Danghara lies in the south of Tajikistan, in the province of Khatlon, on the broad, hot plain between the Hissar mountains and the Panj river, which forms the border with Afghanistan. The point called Zoli Zard sits just outside the town, and the name, which means yellow water in Persian, probably refers to a stream or spring in the loess hills. The region is full of such sites, and many of them belong to the long Buddhist, Zoroastrian and later Islamic history of Bactria.
One of the best known, not far to the west, is Ajina-Tepa, a Buddhist monastery of the seventh and eighth centuries, where archaeologists found a huge clay reclining Buddha about twelve metres long, now in the national museum in Dushanbe. It shows how far Buddhism had spread along the Silk Road before the Arab conquest. The land has seen Greeks under the successors of Alexander, the Kushans, the Hephthalites and Turks pass through, and each has left a layer in the soil.
For a rider, the roads in this part of Tajikistan can be good, bad or non-existent, sometimes in the same kilometre. The main route from Dushanbe passes by the Nurek reservoir, formed by one of the highest dams in the world, built in the Soviet era, with a road that winds along the cliffs above the turquoise water. The plains are hot and dusty in summer, with temperatures above forty degrees, so spring and autumn are better. Cotton fields, melon stalls and clay-walled villages line the way, and police checkpoints are common, so keep your papers handy. The border zone near Afghanistan has its own rules, so ask about permits before leaving the main roads.
Danghara, a town of nearly twenty-three thousand, has fuel, a market and simple restaurants where plov, the rice and meat dish cooked in a huge pot, is the standard meal. Norak, the town by the Nurek dam, is the other major stop. Drink bottled water, carry spare fuel for the longer sections and be patient with delays, which are an ordinary part of travelling in Tajikistan. The hospitality of people in the villages is generous, and a pot of green tea is always offered.