Wakhan Valley - Abreshimkala

Three girls walking along the Wakhan Valley road, Tajikistan	Waken Valley with the Panj River and the mountains of Afghanistan	Bus stop with the colors of the Tajikistan flag	I briefed my driver that I wanted to stop at the various historic sites, as opposed to having a race to Dushanbe
Turn here for the fortress of Abreshimkala	Abreshim Qala, the Silk Fortress, is in the village of Zong, about 6 km west of the Langar Museum	Looking east as the morning sun shines off the Panj River	Climbing from the main road up to the Abreshim Qala
Climbing to the Silk Fortress is about a 900 foot ascent up the side of the Wakhan Valley	This must be a very rarely visited site, although some villagers did point the way	Steven trying to keep up	As we climb up towards the castle, the views of the Wakhan Valley get better and better
The Abreshimkala is located at N37 02 13/E072 36 58	The path wasn't always very clear but the locals kids must all be in school today	Climbing the Wakhan Valley	Although wide in places, the Panj River looks shallow enough to walk across in places
A house with some small terraced fields high up on the side of the valley	The fortress sits on the top of that prominent outcropping	Abrashim Qala also known locally as Vishimkala, the Silk Fortress	The fortress' location gives a great view of the river which divides Afghanistan and Tajikistan
Trekking up to the Silk Fortress, Wakhan Valley, Tajikistan	The barely discernible path keeps leading upwards, but the fortress is higher still	A tiny stream cut through the grassy turf clinging to the mountainside	A narrow gorge protects the site of the Silk Fortress even more
We should have done the climb to the petroglyphs in Langar...	Natural gorge protecting the fortress	The village must take their water from a spring near the fortress	Not sure how we're going to cross that
We'll settle for this view of the Abrashim Qala (Vishimkala)	He made it!	Afghan valley opposite the fortress with just the very tip of Kohanha (6309m/20,698 ft) on the left, Afghanistan-Pakistan	The snow covered peak on the right in the Wakhan Corridor of Afghanistan is around 19,150 ft
Another look back at the Abrashimkala	The upper village of Zong beneath the Silk Fortress	Mudbrick house in the village of Zong, Wakhan Valley	Terraced fields on the mountainside above the village of Zong
The village of Zong looking back towards Langar and the Pamir River	Autumn colors	Sandy flats of the Panj River on the west side of Zong, Tajikistan	I think the proper route up to the Silk Fortress is from the east side to avoid the ravine
House in the village of Zong, Wakhan Valley, Tajikistan	Village of Zong, Wakhan Valley, Tajikistan	Роҳи Сафед - Bon Voyage	A traditional Pamiri shrine along just west of the village of Zong, Wakhan Valley
A traditional Pamiri shrine along, village of Zong, Wakhan Valley, Tajikistan	Skull of a Marco Polo sheep on the Pamiri shrine	Skull of a Marco Polo sheep on the Pamiri shrine	Pamiri shrine, village of Zong, Wakhan Valley
Wide Panj River of the Wakhan Valley with the mountains of Afghanistan	The Afghan mountains reflected in the Panj River, Wakhan Valley	Wakhan Valley reflections	Tajikistan's Wakhan Valley road, former frontier of the USSR
Cows headed out of the village of Zugvand, 3 km west of Zong	Side canyon off the Wakhan Valley	Between villages, the Wakhan Valley is arid and lifeless	A glacier in a high valley on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, delineated by the ridge of the Hindu Kush
Another herd of livestock ahead	Honking madly, the driver forces his way through	And, no shock, it finally happened. The driver hit a little lamb crippling it	The rest of the herd moves on as negotiations commence
The victim carried away for tonight's stew pot	Not sure what the driver ended up paying. I didn't get involved	At least the big shepherd didn't take his stick to my driver	Mr Driver, let's not run over any kids please
The second time passing through the victim's herd, he was a bit more careful	The Panj River, Wakhan Valley, Tajikistan-Afghanistan	Happy 20 Years of Independence Tajikistan	Sandy area of the Wakhan Valley
Hindu Kush of the Wakhan Corridor, Afghanistan - just west of Kohe Hevad	Hindu Kush of the Wakhan Corridor, Afghanistan - just west of Kohe Hevad	The Panj River with the Wakhan Corridor of Afghanistan and Kohe Hevad (6849m/22,470ft)	The Panj River with the Wakhan Corridor of Afghanistan and Kohe Hevad (6849m/22,470ft)
The Panj River with the Wakhan Corridor of Afghanistan and Kohe Hevad (6849m/22,470ft)	Kohe Hevad (6849m/22,470ft) , Hindu Kush, Afghanistan	A 20,000 foot peak of the Hindu Kush - Afghanistan-Pakistan Border	Oumbouk Fortress, a stronghold on the valley floor directly on the Panj River
Perhaps penitent after taking out the little lamb, the driver offers to guide us to the Oumbouk Fortress-a place he'd never been	The Fortress Oumbouk Qala on a rocky outcropping directly on the Pamir River	Interesting berry bush along the trail	Not quite sure what it is
This is the whole bush, sort of like an evergreen	20,600 foot peak in the Wakhan Corridor of Afghanistan	Young boy with a young bull, Wakhan Valley, Tajikistan	Toad in the Wakhan Valley, Tajikistan
Toad in the Wakhan Valley, Tajikistan