The roof of the world · Tajikistan
The Pamirs
High plateaus, glaciers and Ismaili villages in Gorno-Badakhshan.
The Pamirs, known in Persian as Bam-i-Dunya, the roof of the world, occupy the autonomous region of Gorno-Badakhshan (GBAO) in eastern Tajikistan. The west is a land of deep valleys and Ismaili villages; the east is a high, cold plateau above 3,500 m where Kyrgyz herders graze yaks.
Part of the region is protected as Tajik National Park, a UNESCO site. Travel here needs a GBAO permit, a sturdy vehicle and time.
- Time needed
- 7–14 days
- Best time
- June–September
- Getting there
- By road from Dushanbe (about 2 days to Khorog) or from Osh in Kyrgyzstan.
- UNESCO World Heritage
- Inscribed 2013
Don’t miss
Highlights
- 01
Khorog
The regional capital, with a botanical garden high above the town.
- 02
Bartang valley
One of the most remote and dramatic valleys in Central Asia.
- 03
Murghab plateau
High desert, yaks and yurts.
- 04
Karakul lake
A high lake in a meteorite crater, near the Kyrgyz border.
Nearby
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