principality of Monaco
41. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
42. Kingdom of Bahrain
43. Kingdom of Belgium.
44. Kingdom of Denmark
45. Kingdom of Spain
46. Kingdom of the Netherlands
47. Kingdom of Norway
48. Kingdom of Thailand
49. Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
50. Kingdom of Sweden
51. Jamaica
52. Japan
Even so you are on visa-free status, you are required to obtain a GBAO permit and do OVIR (Office of Visas and Registration) registration to visit Pamir region. You can get GBAO permit and do registration at OVIR office.
Who needs visa?
Well, all other foreign citizens not listed on visa-free countries need visa. Tajikistan has electronic visa. You can obtain it online. The most popular one is a government e-visa website. There is also an old website which is complicated to use (https://www.visa.gov.tj/index.html). It has more required section where you will need invitation letter. So, it is better to use the first one (https://www.evisa.tj). The advantage of e-visa is that it comes with GBAO permit and you are not required to do OVIR registration.
Traveling Tajikistan needs your patience and understanding of poor infrastructure, particularly, in Pamirs. Homestays have shared rooms with 2-3-4 beds in one room. Private rooms can be available upon request with some extra price. You should inform your company or driver to have private rooms if you are not willing to share the room.
Most of the homestays in Pamirs have flush toilets except for Alichur and Karakol villages. They have outside Turkish toilets, not flush.
Dushanbe, Khorog and Murgab homestays/hotels have showers inside the room or shared bathrooms. But, all the homestays in Pamirs have a shared showers. Some have small saune-like rooms for showers as in Alichur village.
No good cafes on the way in Pamirs. Most of the time you do a picnic lunches. So, bring dry fruit, nuts, biscuits. However, you can ask your driver if you really need cooked lunch. They can arrange it on the way by ordering in advance at homestays. Lunch is about 5-6 $ per person.
The drinking water system is not developed in Pamirs. The best way is to buy a big 10 litter bottled water from big cities and put in a car. You can refill your small bottle when necessary. All the homestays in Pamirs take water from springs for drinking and cooking. The spring water is not filtered, but boiled before cooking. We encourage all of our homestays to boil a water before using for cooking.
Dushanbe, Khorog, and Murgab village has shops to buy your food and other items. Try to do shopping in Dushanbe or Khorog city since the price gets double or triple in Pamirs.
Tajikistan has the best mountains ranges to do multi-day treks. The most scenic one is Fann Mountain Range not for from the capital. Fann Mountains can be easily reached either from Dushanbe or Penjikent city. A trek there can do done as self-guided or by a travel agency. The most popular and scenic trek to get the best of Fann Mountains is a 4-day trek starting from Penjikent city. You can see the trek on this link
There are many short day-hikes included in our itineraries so that you get the best mountain views while traveling Pamir Highway . You will do the hikes without a guide. We have GPS of all the hikes in the itinerary to navigate in the mountains. Don’t forget to ask us to send it to you. Just get app MAPS.ME on your phone and use to follow the trail
There is electricity at all homestays except for Jiseu village at Bartang Valley. Homestays in Alichur village takes electricity from solar panels. Cars have also USB chargers.
- Warm clothes and layers as it gets warm during the day, but can go below freezing at night and when it rains
- Sun protection as the sun is very strong at altitude: Sunglasses, sunscreen (SPF 30 or above), and a sun hat /cap
- Water and windproof jacket and pants. It gets especially windy on the mountain passes
- traveler’s diarrhea and other minor illnesses
- Lip balm: your lips get chapped very easily in the mountains
- Wet wipes and/or anti-bacterial gel to clean hands
- Hat and gloves to wear at night for warmth
- Headlamp to navigate the toilet at night