Bikepacking Tajikistan: the Pamir Highway
The Pamir Highway in Tajikistan is the Mecca of bikepacking in Central Asia. The second-highest highway in the world, it lends itself well to off-road bikepackers willing to conquer the altitude and questionable roads. It's a challenge, that's for sure!
Nonetheless, if type 2 fun is your cup of tea, then read on to get some tips from our experience cycling the Pamirs 🚴♀️
There are multiple ways to do the Pamir Highway. The best map we've found is from the Caravanistan blog. It's a great reference and starting point for information.
The main routes people tend to cycle are:
Pamir Highway (M41) - the traditional route
Bartang Valley
Wakhan Valley
Note that the “Pamir Highway” specifically refers to the route between Kalaikhum and Osh, however, most people cycle from Dushanbe to Kalaikhum and include it as part of their Pamir Highway adventure!
Photo credit: Caravanistan
Our route
We cycled the Pamir Highway west from Osh to Dushanbe, rather than the usual direction east from Dushanbe to Osh 🚴♀️
We think about the overall route in a couple of larger sections (and detours):
Osh to Sary Tash
Sary Tash to Kashgar via the Irkeshtam Pass [China detour]
Kashgar to Murghab via the Qolma Pass [China detour]
Murghab to Alichur
The Wakhan Valley
Khorog to Kalaikhum
Kalaikhum to Dushanbe
Dushanbe to Samarkand
We’ve already covered Osh to Murghab in a few other articles, so make sure you read those as well!
As we detoured into China from Sary Tash, this means we skipped the Ak Baital pass and Karakol 🚴♀️ The fun of bikepacking is that you can change up and go a completely different way if you choose. Just because we’ve done it this way doesn’t mean that you have to!
Here’s our experience of cycling the Pamirs:
Qolma pass to Murghab - 1 big cycle day (103km) of corrugations and sand!
Murghab to Alichur - 2 cycle days (106km) of paved roads
Alichur to Langar - 2 cycle days (124km) of unpaved roads with corrugations and sand. Wider than 2-inch tyres are recommended!
Langar to Ishkoshim - 2 cycle days (135km) of more unpaved roads
Ishkoshim to Khorog - 1 big cycle day (105km) with mildly better roads, some pavement but still very pot-holey!
Khorog to Kalaikhum - 4 cycle days (242km) with roadworks.
Kalaikhum to Dushanbe - 7 cycle days (476km)
Dushanbe to Samarkand - 6 cycle days (389km) of paved roads
Qolma pass to Alichur
The border crossing from China to Tajikistan is a stark reminder of the economic differences between the two countries. The roads immediately change from the pristine tarmac in China to unpaved, pot-holey roads in Tajikistan.
As we cycle to Murghab, the landscape is like the moon, harsh and unforgiving.
Murghab and Alichur are the heart of the Pamir Mountains. At over 3500m, people still make their way through life in these inhospitable climes. The towns are known for being pretty depressing and that’s what you’ll find.
The Wakhan Valley
After Alichur, we reached the turnoff to the Wakhan Valley. The section between Alichur and Langar was known to have limited water supply, as all the lakes are briney. It was interesting to notice the landscape change from the moon-like desolation to the green oases of the valley and the Panj River. For us, it was our first glimpse of Afghanistan!
Some of the highlights of this section were the Bibi Fatimah hot springs and the Afghan market in Ishkoshim on a Saturday.
There are a couple of hot springs throughout the valley, but the Bibi Fatimah hot springs were well worth the climb. Located near Vrang, the hot springs are approximately 8km up the mountainside, so it’s a rewarding experience to have a hot spring after cycling up the hill!
Approximately 90km down the road is Ishkoshim. Locals from the Tajik and Afghan sides of the river meet on a ‘no man’s land’ island for a Saturday market to sell produce, clothes and other items. Interestingly, out of all the Central Asian languages, Tajik and Afghan are very similar as they’re both Persian-based languages, as opposed to Kyrgyz, which is a Turkic-based language.
Throughout the Wakhan Valley, you can wave to the villagers on the other side of the river in Afghanistan.
Khorog to Kalaikhum - the roadworks!
Roadworks have commenced on the Pamir Highway (as of 2024) to make the area more accessible. Until it’s completed, there are sections where it’s challenging to pass through promptly. Who knows how long it’ll take to complete!
Throughout the day, the roads are closed. For all trucks and cars, this means lengthy delays (for hours waiting for the lunch break or after 6 pm) as the road is blocked. For cyclists, it's a little more nuanced. Let's take a look at the different ways cyclists have been tackling it:
Hitchhiking in a truck - a couple of the cyclists that we met took this option. It took them 36 hours to get through the roadworks, including the time the driver had to sleep. We were considering this until we heard some of their stories about trucks passing each other on the narrow sketchy mountain roads! One couple even started out hitchhiking and then opted to cycle the rest.
Cycling - most cyclists opted to cycle, even though the dust is horrible. A balaclava or any type of face covering is mandatory!
Most people had variable experiences with the wait for the roadworks to reopen. Some said a couple of hours, some said all day so it's a mixed bag and it really depended on the day. Pray for no landslides!
Our experience
We were lucky and we did not have to wait at any of the roadwork sections. We took about the same time to get through as a car or a truck because, instead of stopping at the barricade where the road was closed for roadworks, we would go to the front of the line or go into the roadworks area where possible and only stop if they said they were blasting.
If they were clearing up rubble, most of the time, they helped us through and stopped the excavator temporarily! That way, we were able to keep going and find a decent camping stop.
Even though the dust was bad, there were a lot of points on the non-roadwork sections where the road was narrow or a bit sketchy and I honestly preferred to be on the bike as opposed to a truck!
Kalaikhum to Dushanbe
There is a northern road (Tavildara Road) and a southern road (Kulob Road) which you can decide between. The southern road is more commonly used by cars traversing the route as the roads are better and are pretty nice asphalt which has some pretty decent hill passes.
We were planning on taking the northern road until I vetoed cycling and we opted to take a taxi. The northern road is supposed to be more beautiful but the roads are not as nice as the southern road.
Dushanbe to Samarkand via Artuch Alplager & the Fann Mountains
When planning your route between Dushanbe and Samarkand, the main decision is whether you want to hitchhike through the Anzob “tunnel of death” or cycle the more scenic road via the Anzob Pass.
The Anzob Tunnel was opened in 2004 and is notorious for its poor ventilation. It’s a 6km tunnel which is not recommended for cycling as 40 people have died in it since its opening!
We opted to do the Anzob Pass instead and enjoyed it. It's closed to cars so you practically have it to yourself!
We cycled and stayed at Ayni before doing a side trip to go hiking in the Fann Mountains from Artuch Alplager guesthouse. A note of warning: if you decide to cycle to Artuch Alplager from the main road, it's actually a pretty decent climb on unpaved, rocky, steep roads so a hike a bike is required for a bit of it!
In saying that, the hike was worth it and was a nice change from cycling ☺️ the remainder of the road from the turnoff to Artuch to the Tajik-Uzbek road is great asphalt and smooth cycling.
Once you've crossed into Uzbekistan, prepare for the road to be pretty busy! Once you get to Samarkand, the city itself is incredible, with historic mosques and Madrasas a different change in culture pace compared to Osh and Dushanbe! Enjoy the plov!
Visas and permits
To enter Tajikistan as a tourist, you have a couple of options:
30-day visa on arrival
Apply for a 60-day visa
Which visa you choose is heavily dependent on your route, and whilst it's possible to traverse Tajikistan by bike 🚲 in 30 days, to be on the safe side, we decided to apply for a 60-day visa.
The 60-day visa took approximately three to four weeks to be approved so start the process early.
All in all, we were in Tajikistan for just one month, but we did take some shortcuts and adapted our route based on how we were feeling!
GBAO permit
Irrespective of how long you're planning to be in Tajikistan, if you're planning to travel on the Pamir Highway, you will need a GBAO permit.
The GBAO (Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast) is the region comprising of the towns including and east of Kalaikhum all the way to the border with China.
As you travel through the region, you will need to show this document with your passport so it's recommended to print out a couple of copies.
Kyzyl Art pass border crossing list
In years gone past, the Kyzyl Art border has been closed for everyone. However, despite ongoing tensions between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, the border is open for tourists. With it, though, comes a requirement to be put on a “border crossing list” by a tourist agency.
To get put on the list, you will need to pay a tour operator $20 USD.
Food
Finding quality food is a challenge in the Pamirs. Therefore, most people stock up in Dushanbe and Khorog as the supplies in towns like Murghab are minimal. Stomach-related illnesses are common so, as a preventative measure, include some medication.
Camping and accommodation
Guesthouses in the Pamirs cost around 200 somonis PER PERSON. Cash is king in the Pamirs with unreliable ATMs so make sure you budget accordingly.
In the Wakhan Valley, we were warned NOT to camp between the river and the road as you might get moved on by the military!
Our recommended guesthouses ✅
Rasul Guesthouse in Murghab
Sher’s House Inn with the Russian sauna in Alichur
Guesthouse Ren in Ishkoshim
Chorshanbe Guesthouse up the hill to Bibi Fatimah hot springs
Zarya Hotel in Khorog was great, but a bit more expensive at approximately 330 somoni. The common place to stay, the Pamir Mountain Lodge, was said to be dirty and cost 300 somoni per person, so it wasn't much more expensive to stay at the hotel on the river.
The Green House Hostel in Dushanbe is the starting and finishing place for the Pamirs!
Wind and weather
If you're travelling from Dushanbe to Osh, you're in luck! You'll predominantly have tailwinds 💨
We were going in the opposite direction so we had some 20-25km/h headwinds on our route. Between Murghab and Alichur the headwinds were strong and made for a gusty ride. In saying that, all the folks we met going in the opposite direction were having a cruisey time going with the wind!
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The best time of year to be cycling the Pamirs is throughout summer (July - September). The elevation means that it’s pretty much completely inaccessible at any other time of the year.
Technology
The iOverlander app was a must-have for the Pamirs. Google Maps is less helpful in the Pamirs as it tends to be a bit out of date. We used iOverlander to find camping spots, guesthouses and ATMs.
Police and border checkpoints
There is a noticable military presence throughout the Pamirs, particularly in the Wakhan Valley and along the Panj River where Tajikistan borders with Afghanistan.
There are a couple of checkpoints to note, mainly when entering the Wakhan Valley. They always wanted to see your passport and GBAO permit. Broadly, all the border guards were fine to communicate with, but there was one border guard at the checkpoint at the start of the Wakhan Valley who was asking for a paper copy of your passport and GBAO permit and if you didn't have it, wanted payment. People seemed to either pay or argue, depending on how much time they had.
The round up
Cycling the Pamir Highway through Tajikistan was an experience and a half. A popular bikepacking route, there is plenty in the way of food, roads and altitude to challenge you!
