Tugay forests of the Tigrovaya Balka Natur and Cultural Heritage Sites of Ancient Khuttal · 376 km from Shahritus

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Tugay forests of the Tigrovaya Balka Natur

   The Tigrovaya Balka, the Tiger Gully, lies in the far south of Tajikistan where the Vakhsh river runs down to meet the Panj and the Amu Darya, and it is an odd, lush corner in a dry country. The nature reserve protects tugay, the riverine forest of poplar, willow, tamarisk and wild olive that grows along the flood plains of Central Asian rivers, with thick reed beds and clearings of tall grass. It looks like a jungle, which is why it was called a gully of tigers. The Turan tiger, a relative of the Siberian tiger, lived here until the 1950s, when hunting and the clearing of reed land for cotton drove it to extinction.

   Read the complete Tugay forests of the Tigrovaya Balka Natur write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Tugay forests of the Tigrovaya Balka Natur is where the day begins. Next is Halevard.

2. 2. Halevard

   Southern Tajikistan is a land of wide river valleys and dry hills, where the Vakhsh and the Panj rivers flow towards the Amu Darya, the Oxus of the ancients, on the border with Afghanistan. Near the town of Kolkhozobod, known today by its newer name, lies Halevard, an archaeological site in the fertile Vakhsh valley. This region was part of ancient Bactria, a land of cities and fortresses that flourished under the Persians, the Greeks who followed Alexander the Great, and the Kushans.

   Read the complete Halevard write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Halevard comes up about 60 km into the recorded legs. Next is Cultural Heritage Sites of Ancient Khuttal.

3. 3. Cultural Heritage Sites of Ancient Khuttal

   Khuttal was a medieval kingdom in the south of what is now Tajikistan, centred on the fertile valleys between the Vakhsh and Panj rivers, and it flourished as a crossroads of trade and culture between Central Asia, Iran and India. The region's heritage includes the ruins of palaces, towns and religious buildings, such as the citadel of Hulbuk, near Vose', a royal residence from the ninth to the eleventh centuries, with richly decorated walls, and the town of Kulob, with the mausoleum of the fourteenth-century Sufi scholar Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani. Several of these sites have been nominated together for UNESCO recognition.

   Read the complete Cultural Heritage Sites of Ancient Khuttal write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   about 188 km into the recorded legs you reach Cultural Heritage Sites of Ancient Khuttal. Next is back through Halevard.

4. 4. back through Halevard

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Halevard write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   back through Halevard, late in the day. Next is Tugay forests of the Tigrovaya Balka Natur.

5. 5. Tugay forests of the Tigrovaya Balka Natur

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Tugay forests of the Tigrovaya Balka Natur write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Back at Tugay forests of the Tigrovaya Balka Natur. That is the ride.