I woke up to an amazing view over a 4,000m high lake on the Pamir Plateau, surrounded by huge mountains. Unfortunately the breakfast wasn't as good as the view. All I had left was sweets and biscuits so I ate them and got going.
10km later I got to Alichur and had a proper breakfast in a cafe. I met Martin again there and we decided to cycle together for a while. We crossed a 4,100 m pass and I was beckoned over by a family living in an isolated house in the middle of nowhere. Martin decided to carry on because he had some lunch in his bags and I went into the house. It was really warm, they had the stove burning yak dung and there were 14 people in one small room! The family living there are two brothers and their wives, their 10 children and mother and father, so 16 people living in one small house! They are almost completely self sufficient because they have no way of getting to the other towns, their only contact with the outside world is the road and the passing traffic. One of the men told me that they buy some food from a passing lorry sometimes but basically they eat food made from yak milk, bread and eggs. They can't grow fruit and veg in this climate. They gave me bread, yak cream and apricot jam, the apricots had come from the lorry. It was really nice, especially the cream! I thought about what the future was for the kids in that house. There was nothing for them, they'll just end up staying there their whole lives and never getting educated or knowing anything except that barren plateau. Maybe they'll be happy though, the family was very close and they seemed happy, or maybe they'll marry someone from Alichur.
I left the house, met up with Martin again and we cycled on. I noticed the altitude because my breathing was much heavier than normal. The ride in the afternoon was amazing, massive mountains and beautiful valleys. Unfortunately we had a strong headwind to battle against but we made good progress and begun our descent to Murghab, the largest town in the East Pamirs. We followed a river and turned around a corner in the early evening and saw Murghab 10km away. The wind was brutal now and it was getting dark as we arrived at the police checkpoint before Murghab. It was very funny. The police checked the passports from their beds, they were napping and it didn't look like a difficult job! We struggled into Murghab absolutely shattered and stayed in the first homestay we could find. We had a decent meal then sleep.
The next day I headed up to the META building in Murghab. It was a really interesting place, built in a traditional style, the building resembles a Pamir house. There is a shop with traditional crafts for sale and a very dodgy internet cafe! META promote traditional living and help with community schemes in Murghab and the surrounding area. At lunchtime I headed to the bazaar with Martin and met Paul there again. Was great to meet up and we bought some provisions before heading out as a team of 3. The headwind was really strong again so after struggling along a valley, we stopped at a fantastic campsite by a river and cooked a great meal of chips and plov.
After a late start the following day, we set off for the biggest pass on the Pamir Highway and my trip. We'd had to fix a broken spoke in Martin's rear wheel. The White Horse pass is 4,665 m high and I was expecting a tough day. At least the wind had died down a bit though. We climbed all morning, had lunch then set off at our own paces for the final part of the climb. About 300 m of altitude from the summit I met Polish Paul again and it was snowing heavily! He had turned back when he reached the top of the pass because his rear wheel was damaged, he planned to cycle to Murghab then get a taxi back to Khorog. I carried on up a gravel track which got really steep. I cycled as far as I could in stints, before stopping to let my breathing and heart rate drop then carrying on again. After a very steep final switchback I made it to the top. 4,665 m and it was a blizzard at the top. I was exhilarated to have got there, the highest point in my trip. I felt like I was on the way home now!
I waited for the others and the sun came out. We celebrated, shook hands, took loads of photos then descended into another beautiful valley on the other side. It was freezing cold and the wind was back. We got to the valley floor with numb fingers and found a yurt to stay in. It was amazing inside, so warm and they brought us delicious food, noodles and mutton.
In the morning the sun was out and we had a fantastic view up to the pass and of the surrounding mountains. With the yurts and the yaks in the pastures around it was a great moment.
After a slow start, we headed off again into the ever present headwind. After lunch we met up with Brigitte and Clemance, a Swiss couple we'd met in Khorog. As a team of 5 we carried on to Karkakul, the highest lake in Central Asia. Karakul is also the name of the small town by the lake and it's not a
nice place! It looks like a ruin, but we found a homestay where Brigitte and Clemance planned to stay and we had some food. We left the Swiss at Karakul and continued around lake. It is stunning, maybe
the most beautiful part of the Pamir Highway. It's a huge lake and is surrounded by snow-capped mountains.
The wind was unbelievable and we struggled for 10 km until we found a sheltered campsite behind a sand bank. The terrain was desert now, loose sand and little vegetation.
Woke up at 5 for an early start in the last day of Tajikistan. We had a big pass to climb first thing and I was feeling great so I tried to make it in one go, without getting off the bike. I made it - think I must be getting acclimatised finally! At the top when Paul arrived, we sat down to wait for Martin. We waited an hour and he wasn't there so we left a message in the road with stones that we'd meet in the next town and carried on. A passing car had told us that there was a group of 4 cyclists coming behind so we knew he'd be OK and assumed he'd had another broken spoke.
Needless to say the wind was still in our faces and after a lunch in the shelter of the raised road, Paul and me carried on. Looking back we saw Martin behind us. He'd had a energy crash on the climb and got really dizzy so he'd had to stop for an hour before continuing. I decided to carry on alone because we were cycling at different speeds and I needed to get into Krygyzstan that day. After leaving the others I battled up a gravel track to the Tajik border control. It was so tough, the hardest climb of the trip, mainly due to the wind. I rounded a bend and saw the Tajik customs ahead. I got through pretty
quickly and continued the final 2 km to the top of the pass. At the top was the Krygyzstan border. It felt amazing to reach Krygyzstan, it was all downhill to Sary-Tash now, the town at the end of the Pamir Highway. It felt like a big achievement to beat the mountains!
The descent to Sary-Tash was fantastic. I was off the Pamir Plateau and it was green again. A large river came down from a huge mountain with a glacier and there were Krygyz yurts dotting the base of the valley. The road was also great, gravel but switchbacks and river crossings made a fun descent. about 20km later was the Kyrgyz customs, where I was given some dough dumplings to eat! I cycled through the valley to Sary-Tash into the wind again. There were loads of nomad families there and kids ran up to the road to demand photographs! I arrived at Sary-Tash around 6 and found a cheap homestay. Paul turned up shortly after me and later on Martin arrived. I was starving so ate loads of food and chocolate from the first decent shop for weeks!
The Pamir Highway has definately been the highlight of the trip so far. It was amazing. I'm looking forward to Krygyzstan now though, I'll leave for the city of Osh tomorrow.
10km later I got to Alichur and had a proper breakfast in a cafe. I met Martin again there and we decided to cycle together for a while. We crossed a 4,100 m pass and I was beckoned over by a family living in an isolated house in the middle of nowhere. Martin decided to carry on because he had some lunch in his bags and I went into the house. It was really warm, they had the stove burning yak dung and there were 14 people in one small room! The family living there are two brothers and their wives, their 10 children and mother and father, so 16 people living in one small house! They are almost completely self sufficient because they have no way of getting to the other towns, their only contact with the outside world is the road and the passing traffic. One of the men told me that they buy some food from a passing lorry sometimes but basically they eat food made from yak milk, bread and eggs. They can't grow fruit and veg in this climate. They gave me bread, yak cream and apricot jam, the apricots had come from the lorry. It was really nice, especially the cream! I thought about what the future was for the kids in that house. There was nothing for them, they'll just end up staying there their whole lives and never getting educated or knowing anything except that barren plateau. Maybe they'll be happy though, the family was very close and they seemed happy, or maybe they'll marry someone from Alichur.
I left the house, met up with Martin again and we cycled on. I noticed the altitude because my breathing was much heavier than normal. The ride in the afternoon was amazing, massive mountains and beautiful valleys. Unfortunately we had a strong headwind to battle against but we made good progress and begun our descent to Murghab, the largest town in the East Pamirs. We followed a river and turned around a corner in the early evening and saw Murghab 10km away. The wind was brutal now and it was getting dark as we arrived at the police checkpoint before Murghab. It was very funny. The police checked the passports from their beds, they were napping and it didn't look like a difficult job! We struggled into Murghab absolutely shattered and stayed in the first homestay we could find. We had a decent meal then sleep.
The next day I headed up to the META building in Murghab. It was a really interesting place, built in a traditional style, the building resembles a Pamir house. There is a shop with traditional crafts for sale and a very dodgy internet cafe! META promote traditional living and help with community schemes in Murghab and the surrounding area. At lunchtime I headed to the bazaar with Martin and met Paul there again. Was great to meet up and we bought some provisions before heading out as a team of 3. The headwind was really strong again so after struggling along a valley, we stopped at a fantastic campsite by a river and cooked a great meal of chips and plov.
After a late start the following day, we set off for the biggest pass on the Pamir Highway and my trip. We'd had to fix a broken spoke in Martin's rear wheel. The White Horse pass is 4,665 m high and I was expecting a tough day. At least the wind had died down a bit though. We climbed all morning, had lunch then set off at our own paces for the final part of the climb. About 300 m of altitude from the summit I met Polish Paul again and it was snowing heavily! He had turned back when he reached the top of the pass because his rear wheel was damaged, he planned to cycle to Murghab then get a taxi back to Khorog. I carried on up a gravel track which got really steep. I cycled as far as I could in stints, before stopping to let my breathing and heart rate drop then carrying on again. After a very steep final switchback I made it to the top. 4,665 m and it was a blizzard at the top. I was exhilarated to have got there, the highest point in my trip. I felt like I was on the way home now!
I waited for the others and the sun came out. We celebrated, shook hands, took loads of photos then descended into another beautiful valley on the other side. It was freezing cold and the wind was back. We got to the valley floor with numb fingers and found a yurt to stay in. It was amazing inside, so warm and they brought us delicious food, noodles and mutton.
In the morning the sun was out and we had a fantastic view up to the pass and of the surrounding mountains. With the yurts and the yaks in the pastures around it was a great moment.
After a slow start, we headed off again into the ever present headwind. After lunch we met up with Brigitte and Clemance, a Swiss couple we'd met in Khorog. As a team of 5 we carried on to Karkakul, the highest lake in Central Asia. Karakul is also the name of the small town by the lake and it's not a
nice place! It looks like a ruin, but we found a homestay where Brigitte and Clemance planned to stay and we had some food. We left the Swiss at Karakul and continued around lake. It is stunning, maybe
the most beautiful part of the Pamir Highway. It's a huge lake and is surrounded by snow-capped mountains.
Woke up at 5 for an early start in the last day of Tajikistan. We had a big pass to climb first thing and I was feeling great so I tried to make it in one go, without getting off the bike. I made it - think I must be getting acclimatised finally! At the top when Paul arrived, we sat down to wait for Martin. We waited an hour and he wasn't there so we left a message in the road with stones that we'd meet in the next town and carried on. A passing car had told us that there was a group of 4 cyclists coming behind so we knew he'd be OK and assumed he'd had another broken spoke.
Needless to say the wind was still in our faces and after a lunch in the shelter of the raised road, Paul and me carried on. Looking back we saw Martin behind us. He'd had a energy crash on the climb and got really dizzy so he'd had to stop for an hour before continuing. I decided to carry on alone because we were cycling at different speeds and I needed to get into Krygyzstan that day. After leaving the others I battled up a gravel track to the Tajik border control. It was so tough, the hardest climb of the trip, mainly due to the wind. I rounded a bend and saw the Tajik customs ahead. I got through pretty
quickly and continued the final 2 km to the top of the pass. At the top was the Krygyzstan border. It felt amazing to reach Krygyzstan, it was all downhill to Sary-Tash now, the town at the end of the Pamir Highway. It felt like a big achievement to beat the mountains!
The descent to Sary-Tash was fantastic. I was off the Pamir Plateau and it was green again. A large river came down from a huge mountain with a glacier and there were Krygyz yurts dotting the base of the valley. The road was also great, gravel but switchbacks and river crossings made a fun descent. about 20km later was the Kyrgyz customs, where I was given some dough dumplings to eat! I cycled through the valley to Sary-Tash into the wind again. There were loads of nomad families there and kids ran up to the road to demand photographs! I arrived at Sary-Tash around 6 and found a cheap homestay. Paul turned up shortly after me and later on Martin arrived. I was starving so ate loads of food and chocolate from the first decent shop for weeks!
The Pamir Highway has definately been the highlight of the trip so far. It was amazing. I'm looking forward to Krygyzstan now though, I'll leave for the city of Osh tomorrow.
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