The newly arrived Mongol Rally teams were in dire need of some repair work, so they planned to spend several days in Khorog. The Jimny has been holding up incredibly well (we spent quite a bit more then the average Mongol Rally team and it has proven to be a wise investment) so the decision was made to leave them and the M41 for the Wakhan Valley. The Wakhan Valley loop leaves Khorog and heads south. It continues to follow the Afghan border for quite sometime and is absolutely stunning.
The morning began with a bit of chaos as we rushed around the Khorog bazaar in an attempt to find some water without gas (carbonated water is the drink of choice in Europe and Asia). We did manage to get some fuel and I snagged a pair of sunglasses (my old pair went missing with my camera).
Not long after hitting the road, we emerged from a forested area into a wide open, arid valley. The Hindu Kush mountains were on to our right for the entire trip. They were some of the most spectacular peaks I have ever seen - almost totally covered in snow and it was the middle of August!
We had lunch in the village of Ishkashim, where we were finally able to obtain plov. For those who don't know, plov is rice pilaf, vegetables, and a bit of meat cooked in lamb fat and oil for several hours. It's supposedly the national dish of Uzbekistan, but I was unable to find any. Our plov was worth the wait - that meal still ranks as the best on the trip. A fellow traveler informed me that the long cooking time prevents most restaurants from serving it - it's a dish most people cook at home.
We hit the road again after lunch - our goal was the village of Langar. We gained some elevation and stopped to visit Yamchun Fortress. Yamchun Fortress sits on a bluff over looking the Wakhan Valley and the Hindu Kush mountains. Scott took some amazing photos and the view was one of the best we have seen.
We continued onward toward Langar and made the decision to try our first homestead. We found one tucked back away from the main village and it was a perfect choice. If anyone reading this visits the Pamirs, homestays are a fantastic lodging choice. They are usually clean, comfortable, and a great way to help the community. We stayed in an extra room and they set up rather comfortable mattresses and blankets on the floor for us. The price also included dinner and breakfast. It was a great way to actually enjoy some relaxation time.
We dined with some other homestay guests - a young couple from Taiwan. They had been teaching English in Dushanbe and were excellent conversationalists. We ended up spending several hours after dinner drinking tea and chatting with them.
The next morning it was off to the dusty village of Murgab. We continued along the river and mountains for an hour or two, but soon began to climb up and away from the river. We encountered an impressive water crossing - runoff was spilling down the side of a hill and washing out the road. It was a significant amount of water and increasing as the temperature rose. Naturally, the Jimny handled it with no problems. Unfortunately, this wasn't the case for some of the Tajik vehicles headed the opposite direction. A marshrutska attempted to tow a vehicle up the crossing, but in the end sheer manpower was the key. Almost everyone milling around the crossing got out to push.
We climbed up a spectacular mountain pass and saw some amazing saltwater lakes. It has been rumored that travelers frequently swim across the river to Afghanistan, touch the opposite bank, and swim back to Tajikistan. We spent a lot of time looking for the perfect stretch of river to attempt this, but the water was just too high.
Not long after, we rejoined the M41 and motored to Murgab. The road was strangely empty - we could count the number of other vehicles we saw on one hand. The highlight of the afternoon was eating a late lunch in with a Kyrgyz family in their yurt. We feasted on yak yogurt, bread with yak butter, and a dumpling-like dish containing potatoes and onion (obviously served with more yogurt). The yogurt was interesting - it initially had a sweet flavor, which turned into a sour flavor. Quite pleasant with a bit of sugar actually. The butter was really delicious!
We checked into a homestay in Murgab and headed to the town's dusty bazaar, where we purchased traditional Kyrgyz felt hats. It's always fun to chat with fellow travelers - we had a group of older Italians and a young Italian/Finn couple as company. The younger folks had just come from Kyrgyzstan so it was good to get some up to date information.
We hit the sack early, as we needed to motor from Murgab to Jalal-abad the next day.
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