Itinerary
The Road East: How a Pamir Highway Journey Is Built
The Pamir Highway is the road that crosses Tajikistan's mountain east, from Dushanbe down to the Panj river, up its valleys to Khorog, and over the high Pamir plateau past Murghab and Karakul lake to the border with Kyrgyzstan. It is the country's great journey, and it shapes the trip around it: a long road taken slowly, with nights in homestays, days for acclimatising and a detour through the Wakhan valley. It is travelled from about June to September, and every visitor to the region carries the GBAO permit, arranged before the trip.
Updated 2026-10-08
Days 1 and 2: Dushanbe to Khorog
From Dushanbe two roads lead east and meet at Kalaikhum on the Panj: the southern one by way of Kulob, which reaches the river early and follows it along the border with Afghanistan, and the northern one over the Khaburabot pass. Either way the drive to Khorog is long and slow, and most travellers break it with a night at Kalaikhum. From here on, the river runs beside the road, with Afghan villages across the water.
Days 3 and 4: Khorog
Khorog, the town at the heart of Gorno-Badakhshan, sits where the Gunt meets the Panj, lower than the plateau ahead and a good place to rest and acclimatise. Its botanical garden above the town, the riverside park and the bazaar fill a day, and the town is the place to stock up on cash and supplies before the stretches where there is little of either.
Days 5 to 7: the Wakhan valley
South of Khorog the road follows the Panj through the Wakhan valley, past Ishkashim to Langar, with the peaks of the Hindu Kush across the river. Three days leave time for the old fortresses of Yamchun and Kaakha, the hot springs of Bibi Fatima, the stupa at Vrang and the rock carvings above Langar, with nights in village homestays.
Days 8 and 9: up to the high plateau
From Langar the road climbs out of the Wakhan over the Khargush pass and onto the high Pamir plateau, a bare, wide country of pastures, salt lakes and snow peaks at over 3,500 metres, to Murghab, the plateau's main town. The climb is the moment to go slowly: a night at Murghab before going higher helps the body adjust to the altitude.
Days 10 and 11: Ak-Baital, Karakul and the border
North of Murghab the road crosses the Ak-Baital pass, at 4,655 metres its highest point, and descends to Karakul, a great blue lake on the plateau, where a night in the village on its shore is the last of the Pamirs. The Kyzyl-Art pass then leads into Kyrgyzstan, towards Sary-Tash and Osh. Travellers who are not crossing the border turn back towards Khorog and Dushanbe.
Shared taxis or a four-wheel drive
Shared taxis and jeeps run between the towns, leaving when full, and they are how local people travel the road, but they keep to the main route and their own pace. Most visitors hire a four-wheel drive with a driver for the whole journey, which allows the detours into the Wakhan valley, the stops on the road and the nights where they want them. Some travel the highway by bicycle, in long summer stages.
When to go
The road is travelled from about June to September, when the high passes are free of snow; July and August are the surest months for the plateau, while June and September bring colder nights. Snow and landslides close sections outside the season, and a journey always keeps a spare day for a road blocked by rockfall after rain.