My Travels to Tajikistan and the Fann Mountains
Julia Dolan
Customer Communications Manager - improving quality and consistency of messaging to improve customer experience | Lean Six Sigma Green Belt
In July 2024 I travelled to Tajikistan and the Fann Mountains on a trekking holiday (booked through KE Adventure) covering 57 miles and 4700m (15,400 feet) of ascent over six days point-to-point trekking from the Seven Lakes to Alauddin Lake. During the trek we crossed three high mountain passes, reaching 3800m at the highest pass, and spent five nights wild camping and one night in a mountain hut.
A little bit of background about Tajikistan
Tajikistan is one of ‘The Stans’, a landlocked country in Central Asia bordered by Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and China. It’s a mountainous country, home to the Pamir Mountains (the highest peak is Ismoil Somoni Peak at 7495 meters) and the Fann Mountains in the Northwest (the highest is Chimtarga peak at 5489m). To put this into context, Snowdon is 1085m and Ben Nevis is 1345m.
The weather
The weather was fabulous in July, it was shorts and T shirt weather during the daytime. Most days it was breakfast at 7am and start trekking at 8am, and even at 8am the sun is out and it’s getting hot. But it does get cold at night, especially at the higher camping spots, so a warm sleeping bag is essential.
The scenery
It’s simply spectacular scenery and the camping spots (all by streams or lakes) were remote and simply stunning. What made it so amazing was how quiet and remote it was. We didn't see any other trekkers or westerners the first 3-4 days, just shepherds who live in the mountains during the summer months (who are extremely welcoming and invite you in for tea, bread, and homemade apricot jam).
You visit (and camp at) lots of stunning lakes on this trek: Iskanderkul, Seven Lakes, Kulikalon and Alauddin, to name but a few.
The terrain
Lots of steep ascents and descents as the trek crosses three high passes:
The camping spots
This was wild camping, so no hand basins, running water, flush toilets, or showers. Although facilities were very basic (just a ‘hole in the ground’ toilet tent), the beauty of it is that you get to camp in these truly stunning places surrounded by fabulous scenery. And the best part is that we mostly had these camping spots to ourselves - there were no other trekking groups in sight (except for the final camping spot at Lake Alauddin).
The food
Food is plentiful. Breakfast is a bit of a challenge if you're vegan like me, as it's mostly porridge or eggs (although bread and jam is available), but the picnic lunches and dinners are good, and they do their best to cater for a vegetarian or vegan diet. There's lots of tasty vegetable soups and fresh salads, and lots of refreshing watermelon for afternoon tea - I’ve never eaten so much watermelon!
For the meat eaters, the national dish is Plov - made with rice, lamb, onions, carrots, and spices.
My favourite day
The final day trekking was my favourite day. It was supposedly the hardest day, taking us to the highest point of our trek, and with 1000m ascent and 1100m descent, but I loved it! It was a bit overcast at the top of the pass at 3800m and for the first time during the trek I had to put on a fleece, but the mountain views overlooking the Chapdara Glacier were incredible and well worth the effort. And I absolutely loved running down the descent, it was steep and a bit loose underfoot, but I felt as free as a bird! ?
The views of Lake Alauddin on the descent are simply spectacular, it’s a beautiful lake and a fitting end to the trek. Although there were other groups camped at the lake, our crew picked a remote spot on the other side of the lake, so we had the place to ourselves.
All in all, it was a fantastic trek, and the only disappointment was that it had come to an end.
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