Blogs from Fan Mountains, Tajikistan, Asia

While doing a week of volunteering in Dushanbe I tried to work out what to do with five additional days I had tagged onto the trip to go and explore the country. I was equipped with a slightly dated Lonely Planet for Central Asia, which dedicated a scant 46 pages to travelling in Tajikistan, 33 of which were about Dushanbe (which I had been exploring already), the Pamirs (too far afield for the time available), or Afghanistan (unfortunately not allowed on my single entry visa…). So there wasn’t much to go on. From what little information there was I decided to head to Iskanderkul, a lake in the Fann mountains, and Sarytag, a small village just beyond it which I hoped would offer some hiking opportunities, although the blistering 40 degree heatwave and my perpetual tendinitis ... read more

Day 7 27 August Kulikalon Lake (2980m) to Alovaddin Lake (2180m). High point for day 3780 m- elevation gain 800m, loss 1240m as we drive back down to Iskanderkul (famous) and ultimately Kahramon (not even slightly famous, I can't find it on google maps or any search function). Got to start early in order to meet our pickup at 1200. I'm awake at 5 anyway. Lie in my trusty S2S Trek 3 bag and soak in the whole surreal experience. I start packing up as the sun hits the glacier. Again a "helper" arrives at 0630 to "help" me with my tent- too late I'm all over it. My turn to cook breakfast this morning- porridge with pears- very delicious actually. We squash into the big tent for this- my position is in the back right ... read more

Day 5 25 August Zimtut Village (1910m) to Chukurak Lake (2350m) Wake early feeling average at best, no appetite. Breakfast arrives- bread and condensed milk (good), but then more breakfast arrives- oily egg/onion/tomato dish. Oh dear... Head up the hill with the 2 little girls to try and walk it off. There are a lot of donkeys arriving on the hill below me from the valley, they are all laden with massive dried grass loads and being driven by small kids with big sticks. Load our donkey then, like breakfast another one arrives. We have 2 donkeys, I knew we were oversupplied :). Finally 3.5 hrs after waking up we are off. Donkey 1 is a good donkey, Donkey 2- not so much- he's naughty, flatulent and loud. It's hilly from the get go, lots of ... read more

Being in the former USSR, I'm finding it difficult to avoid the vodka theme based traveling. I had every intention of heading straight to the Fan Mountains from Dushanbe, Tajikistan's capital, but while traveling in the share taxi to Sarvoda I was invited by my fellow passengers to their family's house in Aydin for a pre-wedding party (the wedding would take place the following weekend). I initially tried to politely refuse because I only had 2 days for the mountains, but when we got to Sarvoda kind of late in the afternoon I was asked again and accepted. From the moment I walked through the door last Saturday it was a Tajik feeding frenzy with piles of bread, fruit, yogurt, meat, and plov the ubiquitous Central Asian dish that I'd somehow not yet eaten during the ... read more