If you are visiting Dushanbe on business and have only a little time available, this is the trip for you. Paramount Journey will transport you a world away from the city, providing a light trekking programme just an hour away. These weekend trips, designed to appeal to expats as well as to short-term visitors, involve an excursion to the Shirkent National Park just an hour outside the capital and give participants the chance not only to explore wonderful sites but also to hang out with other travellers.
It’s not only in Jurassic Park that you can get up close and personal with a dinosaur! On Paramount Journey’s short trek in the Shirkent National Park which is located in Hissar valley you will be able to see and touch the footprints of dinosaurs, preserved for eternity in the rock.
Highlights:
- Spectacular landscapes that you won’t see in other part of Tajikistan;
- Geological objects including three sites of dinosaur footprints from various eras, in total containing more than 400 footprints;
- Opportunity to interact with a lively group of people, all interested in exploring the great outdoors.
This short trek is suitable for anyone with a moderate degree of fitness as no steep climbs or scrambles are involved. You will need to wear suitable footwear (trainers or walking boots are fine) and allocated a full day for the trip. Sunscreen and a hat are recommended.
The park includes eight different ecosystems, each with their own kinds of flora and fauna, so there is a huge variety of wildlife within a relatively contained space. Natural irrigation comes in the form of the Shirkent River, as well as more than 30 smaller watercourses, and along their banks you will see broad-leaf and juniper forests, meadows and alpine grasslands. 95 species of birds have been spotted in the park at different times of year, including golden eagles, and griffon and bearded vultures, and the larger mammals are well-represented too: there are wolves and brown bears.
Day 1: Iskanderkul (2195m)
Arrival in Iskanderkul from Dushanbe/Khujand and visit of the highlights of the area: Iskanderkul Lake (2,195m), waterfall (height 35m), Snake Lake. Accommodation in the soviet camp house.
Day 2: Saratog Village (3342m)
Our diver drops you close to the Alexander’s hat (3,342m, 4hs). Other part of the trip continues with hiking,lunch near the geological station. On the way back, visit of the spring Balak Balak (boiling water). The rest of the trip will be by car up to Saratog village where you can take sauna at homestay.
Day 3: Saratog homestay(+4hours hike )
A day hike (+ 4 hours) around ancient Saratog village towards Dukdon pass. The scene of surrounding of Saratog is one of beautiful alpine vistas where you can meet eagles and marmots. Overnight at the Saratog homestay.
Day 4: Dushanbe/Khujand
Departure to Dushanbe/Khujand.
The Yagnb Valley sparks the imagination of any explorer. This remote, secluded and hardly visited valley has been inhabited for thousands of years by the Yagnobis, thought to be the last remaining people to speak the ancient Sogdian language. Only a few still live in this virtually untouched part of the world.
You will follow the course of the river, passing along mountain slopes fringed with wild alpine flowers. The trekking opportunities in Yagnob are vast but most of the treks are moderate and advanced due to the steep and challenging passes. The Tabaspin and Rost passes that lead to the Upper Zerafshan Valley are frequently blocked by avalanches and snow. In addition, there is some difficulty in terms of arranging donkeys and local donkey handlers.
That being said, it is possible to do an easy trek, staying overnight at a local family house. As you can easily do this with a light backpack, there will be no need to have a donkey handler or a donkey. These accommodations are not official guesthouse or homestays, but they are run by friendly owners who are always happy to host travelers. If possible, it is best to reserve your accommodation in advance because there are only two free rooms suitable for hosting in each of these local houses.
Day 1: Margib (18km, 7hours)
The starting point for this trek is Margib, a village pinned against the rock face of Zamin Karor, with jagged peaks looming all around. You will hike east along the bottom of the river valley to Bedev – the first Yagnobi village – which typically takes around seven hours. Even this close to ‘civilization’, the people are cut off by ice and snowfall for six months of the year, and the road along the valley floor is little more than a dirt track. You will camp for the night in a meadow bordering the village’s fruit orchards; a pleasant, shady spot.
- Distance: 7 hours (18 km)
Accommodation: Overnight at Ibrahim’s family house
Day 2: Garman village (12km, 7hours)
The first part of today’s trek is an easy stroll along the banks of the Yagnob River. The path winds its way through three mountain villages and over a couple of small bridges before heading towards the right hand side of the valley.
You will reach the village of Garman by the afternoon, where you will stay in the Sanginmurod’s family house. The village is split in two: the Upper Garmen and the Lower Garmen, and there two families living in each. They are friendly, keen to talk and introduce you to their traditions, even if you only share a handful of words in common.
- Distance: 12km, 7 hours, +600m/-450m
- Accommodation: Overnight at Sanginmurod’s family house
Day 3 : Qul /Dushanbe (13km, 6hours)
Today, we will have an opportunity to hike to the most remote village in the southern section of the Yagnob Valley, tucked within a beautiful alpine meadow. Explore two small villages commonly called Qul, home to just five local families.
For an authentic experience, you will be hosted at Hussein’s family house for lunch before trekking down to the Pskan village to spend the night at Saidmurod’s homestay.
- Distance: 13km, 6 hours +450/-350m
- Accommodation: Overnight at Saidmurod’s homestay
- Alternatively, you can end your trek here and get transferred back to Dushanbe or your next destination.
Day 4: Kirronte village (11km, 5hours)
After exploring Pskan – the biggest village in the valley – we head to the last village in the Yagnob Valley, approaching from the eastern side, which is inhabited by Tajiks. On the way, we will pass through a few interesting villages, some of them abandoned since the villagers were relocated by the Soviets to work on the cotton fields in the 1950s.
We will reach Kirronte, a peaceful village that is home to just three families, in the late afternoon where we will spend the night.
- Distance: 11km, 5 hours, +630m/-440m
- Accommodation: Overnight in a Kirronte village homestay
Day 5: Dushanbe
After breakfast, we will follow the zigzag pattern of the path down to the Yagnob Gorge where our driver will be waiting to transfer us to Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan. En-route, we will have lunch in Pskan village before meeting our driver on the other side of the bridge where our adventure ends.
NOTE: It will be possible to drive to some of these villages by jeep as soon as the bridge in the Yagnob gorge is built. The Yagnobi people have attempted to build it for several years but it has been delayed by a lack of finances or weather disease caused by an increased water level in the Yagnob River.
