April 24-27, 2019

“The world is big, and I’d like to have a good look at it before it gets dark.”

•  John Muir

This was a short trip, just a long weekend arranged through Trekkup Dubai (www.meetup.com/trekkup), one of two Meetups we belong to here.  I had two goals I was able to meet on this trip – go to a ‘Stan’ and see dinosaur tracks. Two destinations were involved – first was to the Shirkent Valley on a quest for dinosaur tracks; the second was to the Iskandarkul resort on a glacial mountain lake high in the Fann Mountains near the Uzbekistan border.  A visa was required for entry to the country.  This process has become quite simple with the evisa process many countries are using. I obtained visas for each of us at $51.50 online using www.evisa.tj. We received these by email within 48 hours, good for a 90-day period for a stay of up to 45 days.  Trip expenses that included round trip air fare, lodging, meals, and guides were 3250 dirham each (about $885), paid by electronic bank transfer.  No vaccines were required for this trip. 

Tajikistan is short-lived in its current form, created in September 1991 with the disintegration of the former Soviet Union.  It is the smallest of the seven “Stans” and has less than nine million people.  The country is of Persian origin (‘stan’ means ‘country’ in Persian).  Located to the west of China, several of the historical commerce and cultural exchange routes known as the ‘Silk Roads’ passed through Tajikistan.  This strategic location drew the attention of many neighbors, as a result, the country has been ruled by many empires over the centuries.  The country is poor, ranking 155^th in GDP and heavily dependent on support from China and Russia. An amazing 47% of the GDP comes from immigrant remittances, mostly Tajiks working in Russia.

We met with 14 other travelers from Belgium, Italy, Britain, Germany, Singapore, Morocco, Pakistan, and Palestine at the Dubai airport for a late-night flight on the local Tajik Somon Air.  We arrived in the capital city of Dushanbe, (population ~770,000, known as Stalinabad from 1929-1961) about 2:00 AM.  The airport had the feel of what I envision an old Soviet-era airport would feel like, complete with crusty uniformed Security guards with scruffy beards keeping a stern eye on things.  The process went smoothly, and we were soon on our way to Hotel Meridian. The room was large and comfortable, but we weren’t there for long.  We went to bed about 4:00 AM, up at 6:00 for breakfast at 7:00 with an 8:00 departure.  Breakfast featured several items I couldn’t identify.  What I thought were possibly hash browns turned out to be fried cauliflower.  Add some cheese, olive, and lettuce salad, a little yogurt and some instant coffee and my breakfast was complete.

We loaded up into 3 vans and headed off for Shirkent Valley on our quest for dinosaur tracks, northwest of Dushanbe by about 60 km.  We left town driving through a light drizzle and grey skies through a countryside of vineyards, apple and cherry orchards, and fields of onions and potatoes.  Despite the economic hardships of the country, the medians of small towns we drove through had roses planted for kilometer after kilometer.  Billboards of President Rahmon in a variety of pleasant settings were a frequent roadside attraction. We passed a large aluminum foundry, TALCO, on the way as we drove through the town of Tursunzoda.  A little research showed some interesting facts about this business.  As the chief industrial asset of Tajik industry, this foundry consumes a whopping 40% of the national electrical supply when running at capacity, generates a third of the national GDP, and 75% of foreign currency reserves.  All this despite the country having no native aluminum ore deposits, relying completely on imported feedstock. 

The Shirkent Valley is advertised alternately as a National Preserve and a National Park. Perhaps we entered through a back route, but I never saw a sign for park entry, there was no visitor center, no trail markers, or any of the other usual park features.  In fact, our entire trek was almost cancelled when the lead van lost control on a dirt road made slick by heavy rains in the previous two days and nearly slid into a raging creek. The van bottomed out with the driver’s side front tire suspended in the air.  The Tajik guide group did a nice job recovering, but just a few hundred meters further another van had a flat tire.  We decided it was best to walk the last half kilometer from there.  This trek was advertised as “Easy, available for beginners”.  This was a bit of an underrating in my opinion for what turned out to be about a 14 km hike with some generous elevation gain at times, a trail made slick in spots from the rain, and a steep, loose scree field just before reaching the tracks.  The drizzle returned at times, but for the most part we were treated to a beautiful valley, with clouds hugging a rugged landscape.  A local loaded up his donkeys with our lunch and accompanied us up the valley, giving us a hand on the creek crossings that were made more challenging due to the recent rain.  After a few kilometers, we met his wife and daughter at their mountain home. They laid out a wonderful lunch for us of apples, pears, tomatoes, cucumbers, fresh breads, homemade cottage cheese, and local honey.  Hot black tea seemed to be the drink of choice for most.  We made the final push to the dinosaur tracks, crossing a deep verdant green landscape shrouded in mist.  The last stretch was a steep slick drop, followed by a steep scramble up loose rock.  Our guide suggested this section might be more suitable for “younger people”.  We understood this to be code for “not us”.  The rest of the group were our juniors by at least of couple of decades but we felt completely welcomed and at ease.  They seemed genuinely happy to have us with them.  Lynn decided to wait this last piece out.  I, the more dim-witted of this pair, continued.  The tracks are located on a steep (maybe 60°?) rock face made slick by the rain, making walking out to them impossible, still, some were close enough to the edge for a good view.  We made our way back to the car, more than a little muddy and tired from the hike and our short night the night before.  We stopped on the way back at a local Tajik restaurant for dinner and a few pints before heading back to the hotel for a much-needed shower.

We checked out the next morning and headed for our second destination, Iskandarkul, or ‘Alexander’s Lake’, named after Alexander the Great.  There is no evidence Alexander was ever actually present there, but legend has it that he ordered a change in the flow of a river to create the lake and drown the mountain folk that weren’t interested in friendly relations.  This is a small glacial lake high in the Fann Mountains near the Uzbekistan border. Before leaving town, we stopped at a local grocery store to stock up on a few supplies of some snacks, our standard refrigerator magnet souvenir, and some beverages for later.  It’s always fun to wander around a grocery store in a foreign country.  I have decided Lay’s Potato Chips are the standard for potato chips around the globe. Our journey headed up state highway M34 north from the capital thru incredibly rugged territory to Anzob Pass at an elevation of 3400 meters, traversing the famous Anzob Tunnel on the way. This dimly lit, 5 km long tunnel initially opened in 2006 after construction by Iranians in what our guide described as a ‘friendship contract’.  For its first five years after opening, the long tunnel had no pavement, lighting, or ventilation, gaining a reputation as a ‘Tunnel of Death’.  Some described it as the most terrifying place on earth to drive.  Fortunately, improvements were completed in 2017, and the surface we drove on was paved with occasional lights. We drove on, turning off the paved road at the small town of Kalon.  Our last 40 km drive was on rough gravel roads passing through small villages where cows, dogs, school children, and locals shared the streets.  These are beautiful character shots that I love to take pictures of but being in a van with several other people the opportunity just wasn’t there. A few homes seemed reasonably modern; others were simple stone buildings with mud for mortar and no appearance of electricity or water. Our drivers spoke no English and drove in silence except for the occasional phone call from the lead guide.

At last we reached Iskandarkul resort on the shores of the small turquoise lake by the same name.  We checked into our chalet, a small room with one working light. This light was in the bathroom – but there was a bathroom.  The small oil heater was completely inadequate for the task of warming up the room, but we had three hefty blankets and the bed was comfortable.  I have stayed in worse, and we had the reward of a lovely deck at the visitor center to look out over the lake.  We took turns taking a boat ride around the lake.  The snow-capped Chamtarga peak rises to almost 5500 meters (~18,000 feet) in the distance.  After a dinner of tomatoes and cucumbers (a staple at every meal) and some grilled meat (beef? goat?), we gathered around the campfire and drank cheap Russian beer out of plastic bottles while gazing at the stars and discussing the inequities of the post-World War 1 armistice agreements.  I looked around and considered my position.  I, a simple fellow from East Tennessee, found myself high in the mountains of Central Asia, sharing a vodka bottle with people from all over the world that I had not known 48 hours before.  The last two years have certainly been a curious turn of events at this stage of life. 

We got up the next morning to a beautiful clear sky and a calm lake. The tea was hot, and we enjoyed the scenery while basking in the warm morning sun.  Life was good. We had breakfast of eggs, yogurt, bread, and fresh strawberries, then checked out of our rooms. We had a short hike to a nice waterfall and a nearby lake called Snake Lake.  Any snake that can live in a glacier fed lake is not one I want to mess with.  After lunch, we began the trek back to the airport, stopping at one point when we noticed eight beautiful golden eagles riding the afternoon thermals and surveying the landscape below.  We continued up and over Anzob Pass. Snow fell, enough to be pretty without being a threat, and just the right texture for some nice snowballs. I chuckled to watch a couple of elderly, hijab clad Tajik ladies join in the snowball tossing.

We returned to Dushanbe airport, only to find our flight was delayed four hours.  We headed back into town for a short entertaining stay at Bundes Bar, a neighborhood pub where the local biker club was having their opening night festivities for a new season of biking after the long winter. A bit disconcerting at first, these were a fine bunch of friendly fellows that welcomed us to their town.  We enjoyed our stay.

The return flight to Dubai was uneventful (always a good description for a flight). We found our car and made our way back to Ruwais to start our plans for the next trip.