Pamir Hwy, Tajikistan #1 – 7/2014
Turning off the Wakhan Corridor, we breathed a little sigh of relief, but really, compared to the roads we had driven through Georgia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan just to get to Khorog, the Wakhan had been a drive in the park. Now we headed west again, back to Khorog to resupply and to experience the Pamir Highway, reported to be vey beautiful and supposedly the best highway in the country. Humm??
We immediately hit pavement. Wow!! Real blacktop. Should we air the tires back up? Well not quite yet. The Pamir is paved, sort of, in-between the potholes the size of toilet bowls and sections of dusty gravel and rocks. Maybe 20 years ago it was a good road, but the convoys of overloaded Chinese semi tractor trailers hauling everything from earth movers to plastic household goods and rice have pretty much destroyed the road bed and no effort has been made to repair it. It was so bad, for a while, we almost turned around. Very glad we didn’t. The road didn’t get any better, but the scenery was spectacular, even more impressive than the Wakhan had been.
Local people were welcoming and friendly. Kids waved. A few times we were invited for “chai”, but we promised to stop on our way back. Already being familiar with Khorog, we knew the market and where to camp, get Internet, water and fuel. We arrived just before dark so we parked and headed straight to the well-known Indian restaurant for, (as we had been told), an excellent dinner and even a decent glass of wine. We deserved it!
We spent three days recuperating, meeting new people, shopping and catching up on our email and blogs (joke!!). The roads, (sic), we had followed since Turkey had pounded and beaten The Turtle V unmercifully. If it had feelings, it must have felt like one of those slave prisoners tossed into the Coliseum in Rome, set against wild animals and vicious gladiators armed with chain-whips, spears and clubs. The truck had survived, but tires, suspension, clutch, brakes, steering, and every mechanical component you can imagine has been severely tested. Careful preparation at Ken Imler’s Diesel Performance in Sacramento and our own choice of the best aftermarket products available have paid off. We can’t possibly list all the important companies who have helped build and outfit our expedition trucks for many years, but if you are curious, they are listed on the Suppliers Page on our web site.
After a rather futile attempt to wash off the mud and dust from the last thousand miles, we filled water and fuel and headed back east on the Pamir Highway, on our way to the Kyrgyzstan border. We knew with dread what the first part of the road conditions would be like, but we looked forward to a few stops to revisit new friends we had met on our way back from the Wakhan turnoff to Khorog.
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- The Pamir from the Wakhan Corridor turnoff was paved—sort of. Convoys of overloaded Chinese semi tractor trucks have pretty much trashed it beyond repair.
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- The views of the distant snowcapped peaks were even more impressive than we had seen on the Wakhan Corridor.
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- Kids would run to the side of the road to wave when they saw our strange truck coming into the village.
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- We often saw women washing carpets on the highway. July must be the season!
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- Fall will approach quickly and families were stocking cut hay on the roofs of their homes and barns in preparation for the brutal mountain winter.
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- Rickety suspension bridges crossed raging rivers. Yes, of course, Monika had to walk across this one.
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- Even at altitudes above 4271 m, (over 14,000 ft.), Monika was fascinated at the different flowers we found.
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- A sign above the Khorog Bazaar made us welcome. From our previous visit, we knew the market and where to camp, get Internet, water and fuel.
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- On any morning except Sunday when the Khorog Bazaar is partially closed, this is a two-lane street. Tajik drivers conveniently turn it into something like five-lane free-for-all.
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- The big Khorog Bazaar market is a great place to buy just about anything you can imagine.
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- Since it seemed that most homes in Khorog did not have running water during the Summer months, public toilets were an option. This one near the park made us very glad we had a Porta Potti.
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- Clean trucks are happy trucks. Monika sprays off the mud and dust from the Pamir Hwy. We would collect a new layer on our way back on the same road.
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