Fan Mountains Trek

Itinerary: Dushanbe – Fann Mountains – Dushanbe

Day 1. Dushanbe to Mountain Camp

Driving time – 3-4 hours, Meals – L, D, Accommodation – Family-run guesthouse, Hiking distance/time – 3,5 km/1-2 hours
Ascent: – 300 m,   Descent – 300 m

Drive through nice villages with terraced houses on hillsides. On the way, take a side trip to Iskander Kul lake. Walk around the lake, take pictures, have lunch, and continue driving to Artuch village. Upon arrival be accommodated at the family-run guesthouse. The village is located at 1848 m right at the foot of Fann Mountain Range. Enjoy an afternoon stroll around the village to see the daily life of local residents. Dinner and overnight in the village. 

Day 2. Trek over Kulikalon Lake to Bibijannat Lake

Trekking distance/time: – 10 km / 5-6 hours,   Accommodation – Tents
Ascent – 855 m,   Descent – 100 m,  Meals – B, L, D

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 to south-east towards the foot of Alaudin Pass. Arrival at your camp on the shore of the Bibijannat lake. Enjoy the views of scenic landscapes with turquoise lakes around. Dinner.

Day 3: Trek over Alaudin Pass down to Alaudin Lake

Trekking distance/time – 8 km / 6-7 hours,   Accommodation – Tents
Ascent – 891 m, Descent – 982 m,  Meals – B, L, D

Start your hike. A trail climbs east between craggy mountain walls to the summit of Alaudin Pass standing at 3770 meters. While hiking up, enjoy the views of stunning towering glaciated peaks and alpine lakes reflecting the mountains. Arrived at the summit after the four-hours hike. Great Accomplishment. An impressive, captivating, and simply stunning mountain range scenery of Сhapdara Peak opens up on the top. Descend the pass on quite a steep slope towards your camp on the shore of Alaudin Lake (2-3 hours). Dinner.

Day 4: Trek to Mutnye Lake – Back to Camp – Dushanbe city

Trekking distance/time – 14 km / 5-6 hours, Ascent – 774 m,   Descent – 774 m,   Meals – B, L,D

Early breakfast. Today we do a radial tour to Mutnye lake at the foot of Kaznop Pass. A three-hour hike leads to this scenic alpine lake surrounded by the craggy and rocky peaks of the Fann Mountains. Break for lunch on the shore of the lake. Enjoy the view of this mountain scenery. Hike back to your camp and depart for Dushanbe. A four-hour drive takes you to the capital. Optional: you can stay one more day at this camp if time allows.

Price in USD:

Number of people	2	3	4	5	6	7
Price per person	725	570	510	460	425	410

Included:
English speaking guide
Cook
B&B and dinner in Artuch camp
Meals: B,L,D
Meals of personal
Transport from/to Dushanbe
luggage donkeys
Equipment: Tent, mat, cooking gears

Not included:
Hotel in Dushanbe
Alcoholic drinks,
Meals in Dushanbe
City tour in Dushanbe
Services out of the program
Tips
Bottled water
Insurance
International/domestic flight tickets
Sleeping bags,
Walking sticks
Tablets to purify the water

*Please let us know in advance if you are vegetarian/vegan or if you have food allergies.

Join the following groups for summer 2024 (If the following dates do not suit your travel plans, please contact us, we will post a new tour with your dates and try to collect more people to join you)

Difficulty
The trek is quite challenging in parts: climbing up rocks/gravel before and after Alauddin Pass at 3770 meters. You have to be reasonably fit. It can be a moderate trek for experienced and physically fit trekkers. Consider it a difficult trek for those who are not physically fit and have not done a trek for a long period. Also, please, make sure you don’t have knees problem while walking down the pass since you descend 1000 meters down on day three. 

What to Expect:

Camping –  The overnights at the trek are tent camps carried by donkeys. The tents are two-men tents. You will be provided with a mat. We have special tents for toilets. You should bring your own sleeping. Or you can rent from us. 

Food – The meals usually include some sort of meat (often beef) served with potatoes, rice, or noodles. Fresh bread rounds are also a must at every meal and you’ll often find homemade jams and traditional sour cream to go with this.

Vegetarian food – Our cooks can cook vegetarian food. You should inform the company and guide in advance. In general, let us know if you have any specific preferences about food. 

Drinking Water There are clean mountain springs along the trail where we can refill water bottles. You can take cleaning powders as well to clean river/spring waters. Drink as much water as possible to avoid dehydration

Guide
You always have a guide and horsemen at this trek. Guides will provide you with all the necessary information and be with you to make sure everything is OK and safe. All the guides speak a good English and little bit of Russian. They have at least three year’s guiding experience. 

Weather and season
The best season for this trek is from July to mid September. It gets + 5 to 15 at night during the best season. We also run this trek even in early June and late September with some snow on the high passes. then porters are used for carrying the luggage until the passes will be available for donkeys to cross.  The weather changes frequently on the high passes and gets windy so make sure to keep your bellies and stomach warm while crossing the high passes not get cold to your stomach. If you do get a cold, then you will have digestion issues.  

Luggage 
We ask all to leave all the unnecessary luggage in Dushanbe city at our office and take the items needed for trek. You can take two bags: small day backpack carried by you where you put your bottled water, wallet and other personals items and a bigger backpack carried by donkeys where you can put your clothes, pants, sleeping bag and other items. The bigger backpacks carried by donkeys should weigh 10 to 15 kilos. Donkeys have special bags designed for the trek. Each donkey carries about 50 to 60 kilos.  

High Altitude Sickness –  Some of the clients come from very low land countries and without high altitude adaptation. They just start the trek one day after they arrive in the country. It affects their sleep and causes headaches during the trek. However, all of our customers manage to do the trek even though they get high altitude issues.   

Recommended packing list for the trek:

• Warm clothes and layers as it gets warm during the day, but can go below freezing at night and when it rains
• Good trekking shoes • Day pack to carry camera, water, sunscreen, etc.
• 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
• Walking sticks are recommended (we can provide them if you don’t have them)
• Medical kit for treating blisters, traveler’s diarrhea and other minor illnesses.
• Water purification tablets or drops if you want to clean the spring water
• Refillable water bottle • 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
• Head lamp to navigate campsite and yurt camps at night
• Warm sleeping bag (we provide you with this if you don’t have one). Yurts and homestays provide blankets.