Nov 48 min read

Pamir Highway & Wakhan Valley highlights

The Wakhan Valley, Yamchun Fort, and Ishkashim

After the onerous drive to get to the Wakhan valley, and my pleasant first night’s stay, my Wakhan Valley experience was off to a good start. I was further pleasantly surprised when, what I thought would be a long trip of passing trucks on narrow cliff edge passes, with the occasional village, turned out to be a very pleasant agrarian mountain valley, which in some places felt like summer. It was quite idyllic, it’s little wonder that it’s been inhabited for centuries. Equally striking were the mountains of Afghanistan to the south, which in places looked like something out of Lord of the Rings, dark and jagged peaks, likely unclimbed.

A few shots of the mountains of Afghanistan which greet one on entry to the Wakhan Valley:

The Idyllic Wakhan Valley

As a quick introduction, the Wakhan Valley, also known as the Wakhan Corridor, is a thin strip of land created by a long tendril of what is Afghanistan (the Badakhshan province) sandwiched between southern Tajikistan and northern Pakistan. If one were to guess that diplomacy was the reason for so strange a border to exist, then they would be correct. Formed in 1893 between the British Raj and the Khan of Afghanistan, this narrow sliver of land was initially part of the Durand Line which created a buffer zone between the Raj and Imperial Russian territory to the north, and served as the border between Afghanistan and what is today Pakistan. Today (as then) the Wakhan Valley section of the Durand Line is home to the Wakhi and Pamiri people. I would recommend reading up on the Durand Line in case of interest, its history is too complex (and I don’t know enough of it yet) to outline it here, but it is a classic of 19th century British diplomacy with a complex history having implications even today. Here’s a few resources which I have not yet had a chance to read in detail.[1] [2] [3] [4]

The Durand Line, 1893:

The fertile valley is fed by the Pamir river and the Panj river (which skirts Afghanistan), both feeding ultimately into the Amu Darya river which I would later see in Uzbekistan, and which is presently a source of dispute given water shortages.

The valley itself is lined almost entirely with numerous villages alongside the Panj river and their associated fields and grazing areas. They are quiet, with cows and other herbivores munching, and occasionally lumbering through the road requiring some patience from drivers. The colours range from lush greens to golden hues, it is quiet, and altogether very pleasant. The locals are extremely friendly, waving furiously as you pass by, the children especially. I think the GoPro photos at the end of this post provide the best picture of the more idyllic and summery sections of the valley.

A few initial glimpses of the Wakhan Valley after leaving Langar. Curiously, I saw a number of these shrines with fireplaces and rams head's called Ostoni or Mazor, which honour Muslim holy men, but clearly have pre-Islamic Zoroastrian influence to them:

The roads are not great in almost the entire length and are mostly gravel. However, I didn’t mind this as it allowed me to take it at a slower pace. Locals and other travellers clearly in a hurry simply ripped past, creating the minor inconvenience that I must put my windows up to avoid the choking dust.

I managed to get some drone footage from the banks of the Panj river looking towards Afghanistan, however, I will have to save this for a separate post.

From a stop along the Panj where I flew the drone:

Classic image of the Wakhan Valley, alas, it has started to become cloudy later in the day:

Yamchun Fort

From the rather precious zig-zag drive up to Yamchun Fort, as you can see, there is not much space to my right side:

A while after leaving Langar, and after stopping to check a few times with locals, I arrived that the turn off to Yamchun Fort and began the drive up into the mountains to access it. The drive is the usual mountain zigzag, in this case about 7-8 km and approximately 500 meters above the valley below. It starts by going through a small village which is quite pleasant and homes/small farms continue most of the way up the mountainside, with there being some homes further up the mountain behind the fort. It is from the hill on which these homes sit that one can get a good view of both Yamchun Fort itself and the mountains of Afghanistan beyond. After a few hairy corners and one rough pass where some idiot westerner decided to park in a very inconvenient spot for all other drivers, I made my way up the hill behind the fort for a few photos (some examples below), and to park in a considerate spot for other drivers. I packed a bag with my cameras and the camping stove to make some lunch (I had decided I would just do this at the fort) and headed down to the fort.

Yamchun Fort, looking south towards Afghanistan:

The fort is clearly undergoing some renovations which I suppose detracted from the atmosphere to some degree, but also made one feel rather safer. The fort is perched in quite a precarious spot and in 2-3 areas when heading up to the main enclosure, you must walk along a path that has a wall to one side and a steep drop to the valley floor below. Some areas around the main tower and the walls are not in the best condition, so it’s good that they are restoring it. I took some photos and video in the centre of the fort, but it was very windy, and dust was kicked up continually in that area, so I avoided and headed to the southern corner, which also provides the best views of the Afghan mountains and the wider Wakhan Valley to the west and east.

The path up to the main section of Yamchun Fort:

One of the more precarious sections of the path up to Yamchun fort, it pays to avoid looking down to one's left:

The interior of Yamchun fort, and my trusty backpack:

I got my lunch going after some difficulty lighting the stove in the wind and let it sit. I was then able to enjoy the magnificent views, photos below.

A first glimpse of the valley from the fort (looking east):

The view (open in new tab for larger resolution), west, and south:

I was fortunate when some friendly Taiwanese tourists also arrived and one of the ladies with a camera far fancier than mine agreed to take a few photos of yours truly, I admit to being quite pleased with these, what an amazing spot!

Thanks to the lady who took these(!):

After finishing my food and enjoying the scenery, it was time to continue the drive to Ishkashim, but not before being delayed by a large traffic jam of goats at the bottom of the castle (photos in GoPro section). It seemed the shepherd was taking them up to the castle, which was curious, though I didn’t wait to confirm that assumption.

Typical village drive, a large herd had just passed:

Unfortunately, the wind was quite significant at Yamchun so I didn’t even bother taking out the drone; however, I did record most of the walk to and from it, the interior, and the view, on my GoPro.

History of Yamchun Fort

Yamchun Fort, also known as Zamr-i-itash-Parast (“fortress of the fire worshippers” implying a Zoroastrian connection – the first majority Zoroastrian site I would come across on my trip) is the oldest evident historic monument in the Wakhan Valley, dating from around the 3rd century BC. Its prominent location in the valley allowed the fort to both oversee commerce within the valley and to provide a safe refuge in times of conflict. During the Silk Road heyday it would have performed a key role in the routes that ran from the Pamirs to Bactria, India and Iran. The original ancient fortress was renovated and build upon later, so it is not clear how much of the present structure is attributable to it. Based on what I have read, the area I explored is actually just the upper bastion of the fort, meaning there would have been a larger structure surrounding it for combat operations etc. Based on the stone used to construct the fort it is understood that most of the building materials would have needed to have been brought over some distance to the area. Nearby the fort one can find some hot springs (which I did not visit) and the villages of Vrang and Yamg, which I drove through.

Onward to Ishkashim

Given the time of day I figured I would try to drive to Ishkashim as it was a larger town and there was a homestay there which I understood was good and had wifi. In hindsight, I ought to have stayed another night in one of the Wakhan villages as Ishkashim is technically viewed as the end point of the valley (I thought it was Khorog, much further north). In any case, I felt the slight headcold I had noticed in Langar getting worse and I didn’t want to linger in a less comfortable homestay without hot water.

According to Google Maps the ~75km drive to Ishkashim from the fort should have been about 1hr 40 mins, however, it turned out to be quite a bit longer and I didn’t arrive until after dark (sun set around 5:30/6:00pm). Even factoring in the 20 minutes I probably stopped to take photos it was long. Fortunately, apart from the road quality, this second experience of night driving in the Pamirs was not too bad, though high beams were required to spot road herbivores and the edge of the road in parts.

The weather took a bit of a turn on the way to Ishkashim as it got dark:

This did give me an opportunity for some interesting photos as the sun set, I particularly like this one:

After the lengthy drive I managed to arrive at the homestay (“Ren Homestay”) in Ishkashim, which was fortunately both open and had a room available (I hadn’t booked). The owner dressed a bit like a Parisian but was a Tajik, spoke decent English and was very friendly. The food was very good for the Pamirs and the house/yard were quite nice. The bed could have been a little softer, but it was better than camping.

Homestay in Ishkashim and the view beyond it:

I awoke feeling not too well given the head cold so opted to stay for two days in Ishkashim to rest and to explore a bit of the town. The town itself was not that special, with lots of small grocery stops and the usual government/civic buildings that were a bit run-down and festooned with images of the president and “I heart [town name]” signs, which I am quite sure were a great help to the lives of the locals… One of the more memorable moments was after failing to find a café that was open, I purchased a beer and some crisps and walked to sit by the Panj. A few young lads who had been swimming came over to say hello and ask me questions. As it turned out, to both my and their great amusement, they had never tried to skip stones on water before, so there was a mandatory lesson in that. To my mild irritation one of them snatched my empty beer bottle which I had intended to put in the bin and tossed it into the river; I admit to being amused when we then tried to pelt it with rocks… there is a secret joy in smashing some things.

From my perch upon the Panj in Ishkashim: