Pamir Highway - Kyrgyz Border to Murghab

Kyzyl-Art Pass (4290m/14,042 ft) start of the Pamir Highway on the Kyrgyzstan-Tajikistan Border	Snow covered mountains of the Trans-Alay Range rising to 21,000 ft west of the Kyzyl-Art Pass	Monument on the Kyzyl-Art Pass	Kyzyl-Art Pass, Tajikistan
Marco Polo sheep on a pedestal at the Kyrgyz-Tajik border	Kyzyl-Art Pass, the start of the Pamir Highway on the border between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan	Kyzyl-Art Pass, Tajikistan	Welcome to GBAO, the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast
Entry into the GBAO requires an additional permit in addition to the Tajikistan Visa	Entering the Murgab District, GBAO	A fence keeps travelers from straying into the military area along the Chinese border 12km away	Trans-Alay Range, Tajikistan
Karakul Lake, 12,800ft - GBAO	High plains north of Karakul Lake, GBAO	Village of Karakul, 3914m	Much of the village of Karakul is rubble
Neglect or the 1994-1997 Civil War, I don't now	If you get stuck, there are a few places to stay in Karakul	Late lunch in a Karakul guesthouse	A 3-holer, Karakul
Pamir Highway headed towards Pik Severnyi Muzkol (6132m/20,118ft)	It's a decent road...thank god since the driver had Get-to-Murgab-itis	Tajikistan Sep14 0048.jpg	The Pamir Highway M41 enters a high-altitude Tibetan-style landscape
Roadside ruins along the Pamir Highway	Graffiti covered ruin along the Pamir Highway	Some of the first semi-habitable looking buildings since Karakul	Ugh...the Pamir Highway becomes a washboard dirt road
Pamir Highway, GBAO	Pamir Highway, GBAO	Pamir Highway, GBAO	Ak-Baytal Pass (4655m/15,272 ft), the highest point on the Pamir Highway
Ak-Baytal Pass (4655m/15,272 ft) - also the highest road in the former Soviet Union	I wasn't impressed that my driver was in such a rush he was going to blow right over the pass without stopping	the back side of the Ak-Baytal Pass	Pamir Highway, GBAO
I love the clean, crystal clear high altitude air and total lack of crowds	Pamir Highway, GBAO	Along the Pamir Highway	Pamir Highway, GBAO
The Pamir Highway here is around 12,500 ft above sea level	Pamir Highway, GBAO	Pamir Highway, GBAO	Pamir Highway, GBAO
Pamir Highway, GBAO	Pamir Highway, GBAO	Pamir Highway, GBAO	Pamir Highway, GBAO
A few houses on the side of the Pamir Highway north of Murgab	Remote living along the Pamir Highway	Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast	Crystal clear and beautiful light of the highlands
Along the Pamir Highway	Pamir Highway headed to Murgab	Pamir Highway, GBAO	Decent pavement on this section of the Pamir Highway
Utility lines along the Pamir Highway	Pamir Highway, GBAO	Pamir Highway, GBAO	Pamir Highway, GBAO
Wet patch along the roadside	Stream with Yaks and the Chinese border zone fence in the distance	Stream in rocky terrain along the Pamir Highway	Pamir Highway
Pamir Highway, GBAO	Roadside village of ruins along the Pamir Highway	Pamir Highway, GBAO	Mountains along the Pamir Highway just north of Murgeb
Along the Pamir Highway	Getting late...hope we get to Murgab soon	Late afternoon light in the Pamirs	Pamir colors
A red mountain in the late afternoon just north of Murgab