Pamir Highway: Kalaikhum to Murghab

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Kalaikhum

   Kalaikhum lies in the deep, hot gorge of the Panj river in south-western Tajikistan, where the Pamir Highway's western arm runs along the border with Afghanistan. At about twelve hundred metres, it is low by Pamir standards, and the valley floor is dusty, warm and full of apricot trees. The river is the frontier: on the far bank lie Afghan villages of mud-brick houses and terraced fields, linked by narrow donkey tracks cut into the cliffs, and a rider can watch the daily routines of people walking, ploughing and herding only a few hundred metres away across the water.

   Read the complete Kalaikhum write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Kalaikhum is where the day begins. Next is Khorog.

2. 2. Khorog

   Khorog sits on the edge of Afghanistan, with only a river between them. The town lies at about 2,200 metres in the valley of the Gunt and Panj rivers, in the Gorno-Badakhshan region of Tajikistan, and from its streets you can see across the Panj to the villages and mountain tracks of the Afghan Pamir, close enough to hear the dogs. About thirty thousand people live here, the regional capital, and its character is calm and rather quiet, with tree-lined streets, Soviet-era buildings and a river promenade. A park beside the river is a pleasant place for a walk.

   Read the complete Khorog write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Khorog comes up about 238 km into the recorded legs. Next is Murghab.

3. 3. Murghab

   Murghab is a town at the top of the world, or close to it. At around 3,600 metres on the high Pamir plateau in eastern Tajikistan, it is among the highest settlements in Central Asia, a scatter of low buildings and shipping containers set on a vast, cold desert of gravel, with bare mountains standing on every side. The air is thin and dry, the sky is an intense blue, and the nights can fall well below freezing even in summer. In winter, temperatures drop to minus thirty or lower.

   Read the complete Murghab write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   The route ends here after 552 km.