Getting around
Getting Around Tajikistan, a Country of Mountain Roads
Tajikistan is crossed by road. The mountains divide the country into valleys joined by passes and tunnels, the distances on the map take far longer to drive than they seem, and the rail network plays no part in a visitor's travel. Shared taxis carry most people between the towns, and travellers bound for the Pamirs or the trekking country usually hire a four-wheel drive with a driver.
Updated 2026-10-08
Arriving
Dushanbe's international airport is the main gateway, and Khujand's airport serves the north. Overland, the Pamir Highway crosses into Kyrgyzstan over the Kyzyl-Art pass, and further crossings lead to Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan in the north and west; which of them are open to foreigners is checked before setting out.
Shared taxis
Shared taxis, cars and minibuses that leave from set stands in each town when every seat is full, are the main way between towns, from Dushanbe north to Khujand and Penjikent and east to Khorog. They are frequent on the main routes in the morning and rarer later in the day, and a whole car can be paid for to leave at once or to stop on the way.
A four-wheel drive with a driver
For the Pamir Highway, the Wakhan valley and the start points of the treks, most visitors hire a four-wheel drive with a driver for several days, arranged through an agency or a guesthouse in Dushanbe or Khorog. It allows the detours, the stops for photographs and the nights where the traveller wants them, and the drivers know the roads, the checkpoints and the homestays.
The mountain roads
The main road from Dushanbe north to Khujand runs through the Anzob tunnel under the mountains, and the roads east to the Pamirs follow river gorges and climb over high passes. Long stretches are rough and unpaved, rockfall and landslides close sections after rain, and in the mountains journeys are made by daylight with time to spare. Tajikistan drives on the right, and police and border checkpoints on the roads ask to see passports and permits.
In Dushanbe
Within the capital, taxis are plentiful, called by phone or stopped in the street, with the fare agreed before setting off, and buses and minibuses run along the main avenues.