Shiney new green tiled mosque in the first village along the Pamir Highway south of Murghab |
930 km to Dushanbe and 311 km to Khorog along the Pamir Highway from Murghab |
Today's destination is the Wakhan Valley, so we'll leave the Pamir Highway at Sasikul just after Alichor |
The second nameless village outside of Murghab |
Plenty of room to widen the Pamir Highway |
Livestock grazing on the valley floor along the Pamir Highway |
High valley of the Murghab River at 11,745ft MSL |
The 850 km long Murghab River will never reach the sea. It dies in the deserts of Turkmenistan |
This section of the Pamir Highway is paved and in good condition |
Murghab River, GBAO |
Grasslands on either side along this bend in the Murghab River, lush vegetation for the Pamirs |
Just a short distance from the river, the arid rocky landscape resumes |
A small canyon with some of the high Pamir peaks in the distance |
The Pamir Highway climbs away from the Murghab River and its grassy valley |
A yurt and small hut along the Pamir Highway |
Pamir Highway |
There's not much traffic on the Pamir Highway |
Pamir Highway |
The Pamirs, rising from the high plateau, are just a taste of the stunning Hindu Kush to come |
Pamir Highway |
Pamir Highway |
The Pamirs are a high mountain range at the junction of the Himalayas with the Tian Shan, Karakoram, Kunlun, and Hin |
The Pamir Mountains - the Roof of the World |
Blue sky and crisp cool mountain air |
Livestock grazing in the arid valley |
Pamir Highway |
Scenery of the Pamirs |
There's a sign km 137 which must be from the Kulma Pass leading to China |
Naizaitash pass on the Pamir Highway, km 139 |
A dark, nearly black mountain rises to 5240m/17200ft from the flat plain |
Pamir Highway descending the east side of Naizaitash pass |
Along the Pamir Highway |
Small overpass on the Pamir Highway dated 2005 |
Sheep by a waterhole with a small house and yurt in the back ground |
Approaching the large Pamir Highway village of Alichur |
Breaktime in Alichur |
Mud bricks drying int he sun, Alichur |
Stolovaya, a small guesthouse in Alichur |
A yurt in Alichur |
Alichur - another small restaurant/hotel |
Safe Ride! |
Vehicle Maintenance Facility Shugnon District |
Marhaba - Welcome to Alichur |
Sassykul Lake, a few km southeast of Alichur along the Pamir Highway |
Salt pan near Sassykul |
Here, around km 217, the paved Pamir Highway heads westward towards Khorog |
125km from Murghab and 313km from the Kyrgyzstan Border, we leave the Pamir Highway for the Wakhan Valley |
The quality of the road diminishes significantly for the 30 km drive to Khargush on the border with Afghanistan |
Mountains along the road to Khargush |
The rough dirt road from the Pamir Highway to Khargush |
Southern Alichur Range of the Pamir Mountains |
Chukurkul Lake at 13,000 ft MSL |
Southern Alichur Range of the Pamir Mountains |
Khargush Pass, 4344m |
Khargush Lake at 14,000 ft MSL |
Descending to Khargush as Afghanistan comes into view with Kohe Belandtarin (6286m/20,623 ft) on the far right |
Mountains of the Wakhan Corridor in Afghanistan |
The small river in the distance is the Pamir River, a tributary of the Panj, which forms the Tajik-Afghan border |
Steven with Pamir River and Afghanistan |
A crescent moon over the mountains |
Descending to the Pamir River by Khargush, Tajikistan |
A crumbling stone ruin in Afghanistan, perhaps an ancient caravanserai |
Looking down the valley of the Pamir River towards the Hindu Kush whose ridge forms the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan |
The rough road down to the Pamir Valley |
Pamir Valley at Khargush |
Sand dunes at the base of the mountains covering the rock desert floor |
Khargush didn't seem to be even a wide spot in the road |