Pamir Highway: Day1- Dushanbe – Nurak – KalaiKhum

Distance: 325kmts Duration:8hours

Dushanbe, like for us is the starting point for most people planning to go along the Pamir Highway when starting the trip in Tajikistan. It is also possible to do the route from Kyrgyzstan, starting in Osh. We wanted to allow ourselves more time to acclimatize for this roadtrip that goes through mountain passes over 4500mts and the route from Dushanbe is more gradual in regards to the elevation gains. 

We stocked up on gallons of water and few other essentials, enough for the first couple days of the trip. We also withdrew local currency to pay for the accommodations and meals. Almost all the  businesses seem to only take cash, they however accept dollars and euros apart from Tajik Somonis. You can account about 10-20$ half board per person for accommodation which includes dinner and breakfast, about 1-5$ for lunch. After sorting out the necessities, we leave behind the sweltering hot Dushanbe, and head west towards the grassy golden meadows.

Our first planned stop was to the lookout point of Nurak reservoir, we however took a road prior to that, to get closer to the reservoir itself. We were soon stopped at a checkpoint, where we were offered to pay a price to see the reservoir up close. We politely declined and headed back to the main route, up the pass to the viewpoint instead. There was a huge bazaar at the mountain top selling all kinds of dry fruits and nuts. We packed a bunch of roasted nuts for the trip, and can highly recommend it. 

The view of the very blue Nurak reservoir from the viewpoint was outstanding. There is an island with a brown peak shooting up in the middle of the lake, the nearby arid brown and red hills framed the entirety of the reservoir and the end was nowhere in sight. We stopped by at a local restaurant for lunch of Samsa, Shakarab, and watermelon on our way to Shurobod pass. 

Leading up to Shurobod pass we get a sample of terrible roads that the pamir highway is notorious for. Thankfully it is short lived and after the pass the road was paved again. From the pass, we could see the long winding road cutting through the rolling golden hills on one side and a steep descent onto the Pamir river on the other. The prospect of having Afghanistan in close quarters had our hearts racing as we headed down the pass. We made a slight detour to a 360 degree viewpoint of the Valley through which Pamir river flows. The scale of the mountains on the Afghanistan side is unfathomable. We were already at over 2000mts and the mountains ahead were shooting straight up thousands of meters, an astounding sight.

As we headed down into the valley, the river bed narrowed even further. At times we were just a few meters away from the Afghanistan side. Although so close, the life on the other side was very different. We were driving on a well paved two way road, while the other side had a barely one car wide strip of track. It was mostly trafficked by Afghan men in their turbans wobbling on donkeys. There was an occasional motor bike, cars were a rare sight. The mud houses had thatched roofs and there seemed to be no electricity on the other end. The road looked treacherous, often disappeared behind a mountain only to re-emerge from one end of a village , precariously set on the edge of the mountain. There were kids playing along the  Pamir or taking a swim in it, they would wave at us with their smiling faces. It was a heart warming sight and we sure will one day go across to see those smiles up close.

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The Pamir river separating the two countries is a cloudy grey and honestly not particularly charming to look at. It is roaring and raging in some parts and very quiet in some others, so calm that it reflects the lofty peaks. There are clear blue streams from the valleys on both Tajik and Afghan sides that merge into Pamir. Pamir however, colors them all the same grey as it is. The confluence of such streams into the mighty Pamir is an astounding side. The sludgy waters of Pamir look like dark smoky clouds in the clear blue waters. And at one such confluence is Qalai Khumb, where we ended our first day. We stayed a couple kilometers uphill in Ziev at our first Tajik homestay, guesthouse zing. The refreshing ice blue waters of Khumb river on the banks of which the house was, made for a welcoming sight. We arrived right as the locals were fishing for the evening and whiled our time watching them go about their usual day. Our host made us a delicious lentil soup which was perfect after the hot showers.