Pamir highway, slideshow 3 (films)

Although technically the Pamir highway , the second highest international highway that crosses the ‘roof of the world’, starts at Dushanbe, the capital of Tadjikistan, and ends at the border with Kyrgyzstan, the exciting part (the M41) begins only at Khorog and ends in Osh, Kyrgyzstan. Yet in 2023 the border remained closed and no frontier crossing was possible, thus obliging travelers to return back to Dushanbe and fly to Kyrgyzstan, or to Kazakhstan (as I did) and then drive to cross a land frontier to Kyrgyzstan (I crossed it on foot, and it felt really weird and frightening). Nowadays almost all travellers stop in Murghab to return through a slightly different itinerary back to the capital Dushanbe.

The road is being transformed by huge Chinese road works and in my opinion there will soon not be a Pamir highway as we know it today: unpaved, potholed, flooded, one car wide and dangerous,  but at the same time an experience in itself, and the highlight of my trip, despite the endless waiting times under the sun. Altitude was sometimes a problem. At around 2.500m many people start feeling nauseous. Diamox is the medicine that may help you, although nothing is as efficient as mounting SLOWLY, as per the itinerary most tourists follow (3-4 days to Murghab).

The Pamiri population remains poor, having opted for (a not achieved) independence in 1992. At the same time, people are extremely hospitable without a hidden agenda (in a more general way, this is true for all Tadjikis).

Driving the so-called highway is tiring and requires all your attention. It is a question of life or death, with many taxis falling in the Panj river without any hope of survival for the passengers (you can easily distinguish taxis as they are packed with stuff on the roof, over-full with passengers, but mainly because they invariably  they do not not zigzag their way around the potholes and overtake ruthlessly: they just drive through at suicidal speeds to reduce travelling time: they usually make Murghab in one day, and return the day after, which to me seems impossible.

I only drove some easy parts of the Pamir highway, and yet I almost broke a car that was not mine to begin with. Yet here I am, full of beautiful memories and thinking only of returning and doing it again…

Enjoy the pics, and go if you can, you will be rewarded by the scenery and the lovely people of Tadjikistan!