Pamir Highway part 4

We continued on through the stunning scenery, stopping to see some crystal clear lakes and a rather unimpressive, but still quite pretty geyser. We passed through Kargush pass at 4244m, and there was an option to hike to a view point at 4800m but considering that my head feels like it's about to implode at any height above 4000m I decided to give that a miss!

Later in the day we had to get our permits out for inspection as we reached the Afghanistan border in the Wakhan valley, along which we were going to be driving for the next few days. Just before nightfall we saw an Afghan caravan of horses and donkeys, and had a nice view of the Hindu Kush mountains on the other side of the border.

We stayed overnight in Langar village in another homestay with great, warming food, before continuing along the Pamir River that makes up the border. Life is pretty traditional in this part of Tajikistan, with the people being traditionally dressed and mostly relying on herding and some agriculture. Things looked pretty similar on the other side of the border, with just the clothing being slightly different. Both sides of the border seemed pretty well patrolled, we passed countless groups of soldiers that all looked very young. Most of them were 18 year olds on national service. On the other side of the border we saw the occasional taliban patrol vehicle too.

The area is also historically well fortified as we visited the 12th century Yamchun Fortress perched on a high rock, and the 4th century Khaaka Fortress. Then to get some R&R we managed to squeeze in two hot springs! One was built into a rock, with water coming directly from the rocks, and the other was so rich in minerals that there were piles of precipitated minerals in the bath and around the water pipes. At least this time both were at a temperature that was bearable to stay inside for more than a few minutes!Read more