Tajik National Park

This propriety covers more than 2.5 million hectares in the east of Tajikistan, about 18% of the national territory, at the center of the so-called “Pamir Knot”, a meeting point of the highest mountain ranges on the Eurasian continent. It consists of high plateaux in the east and, to the west, rugged peaks, some of them over 7,000 meters high.

Visit to this propriety is difficult, because it is the remotest part of Tajikistan. Even if independent travel is possible, I would recommend to travel with a local guide or through a guided tour. The roads are very bad (meaning several punctured tires) and slow, and amenities are few (petrol, shops) even if guesthouses are plentiful. Additional to the Tajikistan visa (available as e-visa for most nationalities), a GBAO (Gorno-Badakhahan Autonomous Oblast) permit is needed, is available for an extra fee when applying for the e-visa, and will be checked several times on the way.

The entire Tajik National Park (TNP) was nominated for inclusion into the World Heritage, without need for a buffer zone (according to the IUCN technical evaluation). The propriety map is however confusing, with a division between a “core”, a “traditional use”, a “limited economic use “and a “recreation” zone. As far as I understand, the entire Park is a core zone according to usual WHS definition.

I travelled in a guided tour around the Pamir Highway in June 2019. We passed through the north-easternmost part of the park. We entered it at …

Site visited in May 2008, a pretty long time ago, so probably many things have changed and the access to the park could be easier than it was before. I was only in the eastern part of the park. At that time a special permission was needed to enter Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region; this was issued together with the Tajik visa at the embassy in Brussels for an extra fee.

After spending few days in Khorog and around, we continued to Alichur where the road to the southern lakes (Yashikul) starts. We have not planned anything before and arranged the transportation in a homestay in the village. It took one long day to go to the lakes and back – of course there are only rough roads there but the pickup we rented with the driver was very brave! It was pretty cold and still some snow around.

After that we went on to Murgab – there are many interesting places about this provincial capital but it is located outside the park itself. We’ve chosen two day trip towards Sarez but after few hours of driving the car broke up and we had to walk to the nomad camp for 5 hours. It was a pretty nice and exhausting experience – to be lost somewhere in the middle of nowhere. We stayed there 2 nights ‘cos our driver and guide (one person) took a horse from the camp to get back to Murgab for a new car. We have …

In 1997, I was fortunate to go on a trip through the Silk Road which culminated on traversing the Karakorum Highway which starts at Kashgar in Xinjiang Province of China and ends in Peshawar, Pakistan. Along the way it passes the Pamir Mountains, Hindu Kush and Hunza. The Karakorum Highway was a feat of engineering and was built by the Chinese when they wanted a link with Pakistan to show solidarity against their then mutual enemy, India. Nonetheless, it was a project that cost many lives as the road was literally carved out of the mountain. The Khunjerab pass into Pakistan was at 4700m and all the while the highway would be at 4000m or more. Totally lifeless and yet spectacularly beautiful with snow cap peaks at >7800m all around. After every couple of hours on the road, you would see no other cars but an occasional cyclist/backpacker (always wondered why?)

Fast forward to September 2016 and the Karakorum Highway is now too dangerous a journey and still yearning for one last chance to savor the moment of total isolation and beauty once more and the Pamir Highway is beckoning at me from my atlas. It runs parallel to the Karakorum Highway for about a third of the way in Tajikistan and as a bonus, it runs through the Tajikistan National Park (WHS).

I go into full gear to make it and here are a litany of obstacles to consider. First of all, its not a convenient place to get …