Pamir Highway

[Grace Johnson]

Our “Tips for cycling Tajikistan’s Pamir highway” has just been posted on Travelling Two’s website at: http://travellingtwo.com/13692

The Pamir highway is fantastic!, it’s a classic bike route which we enjoyed even more than the Leh – Manali – Spiti ride.

There are a number of advantages to cycling the Pamirs as compared to the Indian Himalaya:

Lower elevation – The highest pass on the Pamir highway is just over 4,600 meters whereas the Taglang La Pass near Leh is over 5,300 meters.

Less traffic – The Pamir highway feels like a paved bike path since there are so few vehicles, whereas you will be passed by a steady stream of army supply trucks on the Leh – Manali road.


Easier to get to – there are flights to Dushanbe, Tajikistan and Osh Kirgizstan via Turkish airlines. To get to Manali or Leh you have to fly via Delhi in the heart of the Indian summer.

Easier cycling – On the Leh – Manali – Spiti route it felt as if we were either climbing a mountain pass or there was a strong head wind. You will have to climb a number of passes on the Pamir highway - but they are more gradual and there are a number of flat sections on the plateaus.

Some photos from our trip:







We have more trip photos posted on flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/51209571@N ... 445117495/

Plus you can see our bicycle touring pictures of the Pamir highway at: http://pauljeurissen.zenfolio.com/p457291429

[123456]

Great photo's om http://pauljeurissen.zenfolio.com/p457291429! I'd like to go there. Sometime...

Do you have more details on the trip? Route, how long...

[SjirkM]

Hoi Willem

Wat wil je weten? Welke routes? Ik heb over sommige routes wel informatie, net als Grace denk ik, maar om nu alle routes te gaan noemen .....

Laat ik het zo stellen: Er is veel meer dan de Pamir Highway en de Wakhan valley.


SJirk

[Grace Johnson]

Hi Willem,

We flew into Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan and cycled the main road to Osh but unfortunately there was a lot of truck traffic plus drunk drivers on that route. (We could see people drinking straight from their vodka bottles while driving.)

We heard from other cyclists that there is almost no traffic on the secondary road via Kazarman – yet as one Swiss cyclist said, “The Kazarman road is a terrible road!” (Apparently some sections of this road are so potholed that only 4x4’s can get through.)

After Osh – the traffic thins out on the way up to Sarey Tash and if we were ever to cycle through the Pamirs again – then I would fly directly to Osh and skip central Kyrgyzstan.

From Sarey Tash – we bicycled the Pamir highway and just before Khorog we turned around and cycled back to Osh plus took a couple of detours via Lake Bulun and the Chinese border.

We even enjoyed heading back the same way since the scenery looks different in each direction. The landscape is so vast and enormous – it even makes America (which I always thought was big) look like Madurodam.

When you’re cycling the Pamir highway, you’ll see a lot of side roads that go up all of the different valleys but most of them are either full of washboard or have quite a few sandy sections.

As for time, we took longer over than the other cyclists we met since we took the detours and spent some extra days wild camping and on photography.

For cyclists flying directly to the Pamirs – they might want to spend a couple of extra days acclimatizing in for example Sarey Tash.



View from our tent in Sarey Tash – plus the shop there sells 1 litre cans of beer!

[Sabien]

Hallo,

hoeveel tijd zou je moeten voorzien om van Dushanbe naar Kyrgizië te fietsen via de Pamir Highway?

[Maarten & Line]

Hallo,

hoeveel tijd zou je moeten voorzien om van Dushanbe naar Kyrgizië te fietsen via de Pamir Highway?

Minimaal twee weken, langer is leuker.

[SjirkM]

When you’re cycling the Pamir highway, you’ll see a lot of side roads that go up all of the different valleys but most of them are either full of washboard or have quite a few sandy sections.

Ik heb meerdere ritten in zijdalen gemaakt. Bij 1 was er sprake van wasbord. De rest viel mee en het was nog mooier dan de Pamir-highway zelf. Bijvoorbeeld van Murgab naar Jarty Gumbaz verder langs Zar Kul en de Wakhan valley. (link naar mijn reisverslag)

For cyclists flying directly to the Pamirs – they might want to spend a couple of extra days acclimatizing in for example Sarey Tash.
[foto eruit geknipt]
View from our tent in Sarey Tash – plus the shop there sells 1 litre cans of beer!

Grappig, zo heeft ieder een eigen ervaring bij een plaatsje. Sarey Tash vond ik enorm deprimerend. Een kruispunt vol met dronkaards (1 liter blikken bier?). Karig eten in het guesthouse.

Hallo,

hoeveel tijd zou je moeten voorzien om van Dushanbe naar Kyrgizië te fietsen via de Pamir Highway?

Minimaal twee weken, langer is leuker.

twee weken is mogelijk maar of dat nu leuk is? Je mist een heleboel als je er in 1 streep door heen gaat. Zoals Grace al schreef. Het is een erg mooi stukje van onze planeet.