The Pamir Highway is one of the most famous alpine road trips in the world stretching across high altitude terrain in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan going from Dushanbe to Osh (or visa versa). It is the main reason backpackers and adventurers travel comes to Tajikistan. It is often paired with a detour to the Wakhan Valley, a southern road off the main highway that follows along the Panj River on the border of Afghanistan with views of the snow capped Hindu Kush mountains. People usually do a five (if excluding Wakhan Valley), seven, or nine day guided tour with a driver. Or if you’re real adventurous you hitchhike, bike, or rent your own car. The four of us decided that we wanted to go the adventurous route and rent a car for seven days. It required much more preparation and much more unknown than hiring a driver, but also gave us more independence; higher risk, higher reward. Plus how many people can say they’ve gotten behind the wheel and driven the Pamir Highway? A tour would have been a great experience, but I knew it would be more memorable to drive ourselves and deal with the good, the bad, and the ugly. Some of the best travel memories come with hardships and struggles, even if it sucks in the moment. These are the stories people really want to hear about.
Planning
The days leading up to driving the Pamir Highway were a mix of excitement and anxiety about the adventures ahead. I was diligently researching the route to create our itinerary, learn about the road conditions for each day, and figure out when/where we needed to fill up gas. As usual the Internet made it sound scarier than it actually was. The two biggest concerns, and valid ones, are (1) that the highway has sections on bumpy dirt roads that go through very remote areas with minimal to no civilization for miles. So if your car breaks down then you could end up in a sticky situation, especially since no one in our group was very mechanical. Breakdowns on the Pamir Highway are a common occurrence even with a guided tour – the road is rough, the cars are old and weathered, and the gasoline quality is poor; and (2) the weather can get dicey on the mountain passes with potential for rain, snow, and landslides. This one was completely out of our control. In the end, we got super lucky and had perfect weather. The other concern is that you drive over a few high mountain passes with narrow roads and steep cliff edges. This part didn’t worry me too much because Ken and I are both Colorado boys who have experience driving on some pretty serious mountain road terrain leading to the trails or campsites. We may live in a first world country, but some of the roads in Colorado our gutted out and damaged worse than in the third world.
The good thing was that I felt confident in our group. We were all experienced adventure travelers who could work together to navigate the murky waters of the unknown. Tobi had driven motorcycles in India and Pakistan; Emiel visited Iran; and Ken and I both had experience traveling in South America, Central Asia, and Southeast Asia.
A few days before leaving, we had received our mandatory special entry permits GBAO permits that we applied for online. Our hostel in Dushanbe printed us out nine copies of the permit on one side and a copy of our passport on the other side. We also got our OVIR visa that allowed us stay in the country for more than 10 business days. Even though Tajikistan allows for tourists to stay in the country for 30 days Visa free, you have to pay $18 for an OVIR visa if you stay more than 10 business days. I guess it’s not Visa free then?
Car Rental
During the previous week in Tajikistan we had put out feelers on car rental prices and options through posts on Facebook groups (which was the sketchiest. Tobi was messaging this person that wanted us to blindly send them a 30-50% deposit; who gives a range for a deposit? We researched it more and not surprisingly the person was a scammer) and emailing websites we found on Google. The website that gave us most confidence was IndyGuide, an online travel marketplace that connects independent travelers directly with verified local guides, drivers, tour operators, and hosts specializing in off the beaten path locations like Central Asia and Mongolia. What we really liked is that there were reviews for the person renting you the car so we could read about other people’s experiences. It also had a transparent pricing system and gave detailed information about the vehicles. I had two message chains going that were promising and roughly the same price (not to toot my own horn too much but this trip would not have happened without my initiative. I took charge of figuring out the rental car, asking all the detailed questions about the rental, and researching the itinerary). The first guy was very communicative, quick to answer all my questions with detailed responses, and was letting us take our time to decide. The other guy gave shorter responses (although maybe his English wasn’t great) and kept asking us when we would be able to pay the deposit. But the real red flag was that he said they had some breakdowns this year so we could still drive ourselves but they would send someone along with us in case something happened. Is this guy just going to be watching over our shoulders while we drive? Are they already anticipating a car breakdown? While this did provide a level of comfort to have our own personal mechanic, it would take away from the adventure a bit. After some discussion and sleeping on it for a night, we decided to push the chips all in and go with option one.
Since this wasn’t your normal rental car agreement from Hertz or Avis, here was my list of questions that all got thoroughly answered by Musa (the rental agent):
-will we receive a contract or some type of verification stating the terms and conditions of the rental and confirming that we have paid in full
-we might get extra oil for the car just in case – what type of oil?
-spare tire, jack, tire gauge to check pressure and other tools included?
-What type of gas do we refill
-do we get a copy of the insurance or how does this work
-how to handle any problems with the car -I have a Garmin PLB, can we send you a test message to ensure you receive it
-will we have all the necessary paperwork to cross the border. What all does this entail? Do we need to pay any additional fees at the border?
-written confirmation we can cross the border
-temporary import document
-pre arranged border zone permit
-has this car had any breakdowns this season we should be aware of
-what time and where do we need to drop off the car in Osh
-will we receive the deposit back in USD
I thought it was a pretty comprehensive list of questions and was satisfied with his responses.
Our Car
We rented a 2002 Toyota 4Runner with over 300,000 miles; and that’s driving on rugged roads in Tajikistan and Kyrgzstan. It goes to show how durable a 4Runner is! There was an aux plug we could use to connect our phones to play music. The car had lots of small scratches and a crack in the windshield but was overall in good shape. The trunk had a spare tire, a tool kit, and two 10L gas canisters. The check engine light was on when we received the car but Musa’s brother told us not to worry about it; that’s just because the catalytic converter had been removed. I love not worrying about a check engine light when driving hundreds of miles on dirt roads in remote areas. The engine struggled throughout the trip, especially going uphill, but overall the car was in decent enough shape. Minus our one hiccup we had on day two. More on that ahead. He told us to fill up using 95 gas, but there were times in rural Tajikistan where 92 was the highest available. This might have been part of the reason for the engine struggles, but we really had no other choice. We always used 95 when available. Gas cost around $1.15-1.25 per liter.
Driving Responsibility
We all agreed to split driving responsibilities, but Ken and I would take charge on the more challenging sections since we have experience on Colorado roads. The other two guys are from flat countries – Tobi in Germany and Emiel in Netherlands. Plus Emiel was born with a gimp arm and can only drive with one arm. He said he liked driving but Ken and I had our suspicions, especially when the roads got bumpy. When we drunkenly made the plan I said I like driving and would drive at least 40% of the time. Also the car power of attorney was in my name, so I held the most liability. No offense to the other guys but I trusted myself the most. In the end, I was the best and safest driver. They all even said so. Although I did make one stupid mistake.
Lodging
We booked a homestay for night one since we knew our guaranteed end destination that night, and it made things easier while we got into the groove of the road trip. We knew our general itinerary for the other nights, but you never know what could happen with car breakdowns or if we decided to go slower or faster with our stops. A major selling point of having our own car was going at our own pace. And with that meant not tying ourselves to pre-booked accommodations.
We were driving the highway in late September/early October so it was the end of the season and we never had any issues showing up and booking our homestays upon arrival. Perhaps it would have been more difficult during peak season? The homestays all included breakfast, and most of them also gave the option to include dinner for a small extra fee. The cost for everything was $10-20. Not too shabby. Shockingly every one of the homestays except one had WiFi; although some worked better than others. I even had cell service at various times throughout the trip, including remote areas of the Wakhan Valley. Welcome to 2026.
Expenses
We had read that ATMs along the Pamir Highway and in the Wakhan Valley would be sparse to non existent so we had to forecast our spending for the trip – accommodation, gas, activities, additional snacks/water, lunch, and any other miscellaneous events. On top of that, we didn’t want to withdraw too much Tajik Som because we would be crossing the border into Kyrgyzstan; and this may come as a shock but Tajik Som doesn’t hold much value on the exchange market. I used my Tulane Finance skills to forecast our costs and created a spreadsheet inputting our projected daily costs and calculating a total amount to withdraw.
On top of all this, we had to pay for the car rental in cash. Musa quoted us in Euro, but he would accept Tajik Som (at a slightly disadvantaged rate because he had to convert that back Kyrgyz Som; he was from Kyrgyzstan). I had to pay a 90 euro deposit through the IndyGuide website to secure the cost. The fixed upfront costs were: 910 euros for the car (130/day), 250 euros to deliver the car to Dushanbe since we were doing a one way route, and 50 euro power of attorney (this is required to give us permission to drive the car).
It was an exhaustive list of things to do beforehand, but these were the necessary steps required to drive the Pamir Highway self guided.
Day 1: Dushanbe > Kalaikhum
Musa’s brother arrived at our hostel at 9:30am with the car. We went over the car inspection of the 2002 Toyota 4Runner I described above and I signed a few agreements. The most troublesome thing was the check engine light but he said not to worry, so we followed his advice. We gave him a wad of cash, packed our bags and snacks in the car, and I got behind the wheel for the first time since being in Sarasota in August to hit the road. But first we stopped at a grocery store in Dushanbe to get the heavy items we hadn’t shopped for yet – 5 five gallon waters, 12 large beers, and 3 bottles of vodka. We also had to stop for gas because he gave us a half full tank (which was how we had to return it). Then we were off! Our drunken Osh decision to drive the Pamir Highway into a week of planning and preparation has led to this.
The road conditions for day one were well paved asphalt which was a nice way to ease us into how the car drove. I immediately channeled my inner Stan driving abilities and drove on the other side of the road to pass cars and trucks. People are used to creating an unspoken third lane and will drive on the shoulder to give space for passing cars. I actually really like the way they drive. Once outside Dushanbe the roads became more windy through the mountains, but it was still easy to pass slow moving Chinese semi trucks carrying who knows what.
Our first stop was 1.5 hours outside Dushanbe at the Nurek Reservoir viewpoint. The Nurek Dam is the biggest and tallest operational dam in Tajikistan standing at 300 meters tall and is the backbone of the country’s hydroelectric power grid accounting for nearly 70% of the country’s electrical needs. Tajikistan relies heavily on hydroelectric energy; it accounts for 90% of all electricity generated. Sorry for the terrible joke but Nurek is pretty dam important.
There were a number of vendors setup at the viewpoint and we bought a samsa snack. This might have been the best samsa I had in all of Central Asia. It was so fresh and the woman added a creamy filling that we hadn’t tasted anywhere else. Our only regret was not buying more to eat later.
I continued driving another hour before passing off responsibility to Emiel. I could have kept driving but I knew that I would be driving a lot in some of the more challenging sections and wanted to give the other guys an opportunity while the roads were easier. Emiel drove surprisingly well for a guy who could steer the wheel with only one arm. He was a bit jerky at times and had a tendency to gun with a few moments passing cars that could have gone smoother, but overall did a good job.
We drove through numerous small villages with houses that were a decent size; it was hard to imagine this country is more poor than Bolivia, but who knows what the inside looked like? We stopped in a random village that probably never sees tourist and ordered a rotisserie chicken for lunch.
The drive continued smoothly with minimal cars on the road and the occasional animal traffic – cow crossings or shepherds with hundreds of sheep; normal Central Asian things. Then we reached our first military checkpoint where we had to show our GBAO permits. The officer told us to pull over and we sat there for 10 minutes with nothing happening so Ken went to talk to a soldier and he told us we need to show our documents at the booth. Ah okay! First timers here. We got out of the car and had a seamless interaction with the soldier at the booth. Hopefully they’re all this easy! Emiel continued driving for another 20 minutes before we reached a viewpoint that gave us our first look at Afghanistan across the Panj River. The landscape was layered brown desert mountains that look like the melted sand castles we used to make as kids at Siesta Key beach. It was a surreal feeling that we would be spending the next couple days staring directly at the most worn torn country of my life.
Tobi took over behind the wheel for the last 1.5 hours of our day one drive. His driving skills were average. The biggest mistake he made was hitting a dip in the road at a pretty high speed. Innocent enough mistake but you really need to be fully focused on these roads. Note to self, I’m going to be driving a lot.
There were lots of mining operations by the river on the Afghan side and we were speculating as to what they could be digging for. I continued staring at the Afghanistan side in awe with only a barbed wire fence and the Panj river separating us. Every few miles we would pass by Tajik soldiers walking along the road protecting the border; some that don’t look a day over 16. When we would drive by, some would signal at us putting their fingers to their lips for a smoke. Sorry guys, can’t help you there. The cliffs became more sheer as we drove further along the river gorge. The Tajikistan side was desolate, but on the Afghan did there were a few small stone wall villages with mud houses built into the hills; some of them hanging over cliff edges. What a view they must have! I wonder what those go for on Afghan Zillow?
We reached the second military checkpoint and this one was a breeze too. This time they just had us roll down the car windows and took our paperwork directly from us. After already passing two checkpoints on day one, we were hopeful that nine copies was enough. I had read that the last 20 kilometers to Kalaikhum was bumpy, but the road continued to be in good shape. They are doing construction to improve the highway so certain sections weren’t as bad as what we had read. Soon enough the Pamir Highway will be the next Route 66.
It got dark the last 30 minutes before we arrived at the homestay in Kalaikhum and we were treated to a fiery sunset over Afghanistan. An easy day one in the books! We got checked in by Zafar, the little kid who the guesthouse was named. His English was surprisingly good. He must get a lot of practice talking to tourists driving the Pamir Highway. He asked if we wanted to add dinner for an extra $6. Of course we do!
We had an hour to kill before dinner so naturally we cracked into our first bottle of vodka to celebrate a successful day one. A couple from Wales showed up about 20 minutes after us who we had seen back at our hostel in Dushanbe earlier that day also going over a rental car checklist. More brave souls willing to drive the highway themselves! Not surprisingly, they were very well traveled and the six of us started exchanging stories. We were served chicken wings (or actually a singular chicken wing), French fries, and a cucumber tomato salad for dinner.
Then we continued chatting with our new friends until the host came up and told us to be quiet because the other group was sleeping. He was very nice about it and told us to we could continue talking in our room instead of the common area. Fair enough! We kept the party going a bit longer before calling it a night. We had many long days ahead.
Day 2: Kalaikhum > Rushan
We woke up at 7am (funny thing is that Afghanistan is 30 minutes ahead of Tajikistan and some of our phones registered Afghan time) and spirits were high to start day two as we had no clue the troubles ahead. But first, we had three fried eggs for breakfast at our homestay, as it was included with our accommodation. We looked across the Afghan border and little kids were playing volleyball just living their lives like any other children in the world.
Then we hit the road and I was first up to drive. On Maps.me we saw a few Zoroastrian temples (one of the world’s oldest monotheistic religions founded in ancient Persia) that didn’t show up on any blogs, but this was the beauty of having our own car; we could make stops wherever we wanted. After 15 minutes of driving we took a short detour on a steep 4×4 dirt road with sharp turns over cliff edges. I was a bit white knuckled, but my years of Colorado driving experience came in handy. I put the 4Runner in 4×4 mode and maneuvered the car up winding uphill turns. One of the turns required three attempts, but we made it. This turned out to be the sketchiest section of the entire road trip. I parked the car at the top and we got out and walked around the remaining ruins of the fire, wind, and water temple.
Going back down the road was a bit easier, but still required my full focus and concentration. We got back on the main road and I was glad to be done with that part. The next 45 minutes was a bumpy dirt road where big trucks had to squeeze by each other when approaching from opposite sides.
We reached a paved road in a village when a group of turkeys walked across the middle of the road when all of the sudden the car wheel locked up and I had to stop the car. My first thought was that I ran over a turkey and it got caught in the wheel. It didn’t make a whole lot of sense but the timing was curious. We got out and there was a nail in our tire. Shit! Our first hiccup. I got back in the car so I could pull further over to the side of the road but a bunch of new warning lights came on and the engine cut off. When it rains it pours. The lights were probably unrelated to the tire, but one problem at a time. Ken knew how to change a tire (and I had some knowledge) and we got to work lifting up the jack and unscrewing the lug nuts.
We started changing the tire when some locals driving by got out of their car and helped expedite the process. The spare tire was now on but the car still wouldn’t start because of the other issues. The locals thought one of the lights might be indicating that we ran out of petrol, but we had filled up in Dushanbe and the gauge still showed near half tank. Maybe the gauge was broken?
Luckily I had perfect service so I messaged Musa to let him know about the flat tire and that the car won’t start. While we were waiting, our Wales friends from the night before drove by and pulled over to ask if we needed help. We told them the situation and they said they would be glad to drive us back to Kalaikhum to fill up our petrol canisters. They had also forgotten to fill up on gas and said it was no sweat making the detour as they could refill their car too. Ken and Tobi rode with them while Emiel and I waited by the car. One of the locals, MJ, spoke good English and gave me his number in case we still had issues after getting gas; and they went on their way.
I heard back from Musa and told him the locals thought we might have run out of gas and that my friends were heading back to Kalaikhum to fill the canisters. He asked me to send him photos of the warning lights and a video of me starting the car and to keep him in the loop. At least we broke down on a wide asphalt road rather than a narrow section of the dirt road we just came from. Also we were in a village where I had service and not some remote location miles away from civilization. As far as breakdowns go, the location could not have been more perfect.
While we were sitting there waiting, this little kid came over to say hello to us. Then his grandma came out to corral him and she invited us in for chai. Sure why not?! Their house was right in front of where we broke down so I could still keep an eye out for Ken and Tobi’s arrival. She gave us bread and candy then came out with chai and a hearty soup with onions, potatoes, peppers, and beans in a delicious broth. An older gentleman in the house came out and joined us for soup as we communicated through smiles and thumbs ups. Emiel and I were getting fed a free lunch while we waited. Man I love Tajikistan!
Ken and Tobi finally came back with gas and we held our breaths when it tried to start the car again. Same problem. None of us were too surprised though. It was wishful thinking. Meanwhile the grandma invited the Wales couple in for soup. I got on the phone with Miss and he spoke surprisingly good English. He tried to help us troubleshoot the problem over FaceTime asking us to disconnect one of the pipes in the engine to run a test to see that gas wasn’t leaking. This type of mechanical work was outside our wheelhouse, but Miss walked us through the steps over a video call. We proved there wasn’t a leak and he began to suspect an issue with the fuel pump. I told him that we had met a local guy who knew a mechanic that could help us out. I gave him MJ’s number so they could broker the deal without me being the middleman.
In less than 30 minutes MJ was back, and this time he had a mechanic (who they called a master) by his side. The auto shop came to us. The mechanic checked the engine and ran some tests before coming to the same conclusion that the fuel pump needed to be replaced. While we were watching, the grandma came out again asking Tobi and Ken if they wanted soup. Might as well feed everyone!
With Musa’s blessing, the mechanic got approval to rip apart the metal under the back seat using a knife and hammer to create a hole and pull out the fuel pump (I’m assuming this type of work normally requires jacking up the car and removing the pump from below). It was highly entertaining to watch. He pulled out the fuel pump and showed us how dirty it was. There was a replacement pump in the trunk of the car (Musa had surely already anticipated this problem. Apparently it’s a common issue in Tajikistan because of the low quality of fuel) and the mechanic got to work doing cleaning out the old filter and replacing it with a new one. Meanwhile we were talking to MJ and thanking him for all his assistance. He said you are guests in my country and in Muslim culture the guest is number one. I had felt this hospitality as a guest since my arrival in Central Asia and this day in particular proved how willing people are to go the next level to make you feel welcomed. The grandma fed us soup and gave us chai, MJ helped us changed the tire and brought us a mechanic, and then to top it all off a nice old lady walking by threw us a bag of walnuts.
In less than an hour since his arrival, the mechanic put in the new fuel pump and got behind the wheel to start the car. Voila! It started with a roar and we all cheered. Woohoo the car got fixed! Of course we had our doubts as to how it would perform the following days since we were only on day two of seven, but for now the problem had been solved. We paid the mechanic a measly $60 for coming to us and doing the job, thanked MJ for going out of his way to help us, and got a group photo to cherish the memory.
What a crazy morning/early afternoon that was! In the end, we lost four hours to the breakdown, but it could have been way worse. At one point I was going through scenarios in my head that we would have to end our trip here or at least spend another couple of nights in Kalaikhum while the car got fixed. The whole group was calm and collected throughout, which made things better. No one panicked or freaked out. It also helped we got fed a free lunch. It takes a village! I let Musa know the car was up and running again; and that we would continue to stay in touch over the next few days.
It was already 2pm and with the time lost there was no way we were going to make it to Khorog as we initially planned. Another good reason for not booking a guesthouse in advance. But we still wanted to make it further down the road so we didn’t get too far off schedule. I was still a bit shell shocked from before so I let Ken take over as driver. The next few hours were slow moving as we got back onto a bumpy dirt road. The car was quiet after our hectic experience so we listened to music and stared out the windows soaking in the scenery. You could tell they were making improvements to the road as there was lots of construction. We would go from a dirt road with rock fall in the middle of the road to nice new asphalt then back to a dirt road filled with potholes. The distance wasn’t far but we could only drive 10-15 MPH because of all the potholes, and we had to be extra careful since we were driving on our spare tire. You could never get into a rhythm and always had to be paying attention. Ken did a good job.
The dirt road followed along the Panj River with Afghanistan always in viewing distance on our right. There were some up and down parts and some narrow sections where only one car could go from each direction, but overall the drive wasn’t that tough. You just had to keep it slow with the potholes and extra slow when the Chinese semi trucks would drive by and create a temporary dust storm. We reached another military checkpoint and passed through with ease. The guy joked with Emiel to take his hat off and that was it; he immediately let us through.
We drove through the occasional small village with people living the rural Tajik life. It really made me wonder what it’s like living here. Some villages kids were selling apples to passing by cars and in one village there were kids who were just lying on the road in the middle of the Pamir Highway watching something on their cell phones. After a few hours, I took over again as driver because Ken doesn’t like to drive in the dark and sunset was approaching. The drive continued at a slow pace until we finally reached a section where the road became smoother and the bumps less frequent. I still took it slow because it was now nighttime but could go faster than we’d gone all day. Finally we reached the town of Rushan just before 7pm and stopped at a guesthouse to see if they had room. The woman welcomed us in and for $10 we had a room and breakfast. We would just need to walk five minutes into town for dinner.
We ended up at a restaurant that also served alcohol so we ordered a couple small bottles of vodka to go with our dinner. It had been a long day and it felt good to take a load off.
We started getting a bit looser when a group of locals entered the restaurant and sat down to chat with us. One guy was a professor and spoke good English. There was a live band playing at the restaurant and next thing you know we get on the dance floor with the locals and all start vibing out to the music. We were all yelling “Tajikistan ba pesh!” They were loving our energy. We had come a long way since being stuck on the side of the road with a broken car, but somehow it was still the same day; the perfect nightcap to a crazy day.
We left the restaurant buzzing and went back to the hostel to share a few of our big beers before finally calling it a night.
Day 3: Rushan > Ishkashim
We all woke up with a slight hangover, but still managed to get out of bed by 7:30am and have a hard boiled eggs and bread for breakfast. The other clientele at the guesthouse was truckers making a pit stop for the night. Our first stop of the day was the to tire repair shop in Rushan where we got our tire filled up and patched. We also had the mechanic put the original tire back on because it had better traction than the spare.
Emiel was the first driver of the day. The dirt roads were a little bumpy, but much better condition than the day before. There were a few times where Emiel hit the bumps with too much speed and I told him he had to slow down. This isn’t like driving in the Netherlands. We just got the tire fixed and the fuel pump changed, no reason to cause any new issues. Luckily he took the constructive criticism well and started driving more cautiously. About an hour into the day, we saw our first hitchhiker and immediately had to turn around to do a double take. Back when we were in Osh, there was a French Italian guy at the hostel who was planning to hitchhike the Pamir Highway. Lo and behold, he was the hitchhiker we drove by. We caught up with him for a few minutes asking how his hitchhiking experience had been when a semi truck drove pulled over willing to pick him up. Wow that didn’t take long! We said our goodbyes and he was on his merry way.
Emiel continued driving for another hour until we reached Khorog, the town we were originally going to stay in night two before our snafu. Khorog is the turning point where you either continue east on the Pamir Highway or head south to the Wakhan Valley; the direction we were going. We filled up on gas (and also filled the two 10L canisters because the Wakhan Valley is known to lack gas stations) and I got behind the wheel again. The road continued to be bumpy, but not horrible. You could at least drive with some speed before the occasional slow down for bigger potholes. The scenery on this day wasn’t anything too special compared to the other days. After about an hour of driving and one easy military checkpoint, we made a short detour to Garam Chasma Hot Springs. These outdoor springs were full nudity and we all scampered into the water trying not to look at each others’ junk. It was just us and one Tajik guy enjoying the relaxing hot water.
While we were in the water, this guy sat down on the bench trying to sell us on suction cup therapy. I guess it’s good for pain relief and improving blood circulation. He said it only takes 10 minutes a person. Ken wanted to do it so we all said sure, why not. Except Emiel who decided to opt out. It was honestly a pretty weird experience and I’m not sure I felt any benefits. Plus we had these giant circular rings on our backs that looked like bruises for the next three days. Afterwards we had chicken shashlik lunch in town then got back on the road.
I continued driving for another 1.5 hours before my eyes started getting heavy and Emiel took over again. The dirt road was in average condition and not too difficult to drive at a medium speed. We didn’t see many other cars all afternoon. The last couple hours dragged a bit and we reached Ishkashim around 5:30.
We were the only guests at the home stay (can tell the season is coming to an close) and the rooms were two person each rather than all four of us together. The host was a friendly old man who spoke great English and made us feel very welcomed. For what it’s worth, this place also had the best WiFi. Dinner and breakfast were included in the $20 accommodation price. We got fed a salad and two entrees: Lagman and a sauerkraut-like thing; plus freshly picked apples from their yard for dessert. We were all tired and went to bed early that night.
Day 4: Ishkashim > Langar
Day four was our chillest day driving as the main focus was stopping at the attractions in the Wakhan Valley. Our breakfast was fried eggs, mashed potatoes, and a hot dog sausage. We were on the road by 7:30 and Ke drove first. It had rained the night before in Ishkashim which added a fresh dusting of snow on the Afghan mountains off in the distance. Everyone in town was out on a morning stroll walking their livestock. We only had to go 20 minutes before reaching the Khaka Fortress. This massive ancient military fortification dates back to the 2nd or 3rd century BC built by the Kushan Empire during the height of the Silk Road to secure trade routes. Once again going at the end of the season paid off and we had the entire fortress to ourselves. We walked inside the walls marveling at how well maintained the mud brick and stone rampart ruins were more than 2,000 years after construction. It was an impressive site to see.
When we left the fort, a vendor must have seen our car while we were inside exploring because he had setup a stand selling scarves, hats, and other souvenirs. I tried on a scarf that he said was from Afghanistan and he gave me a hat and a plastic gun to pose for a photo. I later posted it to Instagram saying “Mom I joined the Taliban” which wasn’t received well by their moderators and got taken down for potentially offensive content. Oops. I thought it was funny. I ended up bartering with him for the scarf and came away with a souvenir.
The road was in surprisingly good shape and we went through some golden tree tunnels displaying nice fall colors. After about an hour, we turned off the main road and got onto a narrow winding dirt road up to the Yamchun Fort. It wasn’t as difficult as the road up to the Zoroastrian temples, but it was still a bit of a nail biter, and Ken did a good job getting us up it. He drove a 4Runner back in Colorado and had plenty of experience on uphill dirt roads with cliff edges. We had to pause at one part to watch a cow fight that broke out in the middle of the road.
The Yamchun Fort is built on a triangular spur 3,000 meters high overlooking the Hindu Kush mountains of Afghanistan and surrounding canyon cliffs. It was also built by the Kushan Empire and dates back to the 3rd or 1st century. The fortress mimics the natural contours of the cliff side to blend in with its surroundings. And you guessed it, we had the place to ourselves.
Then we continued up the winding dirt road for a few more miles to reach the Bibi Fatima Hot Springs. These natural springs are built directly into a narrow rock cave. We had to wait our turns for about 20 minutes until a group of local women were done using the springs (only one sex allowed at a time). I have no photos of this one since it was tucked away and we were all naked by the time you could see it. A few local guys joined us too. This spring was even hotter than the Garam Chasm the day before and didn’t take long for us to get our fill.
Afterwards we had a picnic in front of the car cutting slices of sausage and cheese onto bread with a spread of mustard and eating snacks. I got back behind the wheel to get us down the winding dirt road then it was another hour to Langar with nice valley views and massive snow capped mountains in the background.
It was only 2pm but the next section required a long drive up a mountain pass and then there was a hike to a viewpoint we wanted to do, so it was already too late in the day to keep going. We had been driving into the evening the first three days so it was nice to call it quits earlier in the afternoon. We drove by a guesthouse where these little kids waved us to come in. The building looked rundown, but it had good outdoor seating and the rooms inside weren’t bad. Plus they had a cute dog.
Everyone lied down to rest and I ended up falling asleep while reading my book. I was more tired than I thought. After our rest, we sat outside in the dining area and cracked open another bottle of vodka while we waited on dinner. There was a soft spoken French guy named Thibaut staying at the guesthouse who was hitchhiking the Pamir Highway so we asked him about his experience thus far. It seemed to be fairly easy. Sometimes he had to wait longer and some people expected money, but overall he was making good progress and stopping at the places he wanted to see. His trip had him en route from Istanbul to Indonesia. It’s always fascinating to hear the itinerary of other backpackers. We had an absolute feast for dinner that night. The host brought out a tray of fruits, nuts, candies, and chocolates to start then followed it up with salad, soup, and plov with chicken. Full and sleepy, we went to bed early again that night.
Day 5: Langar > Murghab
We got up at 7 for another fried egg breakfast and hit the road by 7:30 for a long day ahead. The driveway to back out of the guest house had a wall directly behind it and I was still half asleep trying to be cautious, when all of the sudden smack. Fuck!! I had gotten so used to back up cams beeping at me that I misread how close I was to the wall. I didn’t hit it that hard but it made a noticeable dent on the back left side of the car and slightly popped out one of the panels. Ugh! I felt like such a dumbass. The other guys reassured me it’s all good and that we would all split any deduction from the deposit just like we had agreed before the trip. I was pissed at myself but didn’t let it deter me for too long. It was a stupid early morning mistake and I had to focus my driving skills on the mountain pass road ahead.
Google said it would take 1.25 hours to the top of the pass but it took closer to 3. I’m not sure how one could possibly drive on that road at 50 MPH to match Google’s ETA. It was a gravel road with the occasional pot hole winding along the edge of the mountain with some sharp turns and narrow sections that only fit one car. Luckily we only saw one car the entire way up to the pass. It was heading in the same direction as us and I drove around with ease. There were a few white knuckle sections over cliff edges but overall not too bad. I could see how it would be very tough on a snowy or rainy day but we had perfect weather. It also would have been more difficult in the narrow sections if we came face to face with a car coming from the opposite side and had to flip it in reverse, but this was not an issue this time of the season. We were in the middle of absolute nowhere; there were no villages or signs of human life along the way. This would have been a horrible place to breakdown. The car’s engine was definitely struggling on the steeper uphill sections so I held my breath a few times praying to Allah that we would be okay. I remained focused on driving safely while also soaking in the incredible surrounding views. The scenery was breathtaking. There was a military checkpoint at the beginning and toward the end of the pass; both were quick and easy. We really never had any issues at the GBAO checkpoints.
We arrived at Khargush Pass sitting at 14,251 feet high and immediately felt the crisp cool mountain air when we got out of the car. When I was researching our itinerary, there is a popular hike to a viewpoint that you can do from the pass. There were two other cars parked at the mountain pass doing the hike (they were tour groups with a driver) but we saw no other cars until we hit the Pamir Highway. It was nice to finally stretch our legs rather than sitting in the car. The hike was short, but fairly steep, and no joke at this altitude. We gained 1,400 feet in 1.5 miles to reach the 15,630 foot Hausibek’s Viewpoint. It was well worth the effort for the insane views of the snow capped Afghan mountains. The Pamir Mountains are known as the rooftop of the world and it certainly felt that way from this vantage point. This was our last good look at Afghanistan; and the best one yet!
After soaking in the views for about 20 minutes, it was getting cold and we headed back down. We sat by the car and made ramen for lunch using Ken’s gas burner that had come in so handy during our backpacking trips. The road on the other side of the pass was more wide open with less concerns about cliff edges, but it still required constant focus. There were some washboard sections that had the car rattling even at 10 MPH. Somehow the other guys all fell asleep while I drove even with the constant bumpiness.
We finally returned to the Pamir Highway and had to decide if we wanted to detour to Bulunkul and Yashikul Lake or head east to Murghab, our next stop for the night. I was indifferent on the lakes because we still had a few more hours to go and I knew the hour detour would mean we arrived late, but the other guys wanted to see the lakes so we plowed ahead. It was another washboard road but there were also dirt roads on both sides that split off and reconnected to the main road that we were in slightly better shape so I treated the drive like a Mario Kart course weaving in and out of the side roads.
After the lake detour we got back onto the Pamir Highway and I relieved myself of driving duty after five hours behind the wheel. Emiel was up next. We thought that since we were back on the Pamir Highway road conditions would improve. We could not have been more wrong. This might have been the worst section of the entire road trip as far as road conditions are concerned. It was an asphalt road that had gigantic potholes that were deep and often unavoidable. I have to hand it to Emiel, he learned quickly from his previously rushed driving on bumpy roads and did a great job on this section. The distance wasn’t very far but we slowly made our way through the next 3.5 hours of rough road. I offered to drive but Emiel said he was in the zone and drove the whole way. The mountains surrounded us in all directions as we drove in the valley between them. Now it really felt like Tajikistan was more than 90% mountainous. We drove past the occasional small village with half built mud houses and this is when Tajikistan felt like it was more poor than Bolivia. These rural towns looked like they would not be fully finished and the people have probably never seen anything outside their little village.
Nighttime fell and we still had another hour to go before finally reaching Murghab. After our final military checkpoint we reached our destination. The town was run down looking and we couldn’t even find the first guest house so we settled for the next one. They had space but only breakfast was included and there was no WiFi. It was our longest day on the road and we were glad to finally get out of the car. But we had to hop back in shortly after to drive to a restaurant in town. We weren’t even sure anything would be open. The place looked closed but I went inside to ask and they said they were still serving food. We each ordered lagman and manti for the table. There was no menu and the price was a bit high (I’m sure we paid a tourist tax) but the food was delicious. We drove back to the hostel and called it a night.
Day 6: Murghab > Sary Mogul
We were back on schedule and didn’t feel rushed to leave in the morning. Breakfast was fried eggs and sausage with yogurt and apricots then we packed up the car and hit the road. We filled the car up with the two 10L canisters before leaving the guesthouse because we didn’t need them anymore then hit a gas station to top off. It was a nice asphalt road with the occasional potholes to Ak-Baital Pass. Ken was driving and did a horrible job. The car engine was struggling so when he finally got speed he didn’t slow down and would smash over some of the potholes at way too high of a speed. Come on dude! I understood his frustration with the car, and we weren’t far from our end goal now so breaking down wouldn’t be as bad as when we did on day two, but still; he knew better than this. The mountain views were probably the best we’d seen the whole trip and it was a joy to look out the window. Everyone was in good spirits and the group energy was high as we chatted the whole morning without even playing music.
The road to Ak-Baital Pass was a very steady incline for the first hour but the it started getting steeper as we got close to the pass and our shitty engine was struggling. We were near the top of the pass when we reached a very steep section that the car couldn’t make up. Ken put it in 4×4 mode then backed up the car to get some speed. We all got out of in case we had to push, but he was able to power it through. It was a funny scene watching us all try to run after the car at over 15,000 feet high and we got back in completely out of breath.
We got out of the car at Ak-Baital Pass to take photos and soak in the views. At 15,272 feet high, it is the highest point on the Pamir Highway and ranks as the highest drivable road in the former Soviet Union. We were at the roof of the world.
The views remained stunning as the drive continued downhill to Karakul Lake. Not far to the east lies the Chinese border. The massive turquoise lake came into view and the Trans-Alay mountain range towered in the backdrop on this perfectly clear day. Man we sure did get lucky with the weather! The massive snow-covered north facing wall of Lenin Peak stood as the highest of them all. This 7,134 meter (23,406 foot) peak is known to be one of the “easier” 7,000 meter mountains to climb. It’s a life goal of mine to make it to the top one day. I’ve hit 6,000 meters so we’ll see if I ever make it to 7,000. A lot more training and high altitude mountain climbing is required. A boy can dream.
Karakul is a common stop along the Pamir Highway but it looked like a ghost town this late in the season. We found the one restaurant that was open and stopped for lunch. It was a below average of plov but any food would do. Tobi took over for the first time since driving on day one. The road was in good shape at this point with just the occasionally pothole that was easy to avoid. He drove for about 45 minutes but as we got close to the border, we figured it would be best if I drove since the power of attorney for the car was under my name. After another 15 minutes we reach the Tajikistan border. We were the only ones there and it was an easy crossing. The guy asked how our experience was in the country and we told him it was amazing. Then we said “Tajikistan ba pesh!” and he absolutely loved us. Works every time! He asked for our car registration and there were no further questions related to the car.
There is a 15 mile gap of no man’s land on a mud and red dirt road until Krygzstan that is completely desolate with no services, shops, or shelters. If crossing the border by shared taxi, then you are forced to walk this stretch because vehicles from Tajikistan can’t cross in Kyrgyzstan and visa versa due to historical and political tensions. It was only recently that the border reopened for foreign tourists. Luckily we had our own car registered under Krygzstan. We passed by a few bike packers making their way along the last stretch of the Pamir Highway. We were almost at the Krygzstan border when I had to slow down and wait for a yak crossing. Another day in no man’s land. The yaks have no concerns about border tensions.
The last section was a steep downhill switchback before finally arriving at the Kyrgzstan checkpoint. We were the only people in line and it was an easy crossing for all of us except Ken. Once again they got confused with how many stamps he had in his passport and struggled to count the days. I was waiting behind him for nearly 10 minutes nervous that he would get shut down and stuck in no man’s land. Finally the guy said “good luck” and let him through. It was an ominous statement, but he was safe for now. The border patrol probably saw he was with all of us and figured screw it, this can be the next guy’s problem. I went last and once again they asked for the car registration and that was it. Then they lightly searched the car before letting me drive thru. I had some slight anxieties about driving across the two borders but we had no issues at all.
Now that we were on the Kyrgyzstan side the Pamir Highway was a nice asphalt road where I could get up to 50 MPH no problem. It felt good to finally drive at a real speed again for the first time since day one. We survived the bumpy dirt roads of Tajikistan. In 20 minutes we reach Sary Tash then we went got off the Pamir Highway and took a 30 more minute detour west to the town of Sary Mogul arriving just after 3:30. This village is a popular destination for backpackers who are coming from Osh and I could see why. It had insane views of the Trans Alay mountain range. We found a nearby guesthouse run by a friendly Kyrgyz woman with a bunch of children running around and checked in as the only guests. Off season rules!
We took it easy for a bit then cracked open the last bottle of vodka and remaining beers. The woman served us a three course dinner with salad, soup, and an entree. It was delicious but way too much food! We must have had at least three potatoes each. The conversation and drinks were flowing as we reflected back upon the experience we all just shared together. We finished our stash of alcohol and went into town to buy a few more beers stocking up on the only three left at the store. We still had one more day of driving ahead, but the hardest part of the Pamir Highway was behind us. It was a great celebration and a fun night!
Day 7: Sary Mogul > Osh
We woke up in no rush and had fried eggs and bread with jam for breakfast. Then it was time to say our good byes to Tobi. He was staying in Sary Mogul for a few days to chill out before hitchhiking to China and continuing on to the next part of his journey. I’m going to miss his dry, sarcastic German humor.
Ken started out the morning as our driver and we immediately picked up a woman who was hitchhiking in Sary Mogul. Now that Tobi was gone we had room to pick up hitchhikers. We figured we would pay it forward for the hitchhiking we’d all done on our trip. The woman didn’t know much English but she was appreciate that we picked her up. She was a geography teacher in Sary Tash and we dropped her off after 25 minutes of driving. It was a nice asphalt road the rest of the way to Osh but our first day of shitty weather. It was rainy and foggy with very poor visibility as Ken drove us up our final mountain pass. He did a great job given the conditions and removed himself from my shit list as a driver.
The visibility cleared up as we got to lower elevation and we picked up another hitchhiker. This guy kept speaking to us in Kyrgyz as if we were all the sudden going to understand his language. He was very chatty in the beginning but I think he finally understood we had no clue what he was saying and shut up. He rode with us for 45 minutes before we got to the town he said he was going and pulled over to filled up on gas one last time. I think he wanted to go a little further but he got out of the car once he realized we were getting gas.
I got back behind the wheel for the final stretch to Osh. We stopped for lunch in a random village that had probably never seen a tourist and ordered some delicious chicken wings. We drove another 15 minutes and stopped at an auto repair shop to try to fix the panel. They made it look a little better and we figured that’s the best we can do. We’ll put it up to fate as to what impact it will have on our deposit.
I told Musa we were getting close and to meet us at the bus station. There was a lot of construction and the traffic nearby the station was horrible. The maps took us to a weird entrance that didn’t exist and I had to figure out a way to U turn in standstill traffic. It was horrible. One of the most stressful parts of the entire road trip. I drove like a local and cut someone off and made it work. We parked at a gas station next to the bus station because it was too difficult to figure out how to get in.
After 10 minutes of waiting Musa’s brother (the one who had dropped off the car with us in Dushanbe) showed up to inspect the car. He immediately noticed the damage in the back left and also questioned the patched tire. Let the shitty part begin. He pulled out his phone to use Google Translate and we got into a dispute over the car damages. “The car lost some of its value” is what he said. Oh the car with 320,000 miles and a bunch of scratches? He was actually more concerned about the tire not being fixed properly than the dent in the back and kept saying that he was now going to have to replace the tire entirely. We argued back that we took it to be fixed and the patchwork was what the mechanic did. This was no fault of our own. They owe us $60 for the fuel pump repair that we had paid for on day two and on top of that wanted to give us only $300 out of the 500 plus. We held strong saying $400 back and they keep the repair money was reasonably fair. In the end it’s only $25 per person difference but they gave us an old car with a failing engine and all we came back with was a small dent; the tire getting a nail puncture was normal wear and tear on the Pamir Highway. In the end he got on the phone with Musa who told him to give us $400 back for the deposit and he would pay him back the rest. Musa really was a good guy! The agreement was set and the argument was over. Phew! Glad that’s done with. Now the Pamir Highway adventure has officially ended.
It was one of my most wild adventures and memorable experiences renting a car and driving seven days on the Pamir Highway and in the Wakhan Valley: incredible mountain views, bumpy dirt roads, three days driving along the border with Afghanistan separated by the Panj River and a barbed wire fence, ancient fortresses, nude hot springs, friendly home stays, and so much more. In the end our car getting a flat tire and breaking down the second day only caused a 4+ hour delay and makes for a great story. It was a true testament to the friendly nature of the Tajik people – the local guy MJ who helped us get a mechanic to replace the fuel pump in the middle of the street and the grandma across the street gave us chai tea and fed us soup while we waited. We got so lucky with the weather and thanks to going this late in the season had minimal cars on the road, barely anyone at the tourist destinations, and no problems finding accommodation.