From Kyzylart Pass to Murghab
As we arrived at the Kyrgyz side of the border, the mountains started to close around us. Still not that tall but we were getting the picture what we got ourselves into :) We expected a smooth and fast crossing, but that didn't happen. A customs officer had a small but serious problem with the car documents. He insisted on our returning to Osh (that would be a day lost) and coming back with "some better" papers. Because of our poor Russian, we weren't able to persuade him otherwise. But what we managed to do was to get him out of his booth which was necessary to make a call through our satellite phone. As you probably know, a satphone needs to have a clear "view" on the satellite orbiting the Earth. We shoved the phone into his hand and dialled the car rental company to let them explain why our car documents were sufficient to drive outside of Kyrgyzstan. After a very loud and quarrelsome 10-minute call, he let us pass. A bit angry, but who cares :)
Here come the eight kilometres of a curvy road, mainly flat and at the end steeply climbing, in no man's land. It is a demilitarized zone between two countries and it gives you the opportunity to brace yourself for the next checkpoint :) We didn't meet anybody there, but this was true almost for the whole journey (settlements and towns excluding). This stretch ends at the Kyzylart Pass (4282m) with the Tajikistan sign and a big statue of the Marco Polo sheep. Right behind it, the Tajik border patrol and customs officers are waiting for you eagerly.
Of course, we had read many articles and tips about the military checkpoints and border controls in Tajikistan (not to pay any fees, not to bribe, etc.) before this road trip and we tried to act on them. Sometimes we were successful and sometimes not. At our first test at Kyzylart Pass, we failed. We were the only people/car there, no surprise :), and during the border inspection, we faced three different officials, if I can call them that.
The first one, a passport controller, wore a pre-historic military uniform with an AK-47 on his shoulder. We handed our passports together with the GBAO permits over to him and watched him do his job. He opened a big, worn out A4 notebook and wrote down the current date and our names. From the previous records, it was clear that the last person crossed the border here 4 days ago. So a really busy place, indeed.
The second in a row was a customs officer who had a brief look at the car documents and then asked whether we are importing any alcohol (officially prohibited in Tajikistan). Despite having two litres of a homemade plum brandy with 52% of alcohol content each, we declined. He didn't notice it in our backpacks, but what he did notice were the canned pork meat spreads. He looked delighted therefore I suspected some complications. We were told that carrying 10 small (50g) meat spread cans per person was above the allowed import limit :) and we could have either left it there or pay 10 USD to keep it. We asked to have a look at the regulations limiting the import of such food but none was available. Long story short, we moved to the third guy after leaving the second one with 5 USD (thanks to my brilliant negotiating skills :) ) in his pocket.
This one, responsible for the import of plants and animals, wearing a sweatsuit, informed us that on our tyres, there definitely had to be substances from Kyrgyz roads and soil - well, you don't say :))). That's why a fee of 10 USD was inevitable. So be it, here we come GBAO!
Bureaucracy behind us, barren but beautiful landscape ahead of us. From the Kyzylart Pass, the road continuously descended and ran along the Chinese border fence. We were surprised how come China was so close. It wasn't and it isn't. As we later found out, the Chinese negotiated to move the border 10-15 kilometres into the Tajik territory because they paid for the fence. Not a fair deal for the Tajiks I guess, but as they are a much poorer nation they'd probably accept almost anything.
We started to feel a slight headache because we didn't have almost any time to acclimatize to these altitudes. We also needed to catch our breath every time we got out of the car and walked a couple of meters to take some pictures. Back inside we felt like having run a 100-metre dash side by side with Bolt :)
After an hour of a smooth drive, we arrived in the Karakul settlement, which is barely a handful of houses, at the shore of the Karakul Lake. The lake lies in a depression which itself is an impact crater. It was very windy and chilly when we got out of the car so we took just a short walk on the partly grassy and partly pebbly beach followed by bread with meat spread lunch on top of the cargo area to enjoy the view.
The same day in the afternoon we continued towards Murghab. The highest point of our trip and also of the M-41, the Ak-Baital Pass (4655 m), was awaiting us. Because of the lesser amount of oxygen in the air at this altitude, we felt the decrease in the car's performance pretty considerably. Honestly, I really can't imagine how someone can conquer the Pamir Highway on a bike. During our 8 days on the road, we met up to 10 bikers and one solo walker. I wondered, how long does it take to walk 1500 kilometres under these conditions? Can you even prepare physically and psychically for it in advance?! I doubt it.
From Ak-Baital Pass it went gradually all the way downwards to the small town of Murghab (3618 m). We arrived there in the early evening and chose a small homestay rather than the main road hotel. I called Hojancha via satphone to let her know I was well and thinking of her all the time and went to bed to rest after a long day. Another one was ahead of us.
Useful tip: GBAO = "Gorno-Badahšanskaja avtonomnaja oblastj" is an autonomous region that covers eastern Tajikistan. Having a GBAO permit along with your Tajik visa is a necessity when you want to travel the Pamir Highway. Don't expect to get it at the Kyzylart Pass border crossing. Come prepared.
Here come the eight kilometres of a curvy road, mainly flat and at the end steeply climbing, in no man's land. It is a demilitarized zone between two countries and it gives you the opportunity to brace yourself for the next checkpoint :) We didn't meet anybody there, but this was true almost for the whole journey (settlements and towns excluding). This stretch ends at the Kyzylart Pass (4282m) with the Tajikistan sign and a big statue of the Marco Polo sheep. Right behind it, the Tajik border patrol and customs officers are waiting for you eagerly.
Of course, we had read many articles and tips about the military checkpoints and border controls in Tajikistan (not to pay any fees, not to bribe, etc.) before this road trip and we tried to act on them. Sometimes we were successful and sometimes not. At our first test at Kyzylart Pass, we failed. We were the only people/car there, no surprise :), and during the border inspection, we faced three different officials, if I can call them that.
The first one, a passport controller, wore a pre-historic military uniform with an AK-47 on his shoulder. We handed our passports together with the GBAO permits over to him and watched him do his job. He opened a big, worn out A4 notebook and wrote down the current date and our names. From the previous records, it was clear that the last person crossed the border here 4 days ago. So a really busy place, indeed.
The second in a row was a customs officer who had a brief look at the car documents and then asked whether we are importing any alcohol (officially prohibited in Tajikistan). Despite having two litres of a homemade plum brandy with 52% of alcohol content each, we declined. He didn't notice it in our backpacks, but what he did notice were the canned pork meat spreads. He looked delighted therefore I suspected some complications. We were told that carrying 10 small (50g) meat spread cans per person was above the allowed import limit :) and we could have either left it there or pay 10 USD to keep it. We asked to have a look at the regulations limiting the import of such food but none was available. Long story short, we moved to the third guy after leaving the second one with 5 USD (thanks to my brilliant negotiating skills :) ) in his pocket.
This one, responsible for the import of plants and animals, wearing a sweatsuit, informed us that on our tyres, there definitely had to be substances from Kyrgyz roads and soil - well, you don't say :))). That's why a fee of 10 USD was inevitable. So be it, here we come GBAO!
Bureaucracy behind us, barren but beautiful landscape ahead of us. From the Kyzylart Pass, the road continuously descended and ran along the Chinese border fence. We were surprised how come China was so close. It wasn't and it isn't. As we later found out, the Chinese negotiated to move the border 10-15 kilometres into the Tajik territory because they paid for the fence. Not a fair deal for the Tajiks I guess, but as they are a much poorer nation they'd probably accept almost anything.
We started to feel a slight headache because we didn't have almost any time to acclimatize to these altitudes. We also needed to catch our breath every time we got out of the car and walked a couple of meters to take some pictures. Back inside we felt like having run a 100-metre dash side by side with Bolt :)
After an hour of a smooth drive, we arrived in the Karakul settlement, which is barely a handful of houses, at the shore of the Karakul Lake. The lake lies in a depression which itself is an impact crater. It was very windy and chilly when we got out of the car so we took just a short walk on the partly grassy and partly pebbly beach followed by bread with meat spread lunch on top of the cargo area to enjoy the view.
The same day in the afternoon we continued towards Murghab. The highest point of our trip and also of the M-41, the Ak-Baital Pass (4655 m), was awaiting us. Because of the lesser amount of oxygen in the air at this altitude, we felt the decrease in the car's performance pretty considerably. Honestly, I really can't imagine how someone can conquer the Pamir Highway on a bike. During our 8 days on the road, we met up to 10 bikers and one solo walker. I wondered, how long does it take to walk 1500 kilometres under these conditions? Can you even prepare physically and psychically for it in advance?! I doubt it.
From Ak-Baital Pass it went gradually all the way downwards to the small town of Murghab (3618 m). We arrived there in the early evening and chose a small homestay rather than the main road hotel. I called Hojancha via satphone to let her know I was well and thinking of her all the time and went to bed to rest after a long day. Another one was ahead of us.
Useful tip: GBAO = "Gorno-Badahšanskaja avtonomnaja oblastj" is an autonomous region that covers eastern Tajikistan. Having a GBAO permit along with your Tajik visa is a necessity when you want to travel the Pamir Highway. Don't expect to get it at the Kyzylart Pass border crossing. Come prepared.