Tajikistan small group trips

July to September. The high passes are clear, the homestays are open and days are warm in the valleys, though nights at Murghab and Karakul can drop to near freezing. In June and October snow can close the passes, so we run the small group only in the summer months.

Answer for Tajikistan: the Pamir Highway, Khorog and the Wakhan Valley

The highest point is the Ak-Baital pass at 4,655 m, and the highest night is Karakul at about 3,900 m. We climb in steps, with two nights in Khorog at about 2,100 m first. Most people feel breathless and some get headaches. Your guide checks everyone daily, and we require oxygen in the vehicles, confirmed at booking. Ask your doctor before booking.

Answer for Tajikistan: the Pamir Highway, Khorog and the Wakhan Valley

A room of your own costs CAD 840 more, about 15 percent. That gives you a private room in the hotels and guesthouses, and the homestay room to yourself wherever the house has more than one. If a house has only one guest room, we tell you before you book which night that is.

Answer for Tajikistan: the Pamir Highway, Khorog and the Wakhan Valley

The small-group trip runs with 7 to 12 guests, in 4x4s carrying three or four guests each, so everyone gets a window and the group fits around one homestay table. Other operators on these routes take up to 16 or 18.

Answer for Tajikistan: the Pamir Highway, Khorog and the Wakhan Valley

Choose a date and request to book. We confirm your place within 24 hours and no payment is taken when you request. Prices are per person sharing a room, with taxes: the small group starts from CAD 5,595. We then send your visa and GBAO permit steps and the packing list.

Answer for Tajikistan: the Pamir Highway, Khorog and the Wakhan Valley

Most visitors apply online for a Tajik e-visa and must add the GBAO permit to visit the Pamirs. We help with both and confirm the rule for your passport when you book; allow about a month. Canadians can currently enter Kyrgyzstan without a visa for up to 60 days.

Answer for Tajikistan: the Pamir Highway, Khorog and the Wakhan Valley

June to September. The mountain road to the Seven Lakes is reliably open, the lakes are at their brightest and homestay nights are mild. Bukhara and Khiva are very hot in July and August, often near 40 C, so we walk them early and late and rest at midday.

Answer for Uzbekistan and Tajikistan: Samarkand, the Fann Mountains and the Seven Lakes

Moderate fitness is enough: the walks are short, usually 2 to 4 km, but rough underfoot and at altitude, so you go slowly. The harder part is the time in the 4x4, with five days of five to nine hours on rough roads. Every climb has an option to stay below or in the vehicle.

Answer for Tajikistan: the Pamir Highway, Khorog and the Wakhan Valley

You pay the same trip price as everyone else, plus a single supplement from CAD 860 for a room of your own in the hotels. In the mountain homestays you get a room to yourself where the house has one; where it does not, you share only with another solo guest of the same gender, and we tell you before you book.

Answer for Uzbekistan and Tajikistan: Samarkand, the Fann Mountains and the Seven Lakes

Check the current rules for your passport: Uzbek and Tajik visa rules change and differ by nationality, and we confirm what you need when you book. If an e-visa is required, apply online a few weeks ahead. No GBAO permit is needed, because the Fann mountains are outside Gorno-Badakhshan.

Answer for Uzbekistan and Tajikistan: Samarkand, the Fann Mountains and the Seven Lakes