Tajik National Park Trek

Pick-up is in the morning at your desired location in Dushanbe. We hold a briefing and distribute the equipment and provisions. We then head out towards the east of Tajikistan by car. In the evening, we reach the city of Qul'ai Khumb (1250 m), which lies mid-way to Khorog, the capital of the Pamirs. In Qul’ai Khumb, we stay for the night.

On the second day, we continue our journey on deeper into the mountains. We drive the entire day on the Pamir Highway over the banks the Panj river, which forms the border between Tajikistan and Afghanistan. You are treated on the first views of the majestic Pamir Mountains. In the late afternoon, we reach Khorog (2100 m), where we spend the night.

The morning can be spent in Khorog to visit the local places of interest. In the afternoon, we first drive up to a botanical garden with a beautiful view over Khorog. Afterwards, we continue by car for about 3 hours to the mountain village Bachor. In Bachor, we spend the night in a homestay.

The real trekking starts on the fourth day. From Bachor, we hike through the valley of the Gunt river. The path is mostly flat throughout the day. In the afternoon, we set up camp along the river to spend our first night under the stars.

We continue our hike through a wide valley towards the north. If everything goes smoothly, it is possible to make a small detour for a great view over the lake of Yashilkul. Today we face the first stretches uphill. The difficulty of the gently ascending path is not high though. The campsite for the night is next to the river that flows through the valley.

Today we move higher up to cross the mark of 4000 meters altitude. Via a side valley we then climb 500 meters to the lake of Chapdarkul at 4500 meters altitude. At the shore of Chapdarkul, we pitch our tents to spend the night. The outside temperatures at 4500 meters can be very frigid at night.

Today’s hike continues at sky-high altitudes. From Chapdarkul, we climb even a bit further to cross a pass at 4700 meters. The trail runs along numerous small mountain lakes to finally reach the lake of Tsaxinkul. We set up camp at the shore of Tsaxinkul at 4300 meters.

Today is a relatively easy-going day. From Tsaxinkul, it is a 2 hour hike to the major Zarojkul Lake. We set up camp at the lakeside of Zarojkul and have the rest of the day to explore Zarojkul and its impressive surroundings.

The serious hiking starts again on the ninth day. The last climb of the trek is a 200 meter ascent to the Shtik Lazar Pass. This is the highest point of the trek at nearly 4800 meters. From the mountain pass, the rest of the trek only moves down. After descending about 1000 meters, we set up camp to spend the night in our tents.

The last day of hiking takes us further down through the Bardara Valley. After a long descent, we reach the village of Bardara, where we spend the night in a homestay.

From the village of Bardara, we head to the Bartang Valley. A car takes us to the village of Rushon, which is located along the Panj river on the Pamir Highway. We spend the night in Rushon.

The drive back to Dushanbe takes about 13 hours. Arrival in Dushanbe is the late evening. In Dushanbe, you are dropped off at your desired location.