Mountain Monarchs Of Tajikistan

Itinerary

Day 1: Arrival in Dushanbe

Stop At: Dushanbe, Dushanbe
Upon your arrival, we will pick you up from the airport and we will take you directly to your guesthouse/hotel in Dushanbe. Our guide and the driver will be there to help. They will take you to the local market, various parks and museums Dushanbe offers. This day will also allow you to exchange money if you needed. You will have the opportunity to eat out at the local restaurants in Dushanbe before hitting the road the next day to your big adventure.
Duration: 12 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Lunch
• Dinner
Accommodation included: Atlas Hotel or Similar

Day 2: Dushanbe to Shurobod

Stop At: Anjirob-i bolo, Tajikistan
On the second day, after having breakfast we will hit the road towards the southeast part of Tajikistan. We will be traveling roughly 4-5 hours with a toilet and coffee break in between. Around noon we will reach Shurabod and will have lunch in one of our Markhor conservancy families. In the afternoon, we will have a short hike to the top of the hills and as the sun sets behind the mountains we will observe Markhor moving down the slopes in front of us. In the evening we will return to our homestay family to have dinner and relax.
Duration: 12 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Lunch
• Dinner
Accommodation included: Guesthouse

Day 3: Shurobod to Khorog

Stop At: Khorog, Khorog, Karotegin Province
On the third day, we will have breakfast and hit the road towards a town called Khorog along the Pyanj River. We will have 8 hours of solid driving. We will break the whole drive into three sections, and we will be making stops for bathrooms, coffee, and lunch. We also stop by for you to have a look at the small Afghan villages across the river from us. Ideally, we should be arriving in the late afternoon to Khorog. Khorog is the administrative town of the GBAO / Pamir region. Here, we will see a stay in a traditional hotel, designed with Pamiri architecture. We will also have dinner at the hotel. We do not plan anything for the evening since we all are tired from a long drive.
Duration: 12 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Lunch
• Dinner
Accommodation included: Lal Hotel or similar

Day 4: Khorog to Darshai

Stop At: Darshai, Tajikistan
On the fourth day, after having breakfast, we will drive up to the Botanical Gardens of Khorog. We will have a tour of the botanical garden, usually full of flowers, fruits, and a breathtaking view of the town of Khorog and as well as Gunt river, which goes through the heart of Khorog. After having the tour and taking our pictures, we will head down to the Ishkashim Valley. We will have 4-5 hours of driving mostly on a dirt road partly paved and arrive early in the afternoon. Our destination is the village of Darshai, and we will stay with a homestay family run by our conservancy. We will have lunch and coffee there, and after having a rest we will go on a short hike to discover old Shrines decorated with Ibex horns, we will also have a look at the beautiful apricot gardens surrounded by beautiful wheat fields and a sun thorn forests. We will have dinner with the host family and stay for the night here.
Duration: 12 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Lunch
• Dinner
Accommodation included: Homestay

Day 5: Trekking in Darshaidara

Stop At: Darshai, Tajikistan
On the fifth day, we will head out on the trail in Darshaidara. We will slowly make our way into the valley. This hike has some steep slopes and exposure but other than that we will be walking next to a mountain stream mostly. Of course, our guides are there to help you to cross the steep sessions of the hike. The idea today would be spotting an ibex in one of the hills. Our guides will carry spotting scoped and binoculars for you to enjoy flocks of ibex in nearby hills. You will also have a good view of Afghanistan’s Hindu Kush range and some stunning peaks. We will have lunch on-site and in the afternoon we will return to the village of Darshai. We will have a nice dinner and a relaxing evening. By this time we should be ideally acclimatizing to the altitude this altitude since we are gaining altitude slowly.
Duration: 12 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Lunch
• Dinner
Accommodation included: Camping

Day 6: Trekking in Darshaidara

Stop At: Darshai, Tajikistan
After the morning observation of Ibexes, we will head back to Darshai village. In the village, a hearty dinner will be waiting for us. After dinner, we will drive to Bibi Fatima hot spring and bath in its hot water full of minerals.
Duration: 12 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Lunch
• Dinner
Accommodation included: Homestay

Day 7: Darshai to Alichur

Stop At: Alichur, Alichur, Gorno-Badakhshan Province
On our 7th day, after having breakfast, we will drive toward the town called Alichur through Khargush pass. It is going to be a daylong pretty much all day long. We will break the day into multiple sections, for coffee breaks, toilet breaks, and a lunch. Towards the evening we will reach the town of Alichur and the town is located in the foothills of Alichur range with the elevation of 4000m/13123feet. It is a high plateau and in the evening temperature usually drops down and can be quite chilly compare to other places we have been so far. We will settle down for the next four days with our conservancy homestay in Alichur.
Duration: 12 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Lunch
• Dinner
Accommodation included: Homestay

Day 8: Alichur high plateau wildlife

Stop At: Alichur, Alichur, Gorno-Badakhshan Province
The next two days will include two activities, Yak Safari and watching Marco Polo sheep and the ibex. Yak Safari is a daylong tour, where you will have a trip and get to ride yaks in the mountains. Yaks are slow animals but they can go high, and they are quite hardy animals. Ideally, you will be visiting one of the shepherd families up in the mountains and get to see what’s it like being a shepherd in a remote high plateau. You will be served fresh yogurt and other milk products and will have lunch with the Shepherd family.
Duration: 12 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Lunch
• Dinner
Accommodation included: Homestay

Day 9: Alichur high plateau wildlife

Stop At: Alichur, Alichur, Gorno-Badakhshan Province
On this day you will hike to one of the valleys of Burgut conservancy to observe Marco Polo Sheep and an ibex. We will wake up very early in the morning and drive to one of the valleys where we take our positions and wait for the Marco Polo sheep to come for forage in the morning. We will observe this incredible mountain ungulate from a distance as close as 500m depending on the season. In the evening we will come back to the village and have dinner.
Duration: 12 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Lunch
• Dinner
Accommodation included: Homestay

Day 10: Alichur to Khorog

Stop At: Khorog, Khorog, Karotegin Province
On the tenth day, we will have breakfast in Alichur and then start driving back to Khorog. We will be driving roughly 6 hours through the Gunt valley, and it is spectacular mountain scenery quite different from the drive to Alichur via Ishlashim.
Duration: 12 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Lunch
• Dinner
Accommodation included: Hotel Lal or similar

Day 11: Khorog to Darvaz

Stop At: Zigar, Tajikistan
We will drive to Darvoz today taking the same Pamir highway from Khorog. The drive will take about 8 hours and we will be making several stops along the road at the bird hotspots to find more bird species. We will drive to a local conservancy camp where we will settle for next 3 days.
Duration: 12 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Lunch
• Dinner
Accommodation included: Conservancy camp

Day 12: Darvoz Conservancy

Stop At: Zigar, Tajikistan
Our main objective here will be to see different age groups of Markhor goats. In the morning we will hike to one of the gorges of Hazratishoh mountain range to observe Markhors. Closer to the evening we will patrol the high ridges of mountains within the conservancy to locates Markhors sleeping place, in order to be able to get closer to them the next morning.
Duration: 12 hours

No meals included on this day.
No accommodation included on this day.

Day 13: Darvoz Conservancy

Stop At: Zigar, Tajikistan
Today we will wake up very early in the morning and start hiking before the sun rises. This will give us an opportunity to be present at observation points closer to the Markhors before they come for foraging. The rangers of the conservancy will be helping us with all the logistics and in locating the animal. As usuall we will return to the camp before darkness.
Duration: 12 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Lunch
• Dinner
Accommodation included: Conservancy camp

Day 14: Darvoz - Dushanbe

Stop At: Dushanbe, Dushanbe
On the 14th day, you will start driving to Dushanbe after having breakfast. Ideally, we should be back in Dushanbe early in the afternoon. You will have time to relax before dinner. We will have a final meal in Dushanbe, which will be the end of the two weeklong tours.
Duration: 12 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Lunch
• Dinner
Accommodation included: Atlas hotel or similar

Day 15: Departure

Stop At: Dushanbe, Dushanbe
Transfer to the Airport early in the morning
Duration: 3 hours

No meals included on this day.
No accommodation included on this day.