The Wakhan Corridor of Afghanistan
How to get there without too much stress…or paying pots of money
Firstly, What is the Wakhan Corridor of Afghanistan?
The Wakhan Corridor is the pan handle of Afghanistan that runs alongside Tajikistan and Pakistan and stops when it meets China. Unlike the rest of Afghanistan the Wakhan Corridor is safe. Visiting the Wakhan Corridor in Afghanistan is feasible and tourism is just starting to find its feet in this remote and beautiful area. To get to the corridor there is only one advisable safe way there that involves crossing from Tajikistan at the Ishkashim crossing. It is confusing but there are two villages with the same name on both sides of the border – they are not the same place!
The Wakhan Corridor has remained safe due to its remoteness. The Corridor does not have any open borders with Tajikistan, China or Pakistan and the communities that live in the corridor are very isolated.
The main reason for visiting the Wakhan Corridor is tourism – the area is becoming increasingly popular with mountaineers, trekkers and wildlife spotters. About half way along the corridor it splits into what is called the Big and Little Pamir. The Little Pamir reaches to China and is inhabited by Kyrgyz herders. The rest of the Corridor is the home of the Wakhi people who are generally herders and farmers. To find out more please visit the website links at the bottom of the page.
The Wakhan Festival didn’t happen in 2010, plans for 2011 are unknown at the moment (usually late summer time if it happens)
How to get to the Wakhan Corridor of Afghanistan from Tajikistan?
The safest way to get to the Afghan Wakhan Corridor is to go via Tajikistan and the crossing at Ishkashim. You will need a GBAO as well as your Tajik visa. There is no need to pay thousands of £s/$s to (probably a Western based) agency to do a Wakhan of Afghanistan tour when you can do the entire thing easily yourself.
1) First of all you need to pick up an Afghanistan visa. This is easy enough to do in Dushanbe and usually takes about 3 days. For a UK national it cost myself $60 for the visa and other than which type I wanted there were no questions asked. Be aware that the embassy has moved – it is not where The Central Asia LP guide says it is. You need a Letter of Invitation (LOI) for Afghanistan but we found that the Afghan embassy in Dushanbe already had a set letter that they provided and that required a short trip to a local shop to photocopy and submit with the form. This avoided the hassle/cost of obtaining an LOI. I also saw them filling out vehicle permits at the Embassy so if you have your own vehicle it might be worth a try.
*Mountain Unity can provide an LOI if you need one (for a fee).
2) For arranging travel to the Wakhan Corridor you do need to get in contact with Mountain Unity. The person running this is David James – a UK national who is living in Ishkashim on the Afghan side with his family. Email him through the website and they will be able to arrange a Wakhan Permit for you. It is not an easy process for them to go through and there is not much point in them doing it if you only have a day or so for the Corridor. The Permit is currently $50.
By emailing Mountain Unity and telling them how many days you have they can provide you with an itinerary and the costs. Their partner Wakhan Tourism helps organize the trip for you by getting the permits, etc, but it is done through David at Mountain Unity.
Unfortunately, the driver and vehicle hire – which is a necessity for getting into the corridor is expensive. Aga Khan Foundation are promoting tourism there (in partnership with Mountain Unity and Wakhan Tourism) and they can provide the driver/cars to get into the Corridor. The rates at the moment appear to be considerably more than they would be Tajikistan. Which is unfortunate. Obviously the more people in the car the cheaper it is and you don’t need a car for many days – only 2 or 3. The price quoted August 2009 was $180 per day but this may change. Mountain Unity will provide a break down of all costs, but this is the big one. Further to that there is the cost for guides and homestays ($25pp/night), etc – which if going for 3 weeks will obviously add up. All of which can be arranged via the emails with David.
Sustainable / Eco Tourism – Mountain Unity is doing a very good job of trying to increase tourism with the aim of supporting local people. They have set up a basic network of guesthouses around Iskhashim that are reasonably priced and comfortable. However it appears there is some outside competition starting to come in that is likely to lead to the tourism money leaving the area. For that reason alone I would strongly recommend only staying at a Mountain Unity organized guesthouse.
Border stuff
Mountain Unity can send a car to pick you up from the border (around $20-25).
The Tajik border opens at 0800-12.00 and then opens again at 14.00.
The Afghan border is closed on Sunday.
Opening times 09:00 – 11:30, 14:00 – 16:00.
It would be wise to get a taxi/cycle from Ishkashim (Tajikistan) although it isn’t far – about 3km out of town, simply because the border point is situated in desert – it is excruciatingly hot if waiting there for the border to open, and will not be a pleasant walk from Ishkashim!
There is the open border market on every other Saturday where the two sides mix at an island in the river.
To get to Iskhashim just follow the advice on the Taxi page on this website.
MORE INFORMATION:
The best two websites to reference for sorting yourself out for the Wakhan and probably all you need (other than this one of course):
*Mountain Unity website
*Jildu website
And do you fancy learning some words in Wakhi? Check out: Learn Wakhi blogspot
How to get to the Wakhan Corridor of Afghanistan from Afghanistan?
Unfortunately, I can’t give much info on getting there that way and with the complexities of Afghanistan I wouldn’t want to! But there is an Afghanistan based agency running tours there independently The Great Game Travel Agency based in Kabul. They are staffed with drivers, translators, guides, cooks, etc and have all the needed gear for multi-week treks. Great Game procure their own permits for entry into the Wakhan and for other tours and they also have contacts with the local community for lodging when not using tents.
Random: If you like reading and you are interested in the Wakhan Corridor, I recommend buying the 3 Cups of Tea book. If you go to the Wakhan you can easily see some of Greg Mortenson’s schools and it is nice knowing the background. (link below)
