Tajikistan is a great country for cycling. The mountain scenery is just out of this world and there is hardly any traffic. Being on a bike is also one of the best ways to get to know the Tajik people. That said, the country should not be underestimated. It is a tough pedal.
Fitness
Tajikistan was the most strenuous cycling we had ever done, harder than the Karakoram Highway and Bolivia. So, you do need to be reasonably fit. We were pleased we had cycled across Europe before arriving in Tajikistan. The effects of altitude are also a significant factor on the Pamir Higway which reaches a height of 4,655m. We started to feel the effects above about 3,000m and above 4,000m it was quite debilitating.
Bikes and Equipment
Bikes and equipment take a real hammering on the Tajik roads, so they need to be robust. An expedition bike or mountain bike adapted for touring is probably best, but we managed on our Dawes hybrids. Get the strongest wheels you can afford/find, as these are the weakest part of the bike. We used 36 hole Sun Rhynos with plain gauge spokes.
After the wheels the next most likely component to fail are your racks. Again, get the strongest you can find, In common with almost every one we met, we used Tubus racks.
Tyres - almost everyone we met was on Schwalbe Marathon XR or Marathon Plus tyres. For the gravel tracks you need reasonably wide tyres.
Bring all the spares you are likely to need from home. There are no bike shops in Tajikistan.
Food and Water
Water
The tap water in Dushanbe and other towns is not safe. Equally, unless you are absolutely sure there has been no humans or livestock upstream, you have to assume the stream water is unsafe too. So, you need to bring water purification equipment. We had a Katadyn water filter, which we used for stream water, and Iodine tablets, which we used for tap water.
There are one or two quite dry sections (see route notes below), so it is important you are able to carry enough water - up to 4 litres per person. You can either invest in water bags or just collect some large fizzy drink bottles.
Another Tip: In the excessive heat of June/July we found staying hydrated was quite a challenge. One thing that helped were little sachets of fruit flavouring called "Kent Boringer Ice", that we found in the bazaars. These came in a variety of flavours and turned plain water into a good approximation of fruit juice - the mango was particularly good.
Food
There can be quite long distances between shops, particularly in the Pamirs, so it's important to stock up when you have the chance. Away fom the bigger towns, the staples you'll find in the roadside shops are: rice, pasta, sugar, plain biscuits, tinned fish, condensed milk and if you are lucky, Snickers bars. There are also the occassional tins of of really disgusting beef in gravy. You won't find many vegetables or much bread in the roadside shops. This is because everybody grows/bakes their own. Away from the bazaars, if you want bread (non), vegetables or eggs you have to go asking around at the houses.
Tip: One of the cyclists we met had a book with little pictures of all the basic foodstuffs, e.g. bread, eggs, flour, onions, potatos. This made the job tracking down supplies in the villages alot easier. We ended up photographing eggs on our digital camera, so the next time we could show people what we wanted,
How long?
Altogether it took us 33 days from from Dushanbe to Osh. The table below details how long the various sections took us. Warning on timings
1)We were definitely the slowest party on the route (nearly the oldest too!) - unless you are doing the route on a zimmer frame you are likely to beat our times by a significant margin
2) there was no overlap between our Tajik and Kyrgyz visas, so the last few days we were going even slower because we had a couple of days in hand.
Stage
Days
Dushanbe
2
Dushanbe to Tavildara
5
Tavildara to Kalaikhum
2
Kalaikhum to Khorog (last 100km by taxi)
4
Khorog (rest day)
1
Khorog to Murgab (arrived mid-day)
7
Murgab (rest day)
1
Murgab to Karakul (arrived mid-day)
4
Karakul (rest day)
1
KaraKul to Bar Dobo (Kyrgzstan) we were dawdling along this section waiting for our Kyrgz visa to start
3
Bar Dobo to Osh
4
TOTAL
33
How much? An indicative budget
Based on our experiences, we reckon that you could do a four-week, Pamir Highway trip for about £1,200, starting in the UK. This figures includes airfares, insurance and all in country costs, but excludes any equipment costs, i.e. it assumes you have a bike and all the gear. It also assumes you use budget accommodation and camp between towns. Here's a breakdown of our estimates of the costs:
Travel Insurance (with coverage for cycle touring)
-
£100
GBAO Permit
-
£35
OVIR Registration
$20
-
Accommodation Dushanbe (2 nights Homestay)
$40
-
Misc expenses Dushanbe
$30
-
Dushanbe to Khorog 10 days (approx 50km per day) @ $7 per day
$70
-
Khorog 2 nights homestay
$30
-
Khorog misc expenses
$20
-
Khorog to Murgab 6 days @ $5 per day
$30
-
Murgab 2 nights homestay
$30
-
Murgab misc expenses
$30
-
Murgab to Karakul 3 days
$15
-
Karakul 1 night homestay
$15
-
Karakul to Osh 5 days
$30
-
Osh 2 nights Guesthouse/hotel
$30
-
Osh misc expenses
$30
-
Airfare Osh - Bishkek (Altyn Air)
$70
-
Bishkek one night
$50
-
Contingency
$100
-
TOTALS
$625
£785
Route Notes
Dushanbe to Tavildara About 180km
The first 50k out of Dushanbe to Fayzabad is fine, reasonably flat on a mostly good surface.
From Fayzabad onwards the road deteriorates significantly (although the Chinese are working on improving this section) and there are some reasonably strenuous climbs. There's a small pass to get over before Obigarm. Obigarm has a small bazaar and a few shops, but not many places to camp - it's all a bit precipitous. We found a spot, a few kilometres further on, near a Chaikhana.
The road gets steadily rougher and more strenuous after Obigharm. The stretch up the valley to Tavildara is very tough. There are some good shops at Tavildara,
Tavildara to Kalaikhum
Shortly after Tavildara the road starts the climb to the Khaburabot Pass. It's along climb, probably around 40km. At first you go up through quite a steep gorge and then out onto more open mountainsides. There is a Chaikhana, about 3/4 of the way up, at the last village. As you get within about 5km of the summit, you'll see some ruined building. Don't be fooled these do not mark the summit. The real summit is a few kilometres further.
The descent down the otherside is reasonably civilised at first. It then rapidly gets very steep and very precipitous. It is probably the most spectacular 40km of the route. At the bottom of the gorge is an army checkpoint. It's about another 10km to Kalaikhum from the checkpoint. There is a good range of shops in Kalaikhum.
Kalaikhum to Khorog
The road gets alot better after Kalaikhum. It runs along the beside the Pyanj river, so there are no big climbs, just lots of little ones. There are quite a few small villages along the way and a reasonable number of shops and Chaikhanas. The valley gets very hot in summer and between vilages it's very dry. There are mine fields in several places along the valley, particularly near the Vanch river. They are pretty clearly marked. However, there may some unmarked fields, so be careful where you go off road - only go were it's obvious people have been before you.
Khorog is a decent sized town and there are a reasonable number of guesthouses and homestays. It also has a very good bazaar. Stock up here.
Khorog to Murghab (M41)
From Khorog, Pamir Highway (or M41) climbs the pretty, well watered Gunt valley. For the first 50km or so, its a reasonably gentle climb. There is a shop at around the 40k mark, after that the next shop is at Alichur 2-3 days away. The sanatorium at Jelady is a good place to stay and get a hot shower.
The climb up the Koi-Tezek starts shortly after Jelady. It's a long climb, but not desperately hard. Certainly easier than the Khaburabot. After the pass, there's fairly gentle descent onto the Pamir Plateau. There's not much at all on the plateau, apart from the very occassional farm, until you reach Alichur. There are a couple of Chiakhanas at Alichur and one very small shop (you'll need to ask around to find it).
From Alichur you can reach Murgab in one long day or a day and a half. There's a small hamlet about 30km short of Murgab, where you can camp or stay with a family.
Murgab to Karakul
There's a decent bazaar at Murgab, though not as good as Khorog. It's important to stock up here as the next decent shops are at Sary Tash. Supplies at Karakul are very limited.
From Khorog to the foot of the Ak Baital pass is about 90km. It's quite flat and the road surface is in good condition. However, it is quite a dry stretch. There are some huts at the foot of the pass, where you can stay the night - very, very basic acccomodation.
The climb up the Ak Baital is pretty tough, primarily because of the altitude. On the otherside there's a a long, fairly rough descent in to a wide empty valley and miles of washboard. It's about 70km from the foot of Ak Baital to Karakul. There's a very small pass about half way, then a long down hill to the village.
There are two very small shops at Karakul, but you'll have to ask a local to find them. There is a water pump near the Tildahan guesthouse.
Karakul to the Krgyz border
It's a nice flat run of about 20km round the lake before the next pass. About 2/3 the way up the pass look out for a clear stream. This is the last reliable water source until well after the Krgyz border. There's a checkpoint a few km after the top of the pass. After that, you descend in to the remote, dry valley that leads to the foot of the Kyzyl Art Pass and the Kyrgz border, 65km from Karakul. As the valley is so high. the climb up the pass is not a long one. The Tajik and Krgyz border posts are about 3km short of the summit.
Kyrgz Border to Osh
The descent into Kyrgyzstan from the Kyzyl Art pass is one of the roughest of the route. More boulder field than road. Eventually, the road from the pass joins a wide green valley and there is some tarmac. However, sections of this road are often washed away. A few kilometres down this valley is the main Kyrgyz checkpoint at Bor Dobbo. From Bor Dobbo, it's a great pedal across the flat Alay valley plain to Sary Tash, about 20km away. If you are going straight to Kashgar via the Irkeshtam Pass, turn right at Sary Tash. The road to Osh carries on over the 3600m Taldyk Pass. This pass has a really annoying double summit.
The descent from the Taldyk is down a very spectacular but extremely dusty series of switchbacks. From the bottom of the switchbacks its an enjoyable pedal through alpine scenery to the town of Gulcho. From Gulcho, there is a final climb up the 2400m Chyyyrchyk Pass before the 50km, mostly down hill, run into Osh.
