We enjoyed two relaxed days of rest in Osh before we set out to conquer the famous Pamir Highway. Together with our new friend Daniel we started the climb towards Tajikistan where the really adventurous part of our journey would start. We spent the first three days steadily climbing to finally reach the border. In the small town of Sary-Tash we stocked up our supplies as the Pamir area is known to be a food desert of sorts, so we wanted to be prepared. In the evening before crossing into Tajikistan we already left Kyrgyzstan and camped in No-Man's-Land on the foot of Kyzyl-Art pass which separates both countries. The weather got worse in the evening and in the morning we were more or less snowed in. All the new snow melted during the morning, making the climb up the pass very muddy. This made the already steep ascent even harder and our bikes were covered in mud once we managed to reach the top. Once in Tajikistan, the landscape turned into a stunning moon scape but the road turned out surprisingly good all the way to the village of Karakul.

After a well-deserved night in a homestay in the village we were ready to tackle the most challenging route of the Pamir region: The Bartang Valley. Initially we were planning on cycling to Murghab and follow the Afghan border from there. Daniel on the other hand wanted to try the Bartang Valley which he was perfectly set up for with his minimalist bike packing kit. He was set on going for this most challenging route and in the last minute we decided to join him on his quest. We did not really know what we got ourselves into there...

The first 20km from Karakul still follow the sealed road towards Murghab and then you turn off onto a small dirt track towards the Bartang. While we were lucky having a tailwind until that point, the wind turned and we had a strong head wind from the moment we left Karakul. Leaving the sealed road did not help us there as we had to cover another 80km across the plateau before dropping down into the actual valley (spoiler alert: the wind did not change there either). The track was surprisingly rideable, only the constant wind made it very hard to get any distance done. On day 1 we only managed to cover 50km before settling into an abandoned cottage to find shelter from the howling wind. Day 2 continued the same way but we all agreed that the the surreal and vast landscape was worth the struggle. It is hard to explain in words, check our video for a better account. At the end of the day we reached the very steep descent into the valley and were surprised to find it to be that steep that we had to walk our bikes down in order not to kill our brakes.

Day 3 started with the sky being overcast and a slight drizzle and the weather did not get much better during the day. We started following the river downstream through the stunning Bartang Valley. The road is dominated by loose gravel, river pebbles, steep climbs and few short sections of nice dirt track. To our delight we were invited for lunch and for dinner by two different local families and got a really nice insight into the life of the people living in this very harsh environment. On day 4 we reached the village Savnob which is located on the foot of a very steep hill and we decided to organize a local guy to drive us and our bikes up and down the hill to save us from pushing our bikes both up and down the 350m of elevation. Daniel on the other hand took the challenge and just arrived a couple of minutes after us on the other side, pretty impressive. In the evening we got lucky again when we asked a local family for a spot to camp, they invited us into their house and even served us dinner and breakfast - just fantastic!

On day 5 all the three of us started to feel the strain of this challenging road on us, mainly being tired, having sore lips from the sun and wind and we all had some problems with our digestion. We had a short day of cycling and arrived early at a beautiful camp spot to relax and give our bodies and minds a rest. From there it was just a mere 35km to our destination Rushon which is located at the entrance to the Bartang Valley, marking the end of our tough adventure through this amazing valley. In Rushon we took some time off the bikes to recover before hitting the road towards the capital of Dushanbe.

Cheers from Tajikistan,
May you always have a head wind,
Vroni, Droni, Daniel and Jonas


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