Tajikistan started as an afterthought. more of a way to spend time while awaiting the Pakistan visa clear. Well, I didn't get the visa I was after, but I did get to experience the Pamir Highway and the Wakhan Valley, which is was amazing. What the two stretches had in common was the magnificent scenery. I have had the opportunity to visit many places in my lifetime, and I can say without hesitation, that this was one of the most breathtaking areas I have ever been.
The area is traversed mostly by motorcycles and bicycles and on rare occasion, a 4x4 vehicle. With regards to the Pamir Highway, the route itself comes within three meters of China, and appears to not have been repaved since the reign of the Soviet Union. With regards to the Wakhan Valley, the road is either sand, loose gravel, dirt, large rocks, or a combination of the above. Sections of the eastern half of the road is single lane (passing needs to be creative), hangs perilously on the edge of cliff (looking over you can find a vehicle or two that did not make the turn), and overlooks the amazing Hindu-Kush mountain range in Afghanistan. The road parallels the Panj River that separates the two countries, with Afghanistan close enough to throw a rock into...which of course I did :-). The western half of the road drops down into a lush fertile valley with small villages dotted along the way. The ride was rough, jarring and nothing less than exhilarating.
Leg Distance: 426 mi (688 km)
Total Distance Traveled by Motorcycle: 27,692 mi (44,664 km)
Countries/Territories Visited: USA, Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Uruguay, Canada, Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Gibraltar, France, Monaco, Italy, Vatican City, San Marino, Slovenia, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland, Ukraine, Transnistria, Moldova, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia, Greece, Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, China (for 20 seconds)
Maybe this is a little bit disappointing for you but concerning the border to CHINA: Currently I am preparing myself for a trip into this region. So I bought a map of TADSCHIKISTAN produced by GECKO MAPS in Switzerland. The map has a scale of 1:500.000 and consists of three sheets (Northern Taschikistan, Southern Taschikistan, The Pamirs). On the Map of "The Pamirs" you can see clearly the fence between TASCHIKISTAN and CHINA. Surprisingly the fence does not reflect the internationally agreed and accepted border between those countries. Mostly the fence is a couple of kilometers inside TASCHIKISTAN but there is also a small part where the fence is on CHINAs territory. The reason for this might be that CHINA is very anxious for their borders to prevent any unwanted bordercrossing and because that the real international border runs along sharp ridges in high mountains which can only surveiled very difficult. As it seems there is an contract between the government of TASCHIKISTAN and CHINA existing to allow this.
ReplyDeleteSo if you crossed this fence for a few seconds chances are good that you did not really leave TADSCHIKISTAN.
Sorry for possibly disappointing you but GECKO MAPS is (as typical Swiss company) very reliable and as it seems these facts are widly unknown.
Not at all disappointing, I was just goofing around. I was never including it in any meaningful lifetime or trip tally. Its actually very clear where the real Chinese border, it is about 30 KM south of where I took the picture, very heavily patrolled and the fences are quite fortified, not moth bitten like the fences near their influence area.
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