Tajikistan Favorites

Some helpful facts about Tajikistan

by Trekki

Tajikistan has a long and very sad history, given its importance in the ancient times from Samanid Empire. It was Soviet for a long time, and from my impression, it still is in a way, as the Russians still control part of it, mainly due to the borders with Afghanistan. However, it is independent since 1991 (as all of the Central Asian –stans). Independence day is September 9 – calculate this when travelling, it is a very important day for Tajikstan.Capital is Dushanbe.More about history of this wonderful part of this world one day, not now.The flag (see photo) has 3 horizontal stripes, red from former Soviet Union, white stands for cotton (important cultivation) and green for agriculture. The symbol in the middle – a crown and stars – symbolizes Tajikistan’s independence.The time in Tajikistan is UTC + 5 hours, but be aware, the Pamirs unofficially adapt to daylight saving time in...

GBAO - Pamir Permit

by Trekki

A permit for Pamir region is essential for any travel within the Pamirs (be it for hiking, mountaineering or any other activity).Police and Military guys will permanently check you, and if you don’t have it, you will be in bad shape – the less bad thing they’ll do is to fine you. The worse… I don’t know, and I did not try to find out.GBAO stands for Gorno Badakhshan Avtonomnaya Oblast, or the autonomous region of Gorno-Badakhshan, which was established in 1925 by the Soviets. The autonomous status remained after independence, but it is still controlled by the Russians due to it’s border with Afghanistan. Well, this is politically not correct, it is GBAO people, which control the region, but the further I travelled on Pamir Highway, the more I got the feeling that all is still old times (which theoretically I cannot judge, but…. my Karakul experience was enough to make me not want to know...

OVIR – Police Registration

by Trekki

The second important document you need when travelling in Tajikistan, and especially in Pamirs, is the so-called OVIR = Office of Visas and Registration.This is applicable for all 3 “-stans” I was in and simply means that you are getting registered with the officials, mostly the police.When travelling in Tajikistan, you should register within 72 hours after entry, but I have met travellers, who registered after being in the country (the western part of Tajikistan) for more than 3 weeks, and did not have problems.For travelling within GBAO, it is different, you definitely need it, the first police station will ask for it. But in this case, they are quite easygoing, and very quick, as soon as you show up at “a” police station (in GBAO), they are more than happy to put the stamp in your passport and charge you 20 USD (as of July 2006).My personal experience:I arrived in Dushanbe, and...

Tajikistan's borders

by Saagar

I liked geography puzzles when I was a small boy, and here I grow up and the biggest puzzle ever shows up! The Tajik borders were drawn by Stalin for various reasons, the ethnic composition, economic considerations (access to agricultural land, irrigation water) and are naturally also a function of the neigbouring countries outside former USSR. The borders used to be between the states within the USSR, and now they have become international and in my simple understanding, extremely impractical. If you want to take the train from Dushanbe to Khojand, you need to travel through Uzbekistan and skim Turkmenistan, before re-entering Tajikistan, and at least Uzbekistan seems fairly hostile to Tajikistan (and v.v. perhaps..). You really have to look at a map to grasp the full picture of the complexities.

Weather and when to travel

by Trekki

I promised to write something about the weather, and the best time to travel. Tajikistan is located on quite a high altitude, nearly half of the country over 3000 m above sea level. In addition, it is surrounded by high mountain ranges, just keep in mind that some peaks are well above 7000 m. Thus, summers can be hot and humid, winters mild (west) or crispy and cold(east, Pamirs).I found average temperatures somewhere in the www depth, but unfortunately did not made a note on the website. But, excel addicted as I am, and influenced by a very special person, who also shows average temperatures, I threw the data in xls and made a screenshot. This all is only vague, as it does not take into consideration that the weather is very much influenced by the vicinity of mountains and of the plains in the east.It should be more the temperature curve of Dushanbe. Try to avoid mid summer, months...

See The Fan Mountains. This...

by catdockev

See The Fan Mountains. This group of people are not the usual Tadjiks. They speak a different dialogue and look a bit different, but have been there so long they do not know their true identity. We saw other villages like this as well, each different from each other and from the Tadjiks. Over the centuries many persecuted groups hid in these inaccesable mountains, so different ethnic and language groups are scattered between the Tajiks. These people are the true ancient Persians, living as if it were Ancient Times!

Camp in the mountains, talk to...

by catdockev

Camp in the mountains, talk to the local people and see the museum in Penjikent. The embroidered wall hanging in the picture is a type of Suzannah. One of the mothers in the family made it for her daughters on the Millenium. I was able to buy it from them.They really needed the money! It is my favorite purchase on a trip. The bottom in Tadjik cyrillic reads, drink the very best red wine, it will color your cheeks like a spring flower, and the men will pick you! Seeing the ancient Zoroastrian temples, and the will of the people.

Check conditions before you go

by Saagar

Not only the political, but the climatic, too! To find lots of background info on climate and environment in Tajikistan, tap into www.meteo.tj

Sarez Lake

by Fong-Mantus

tanianska's General Tip

by tanianska

mountain river