Our Round-the-World adventure

[tacototheworld]

Tajikistan and the Pamir Highway - Part 1

Driving the Pamir Highway, Tajikistan

Tajikistan embodied all the greatest aspects of overlanding adventure for us. It had vast open country, stark majestic mountains, a culture and history that was different and new for us to learn. Tajikistan provided remote and wild terrain, we could not wait to explore its high desert mountains and fulfill a lifelong dream of driving the Pamir Highway.

As with the neighboring countries of Central Asia, the Tajik people were warm and welcoming, but outside of the bigger cities tourism infrastructure was surprisingly limited. Family run homestays were the norm along the Pamir highway with groceries hard to find outside of very small convenience stores carrying dry goods, soda and cookies. ATM’s were scarce but gas stations were common enough to get us by with some planning.

Our 2100km route through Tajikistan

The first place we explored was the gorgeous Fann Mountain region.

Sun goes down on camp while Dawn (with Andy's encouragement) poses a little awkwardly on the hood

The road was narrow - we were glad we only met one vehicle

Passing through villages, school children always beautifully dressed in black and white, the girls with huge white bows in their hair

Some with beautiful designs in the walls

Each of the seven lakes a different, glorious blue

People, especially children, in Tajikistan went out of their way to welcome us as we passed through their villages. Children would run out and wave and call out “hello” or “welcome!” We always felt safe, whether in the city or in a really remote area.

The next drive we ventured on was into Alauddin Lake near Sarvoda. It was another area steeped in beauty, rural village life side by side with spectacular hiking and scenery.

More donkeys than vehicles on the road to Alauddin Lake

Carved door at a village home

Sunset view from camp

That's a lot of sheep and goats in the road! Shepherds still moving the flocks before winter.

Our souls enriched with mountain scenery and air, it was time to head to the big city to pick up our son, Nicholas. We were thrilled that he would be joining us on the road for a month. It was also an opportunity to re-supply the truck before we headed out on the Pamir HIghway.

Dushanbe was not our favorite city. It was easy to navigate with wide tree lined streets, orderly and clean. But it also felt inauthentic somehow. The downtown buildings were new and ornate, many displaying giant posters with pictures of the president who has been in power for 33 years and has a questionable human rights record.

Monument to Ismail Somoni, a revered leader of the Samanid dynasty which included what is now Tajikistan in the early 900's.

Pamir Highway - Tajikistan Section
We kept detailed notes from our trip as we found it was relatively hard to get specific information about routes, timing, places to stay, etc. Below is our day by day breakdown in case it is useful to others.

Map of the Pamir Region and routes from the Caravanistan website, which we found to be an extremely helpful resource.

The classic Pamir HIghway Dushanbe, Tajikistan to Osh, Kyrgystan. But there are a number of variations and side routes that people incorporate.

The first decision point upon leaving Dushanbe is whether to take the northern, Tavildara route (more remote and over a 10,700 ft mountain pass) or to go through Kulob which is a better road, slightly shorter in time but longer in miles (if you believe Google). As our weather was good and we always love the mountains, we took the northern route to Kalaikhum.

From Khorog, you can choose to take the direct Pamir HIghway route (M41) - the red route above - or head south along the border with Afghanistan for a more remote route. After speaking to locals and fellow travelers, we opted to take the southern, Wakhan Valley road - the brown road above - which locals commonly refer to as “the real Pamir.”

We took eleven days to go from Dushanbe, Tajikistan to Sary Tosh, Kyrgystan. We did not continue driving north to Osh at this point, but peeled east to enter China. We were traveling the Pamir route Sept 11- 20, 2024.

Day 1 - 165 km, 4.5 hours of driving
We left Dushanbe at 11:30am, arrived at camp about 5pm. (We were using iOverlander to find wild spots to make sure we didn’t accidentally camp somewhere we were not supposed to. ) The more northern route (blue road on map above) was mostly decent, but at times deteriorated to gravel and forced us to reduce speed to about 15kph.

In general, along the route we drove, road conditions were rough enough to slow you down (gravel, if asphalt then potholes to watch for) but never severe enough that you needed hardcore 4x4.

Throughout this first day, the scenery got better and better as we approached the mountains and started passing through canyons.

Day 2 - 178km, 7 hours of driving
On the second day we drove over the mountain pass and through Kalaikhum (shown as Qalai Khumb on map above). A big challenge for overlanders during this time was massive construction delays on the Pamir Highway stretching from south of Kalaikhum to Khorog. Someday, maybe in a year, the road will be smooth going, but for now traffic is stopped for anywhere from 2-6 hours intermittently along the way as construction crews blast out the rock cliffs to widen the road. Locals advised us to get up early and try to get as much of the road as possible before crews showed up at 8am.

The Tajikistan military were very active along this section. There were regular military check points (just friendly passport checks), frequent military bases and patrols.

Regular military patrols along the border with Afghanistan - the border is the river

Construction delay - everyone just sits and waits

Day 3 -144 km, 5 hours of driving
We managed to get out of camp early - 6:15am and get through the rest of the construction zone with no delays. Having spent a couple of long hard driving days, we headed to Jizeu Valley for scenery and hiking.

Looking across the river to villages on the Afghanistan side

Scenery across the road

Bhartang Valley road - along a glacial river

And who should pull up to say "hi" but a French overlander with a Toyota Tacoma with a 4 Wheel Camper!! He ordered both from the US.

Stay tuned for part 2!

 

[the deputy]

Excellent report!

 

[Tennpenn83]

Stunning scenery in these last few updates! Absolutely breathtaking.
Also Greece? Beautiful, I love the Mediterranean coastline.

 

[tacototheworld]

Tajikistan and the Pamir Highway - Part 2

Day 4 -Jizeu Valley hike, 90km and 3.5 hours of driving
In the morning we headed across the REALLY long suspension bridge to hike into Jizeu Valley - we hiked 9 miles roundtrip, making it to the first village and lake.

Suspension bridge access to Jizeu Valley - the villagers do this regularly, coming out to the road when they need to access outside supplies

Traditional village home. People were busy preparing for winter, piles of dung drying for fires, fruit and corn being dried on rooftops.

Although monochromatic, the scenery was stunning

Guesthouse view in Khorog - we booked a three person room at Hotel Zarya - received a warm welcome from the host and had a beautiful breakfast the next morning ($60 for the three of us). Average prices for guest houses along the Pamir seemed to run about $20-$25pp

Day 5 - 138 km, 6 hours of driving
We left Khorog at 11am after re-stocking a few groceries. We were already seeing a lot fewer food options than we had in Dushanbe (no surprise). Meat in the supermarket was limited to a huge variety of sausages and hotdogs (we chose not to buy meat from the local stalls hanging huge hunks of mutton and beef from outdoor hooks). Cheese was non existent, fruits and vegetables limited to bell peppers and apples we bought from local women on the street.

From Khorog we continued south on what becomes the Wakhan Valley road, not officially the “Pamir HIghway” but still a Pamir road. This meant we would be continuing to hug the Afghanistan border for 100s of kms.

More gorgeous scenery

The fort was built into and around the natural rock formations

View from camp, uphill from the river so far away from the border that the military was not concerned

Day 6 - 60km, one hour driving
This day was one of our favorite days on the drive incorporating a scenic hike, iconic old fort and hot springs.

We left camp at 9:45 and drove to the Darshai Gorge trailhead. This gorge hike is famous for its construction - villagers built a ledge by sewing branches rocks together. It allows them with access to winter hunting grounds and it provided us with a lovely hike. Two and a half hours round trip got us to the most famous part “the ledge.”

Standing on "the ledge" at the Darshai Gorge

The next stop was Yamchun Fort, an ancient Silk Road outpost. The setting was awe inspiring but we were slightly sad to see that the fort was in the process of being fully restored, with new brick walls being erected on the old foundations.

Yamchun Fort, originally built in 300 BC

Day 7 - 100km, 4 hours of driving
Despite the rain this day (our first!) we were up and out by 9:30am, arriving at a 4th century Buddhist temple in the village of Vrang by 10:30am.

Village girls who accompanied us

From Vrang, we drove an hour to the village of Langar and found the trail up the steep hill to the petroglyphs.

Petroglyphs on the hillside above Langar

That's one big Ibex, a type of mountain goat

After a lunch break cooking up some noodles in the truck, we continued our way along the Khargush Gorge and eventually pulled into camp about 5pm. This day was one of our favorites scenically with far away views of the Hindu Kush range.

Driving the Khargush Gorge road

Day 8 - 175km, 6 hours of driving
This was another one of our favorite scenery days. We completed the Khargush Gorge road, re-joined the M-41 (Pamir HIghway) and drove out to visit an abandoned Soviet observatory.

Mountain views with the previous night's snow along the way

All of our supplies were dwindling so we were happy to visit the village well in Alichur and Nicholas manned the pump so we could re-fill our water tank.

Downtown Alichur. We had been hoping to buy some fresh groceries but no luck.

Abandoned truck at the Soviet observatory. full of Marco Polo sheep horns

Old solar telescope building

Day 9 - 50km, 1 hour of driving
The next morning, we left the observatory camp, stopped by some ancient cave paintings and made our way to Murghab. At this point we were pretty much out of food, having eaten garbanzo beans and couscous the night before. (Getting down to the end of our dried good storage).

Side trip to see cave paintings

Murghab guest house, typical interior decor for Pamiri home. Home cooked Tajik dinner! See grandma chef at window. We were joined by a French cyclist and climber, riding 200km a day to Nepal.

Day 10 - 210km to Tajik border, 4.5 hours driving
We left our guest house with cheerful goodbyes and continued on our way to the border with Kyrgystan. (Another side note, known as the Kyzyl-Art border, this border requires a pre-registration for all travelers, we used a service, Destination Pamir, to do this for a cost of $15 per person.

The security check point on this route was the only one where the military tried hard to get a bribe. We did not have copies of our passport and they told us that we would have to go back to Murghab and make copies for them.

Crossing the pass at 15,300 feet - we were getting accustomed to being at high altitudes

We crossed the border into Kyrgyzstan with no issues and continued our journey to Sary Tosh we camped at the base of Peak Lenin then eventually headed east to China.

A few lessons learned on the Pamir Highway:

• Come prepared with plenty of food and supplies! For travelers, this area is infamous for minor stomach issues. As visitors we are not used to the spices and microbes in the local foods, although we mostly cooked our own food, we all got grumbly stomachs after eating at local establishments. We also ran out of our own fresh food (limited by our refrigerator space) and were unable to resupply for over a week.
  
  
• Don’t count on cell coverage - we had minimal cell contact for about seven days we were glad that we had pre downloaded plenty of maps.
  
  
• To make check points easier, bring some copies of your passport picture page and your GBAO permit.
  
  
• There is no garbage service. People are using personal burn barrels and recycling container waste. We went several days without finding anywhere to drop off our garbage - mostly food related from cooking.
• 
  
• Be prepared for sustained, high altitude driving and camping. May want to consider getting a prescription for Diamox

That’s all we have!

 

[joxeph]

Trip Costs

Sure thing! So far we are 3 1/2 years into our five year driving around the world adventure where we have put on 125,000 miles so far.

We spent our first year and a half on the road traveling the US and Baja, Mexico (our eventual goal is to visit every US national park, right now we are at about 45 out of 63) It started out as a way to kill time as the global pandemic had sidetracked our plans a little. Turns out the truck was the perfect isolation vehicle and visiting lesser known national parks was great fun. We also got to work out all the kinks of life on the road, getting our systems organized, in a country where we spoke the language and knew how to find things. As soon as the post COVID world opened up in 2021, we drove across the US and put the truck on a ship to Liverpool, England.

Our 32,000 mile, 370 day route around Europe

We spent over a year traveling Europe. We decided to add in a month in Iceland which was not on our original route and we are so glad we did! it was a travel highlight for us). We had visited Italy Spain and Switzerland fairly recently so mostly skipped them this time round.

Daily costs for the two of us in Europe averaged $101 a day with gas being the highest expense at $46 per day followed by groceries at $19. We could save by buying cheaper groceries but at this point in our lives we do like our luxuries (beer, wine, chocolate, meat) so we eat well. The next biggest budget items were restaurants at $9 a day average (which really meant one meal out every few days or visiting a bakery, our favorite European treat) and hotels at $4 a day - which really means a big city hotel a couple times a month. This line item is also supplemented by using the points from our Chase Sapphire Visa card to book hotels at no cost.

Other costs:
Camping - 5
Other - 9

Please realize this is for two people driving in a Toyota Tacoma that averages 14 or 15 miles per gallon and we travel about 100-150 miles a day. We tend to drive a lot, our restlessness combined with a constant eagerness to see the next thing means we usually move on daily (although we try to drive less than 2-3 hours a day).
We also mostly cook our own meals.

Our final Africa route 31,000 miles in 377 days

In December 2022, we ferried from Spain to Morocco and began our year in Africa. The main change in our planned-to Africa route was due to the war in Sudan. Knowing that we could not travel north through Sudan as planned, we decided to ship from Kenya to Oman. Unfortunately this meant we would not be driving through Ethiopia and Egypt, two countries we had really been looking forward to. But they are also two countries that are extremely difficult to bring your own vehicle into so we saved ourselves significant bureaucratic hassles and expense by avoiding them. It also allowed us to add in the Arabian Peninsula which we were excited to explore.

In Africa the average cost for the two of us was $117 a day. Once again, gas was the biggest line item although the cost was much less than Europe, at $26 per day. The biggest surprise for us was the second largest budget item - an average of $22 a day for travel documents for 30 different countries. This includes visas for the two of us, and vehicle permitting (we don’t use a Carnet de Passage).

Other costs:
Groceries - $16
Hotels - 10
Camping - 10
Restaurant - 6
Other - 5


Hopefully this is informative

Wow, that's a big difference in gas prices between Europe and Africa! I was also planning a trip to Italy next year, so I'll have to consider that in the daily expenses. I may also try a private car tour in Rome from https://gowithguide.com/Italy/rome/guides, where I read it's a challenge to drive because of traffic and crowds. It's very impressive that you've traveled so far in your Tacoma—125,000 miles is a huge accomplishment, @tacototheworld!

 

[tacototheworld]

Kyrgyzstan

Driving the empty mountainous roads of Kyrgyzstan

Our journey across Kyrgyzstan was actually split into two parts - but we describe it as one contiguous trip here. We entered the northern part of the country from Kazakhstan, then exited through Uzbekistan to Tajikistan. Then we re-entered Kyrgyzstan briefly from Tajikistan to access the border crossing open for tourists to cross a piece of extreme western China. Planning border crossings in this region is critical as access is limited for foreign travelers. There is only one border open between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan and only one border from Kyrgyzstan to China open to foreigners. Our son Nicholas was traveling with us for the latter part of the trip in Kyrgyzstan and for crossing China.

Our route through Kyrgyzstan and China - gap in between on the map is when we were in Tajikistan

First wild camp in Kyrgyzstan - Jyrgalan Valley

As soon as we entered Kyrgyzstan from Kazakhstan, the geography changed wildly. No more flat empty steppes. Instead, there were mountains everywhere we looked, beautiful rugged peaks. Cold rivers flowed through green valleys and dense forests. Villages were small and rural, many people using horses as their main form of transport. The roads were empty, most of them gravel but in decent shape.

The Kyrgyz people are welcoming and kind although communication was a challenge for us. As the country was part of the USSR until it declared independence in 1991, most of the people spoke Russian as a second language. We tried to learn how to say “hello” and “thank you” in Kyrgyz, people laughed at our pronunciation but our bumbling was a good ice breaker.

Most of the country is rural and over half of the land is in agriculture (wherever it is flat). Although 90% of the country is Muslim, it is rare to hear the call to prayer, it is loosely banned. The Kyrgyz government takes the official stance that religion should be a private matter and listening to the call to prayer should not be inflicted upon non-Muslims. In general we missed its beautiful haunting sounds, but maybe not the 4:30am call when we were sleeping near a minaret.

Setting off for a hike from camp

After a few days in the beautiful Jyrgalan Valley, we made our way to Karakol, the fourth largest city in the country. Karakol was easy to navigate, with wide open streets. It was an easy re-supply point.

Trying the local staple - noodle soup or Ashlan-**** typically about $1 in a cafe.


We really enjoyed the food in Kyrgyzstan - lots of flavorful noodle and rice dishes, definitely spicy! The food was not as heavy as in some of the neighboring countries (Tajikistan, Uzbekistan). We loved, (what seemed like to us and our ignorant palates) the mix of Arabian, Chinese and Central Asian flavors.

Holy Trinity Orthodox Church in Karakol, completed 1895

In a crazy coincidence we ran into a group of young Kazakhs who had seen our truck in Almaty and now we were all reunited in Karakol. They were on a self organized tour of their neighboring country. Typical for their generation they spoke perfect English so it was fun to have a conversation with them.

In addition to green valleys and rugged mountains, Kyrgyzstan had geologically interesting desert areas with fantastical rock formations.

Colorful sandstone cliffs in the “Fairytale Canyon” locally known as Skazka Canyon

The spine of the fairytale dragon - legend has it he froze after the princess he loved did not return his affections

Then we were off to find our next wild camping spot. Like the rest of Central Asia, wild camping was easily accessible and finding stunning spots to spend the night and enjoy the scenery was simple.

Found a flat spot with a beautiful view!

Never far from a mountain view in Kyrgyzstan

Not often do you get mountain, lake and desert views in one spot

One of our favorite aspects of being in Kyrgyzstan was the stunning and varied hiking - there was never any shortage of interesting places to walk.

Heading in to hike Ak-Sai Canyon, a beautiful canyon hike with narrow walkways

Spotted our first yaks!

Camping in the high mountain plateau at nearly 10,000’

In one of those happy travel moments, our next mountain pass drive was our favorite in Kyrgyzstan. (It was not on Andy’s famous planning spreadsheet but we stumbled upon along our route after a few Google mis directions along non existent roads.)

Heading up the mountain pass to the Kowe Cheleng Buwajingan area above Song Kul

Andy was pretty happy about it

Beautiful mausoleums common for the area

That was the end of our first trip through Kyrgyzstan, exiting to Tajikistan, excited to pick up our son in Dushanbe for our Pamir Highway adventure. After our trip through Tajikistan (separate blog) we re-entered Kyrgyzstan via the Kyzl-Art pass, the only border between the two countries that is open for foreigners to cross. It requires free pre-registration through a Kyrgyszstan government site. We had heard of travelers having trouble with the pre-registration process working, which meant showing up at the remote border and waiting a day or two for the paperwork to get sorted out. To avoid this we paid a private operator, Erali through Destination Pamir, $15 a person to register us and our vehicle. It worked beautifully, he sent us proof by Whatsapp and we had no trouble at the border. (And we felt compassion for the two French cyclists camped outside the border gate waiting for their registration to come through.)

The road was a little rough over the pass

We crossed the 15,000 foot pass and had a couple of days to take a side trip in Kyrgyzstan to the Lenin Peak Base camp before entering China.

Wild camp with a view of Lenin Peak - 23,406’ tall, on the Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan border

Glad to have our son Nicholas with us for this leg - and his tiny grey tent bedroom. Last night in Kyrgyzstan before crossing the border into China

 

[tacototheworld]

Western China

China is one of the more difficult countries to drive through as an overlander. Foreigners are required to be accompanied by a guide. There are a few Chinese companies that specialize in organizing travel to key destinations, like the Kyrgyzstan to Pakistan route we wanted to take. (The alternative for us would have been to cross Afghanistan which we did not feel comfortable with as US citizens in a US plated vehicle.)

We chose to do the trip with Drive China and they were fantastic, very professional, communicative and helpful. They provided all the documentation for the three of us to present at Chinese embassies to secure tourist visas (Nicholas got his in San Francisco, Andy and Dawn in Yerevan, Armenia). They bundled a group of 10 vehicles (6 motorcycles and four campers) together so we could share the cost of a guide. The total fee for our five day trip for two of us and the truck including four nights accommodation was $1272. When we added Nicholas into our vehicle it was an additional $300 (including a single room occupancy fee).

Drive China also provided critical pre-trip information - links for the app we would need to pay for things in China, the mapping program, and the VPN so we could communicate with friends and family back home. Our itinerary was to spend one night in Wuqia, near the border, two nights in Kashgar and one night in Tashkurghan.

It quickly became clear how critical our guide was - we met Hedy on the China side of the border at Irkeshtam. She jumped into communicating with the border guards for us, efficiently herding us all through. She got us through customs (despite the fact that many of us did not have our VIN numbers engraved on our vehicles which was a huge point of consternation) and after a few hours we were in China, meeting our fellow travelers in the group (all awesome!) and seeking out a lunch of the first of many delicious noodle dishes.

Our first caravan journey, our guide riding in the lead vehicle.

Our group of intrepid travelers - no surprise that everyone was fantastic - they were all long term overlanders, everyone else was from Europe or the UK.

The accommodations were all basic but clean, comfortable hotel rooms with wifi, hot water and a hearty breakfast included (luxury for us).

With the administrative help of Drive China, Andy was given a Chinese driver’s license and the truck Chinese plates.

Stopping for gas, our guide Hedy had to register us with her passport so that we could buy gas as foreigners

We immediately had fun exploring the wide range of food and drinks available - so much! (Our last stretch on the Pamir highway and through Kyrgyzstan there had been very minimal groceries available.)

The next two nights we spent in the historic Silk Road city of Kashgar. Our guide Hedy took us to see the sights one day but we were also free to explore on our own.

Military parade in People’s Square

Kashgar was fascinating but definitely felt a little bit like Chinese cultural Disneyland. The old town had been completely torn down and re-built with cafes, bars and a myriad of souvenir shops.

Many women posing in for photo shoots in traditional clothing

All of the fellow tourists we saw were Chinese nationals so we were an obvious oddity - many requests for photos

In addition to exploring the old town, our guide took us to the “tomb of the fragrant concubine” - Xiang Fei - a woman who reportedly smelled so amazing that she became the concubine of the Emperor.

Welcome ceremony to the mausoleum site

Although we deeply enjoyed our guide Hedy and her insights, we did have the sense that our visit and what we were allowed to see was being highly regulated. The mosque in the photo above was open for visitors to enter with a purchased ticket. But like many other mosques in China, it was closed for worship. The local Uyghur Islam population has not been able to pray there except for on a few restricted holy days since 2016.

Wondering the back streets of Kashgar

Stocking up for our next remote journey through Pakistan - lots of noodles on the menu. Not surprisingly the instant noodle mixes and spices in China were fantastic - and cheap.

Our favorite style of local restaurants - hot pot dining, you are given a pot of hot broth and oil and pick your items to cook from an enormous buffet

After our two nights in Kashgar, we left to drive to Tashkurghan along the Karakorum Highway.

Back on the road - Chinese camels!

Nicholas had fun using Google Translate on his phone to figure out how the frequent billboards and signs were instructing people

Along the way were many police check points, typically requiring at least an hour stop. When there was not an official stop there were many pretend reminders that we were being watching.

Spectacular scenery along the Karakorum Highway

Our last hot pot in China - this one started with 5 lbs of yak meat

Dawn saying goodbye to our guide, Hedy

After a couple of hours of paperwork being signed out of China, we are on our way

But to ensure we do not get out of our vehicles before Pakistan, Chinese customs stickered our doors closed

Our experience in China was mixed. The people were fantastic, friendly and welcoming, wanting to take pictures with us and helping us communicate even though we did not share a language. The food was tasty and spicy. We learned to enjoy noodles and rice for breakfast. Travel was slow as a foreigner because of the multiple police check points and need to be registered to buy gas. We appreciated the information and background provided by our guide, but also enjoyed wandering on our own when possible - once we were booked into our hotel in a given town. The area we were traveling is troubled with conflict between the Chinese government and the local Islam Uygher population. We were not given opportunities to have real conversations about this and were very aware of our status as outsiders and visitors to the country.

We will be crossing China again with Drive China, on the Nepal to Laos route through Tibet and look forward to another efficient and well organized experience, along with the opportunity to develop friendships with fellow travelers.

Thank you for reading!

 

[tacototheworld]

Pakistan - Part 1

Wild camping at the entrance to Shimshal Valley

Pakistan was an intriguing and pleasant surprise for us. It was, honestly, a country we were a little bit worried about traveling in. As Americans we had heard through the decades about the complicated history of internal strife, ongoing conflict with India, a country which was depicted in our media as violent and prone to religious intolerance and extremism. Travel advisories for the country ranged from “exercise extreme caution due to terrorism” to “reconsider travel.” We were also going during the time that the Israel/Hamas war was at its peak causing increased tension between Western countries and predominantly Muslim ones. In general we mitigated our risk by staying in the northeastern area of Pakistan, staying away from the more troubled regions.

Our 800 mile route through Pakistan

Our actual experience was that it was a country with extraordinary mountainous beauty and a family centered warm and welcoming culture. The food was delicious and always freshly prepared (we learned to wait patiently in roadside restaurants as our meals were prepared from scratch) and wild camping was readily available and easy to find. As in many Muslim countries, in many regions women were rarely seen with all of the external facing service jobs (hotel clerks, waiters, retail sales) being held by men. But Dawn felt comfortable on the streets. She dressed modestly but did not cover her hair unless visiting a religious site. In some areas, the desire for people to have their photo taken with us was overwhelming and we would get caught up in crowds of friendly locals posing with us as the foreigners. We did not see a lot of other visitors when we were there. We were traveling in late September and early October which felt like an ideal time to see the mountains in their glory - snow capped but still accessible.

One of our favorite things in Pakistan - trucks were beautifully and intricately decorated - informally known as “jingle trucks.” We were also thrilled that our oldest son, Nicholas, was continuing to travel with us throughout our time in Pakistan.

Entering Pakistan from China on the Karakoram Highway over the Khunjerab pass, one of the most scenic drives we have ever done.

We loved seeing yaks along the way

Extraordinarily beautiful but stark mountains

Roads sometimes sketchy - lots of landslides

The jingle trucks everywhere were absolutely stunning, obviously decorated with love and care

The first province we explored in Pakistan, Gilgit-Baltistan, was our favorite. Cut off from the rest of Pakistan until 1978 due to mountainous terrain and lack of roads, it felt remote and wild. Filled with glorious mountains, glaciers, rivers and valleys dotted with small villages, there was an adventure around every corner. The scenery was stunning, although we did discover the limitations of our relatively tall and heavy truck.

One of our first planned adventures was to drive into Shimshal Valley - a famously rugged and beautiful drive to a remote village.

Entering the Shimshal Valley road, narrow gravel path wedged in between a cliff and a river

Starting to feel concerned about our ability to make it without losing our canopy

Despite our truck being relatively small for a camper in the US and Europe, internationally it is sometimes just too big. Eventually the road just got too overhung for us, and walking ahead to check it out we realized it would be a long way before we reached a spot where we could turn around if the road became impassable

The next day we went in search of glaciers. Some of the areas were not well marked, so for us, hiking without a guide, we didn’t always get to our destination, but the adventure was always worth it.

View across Hunza Valley

After some challenging hiking which did not get us close to glacers, we were thrilled to find a clearly marked trail to the beautiful Passu Glacier in Hunza Valley.

Pretty incredible that less than an hour of easy hiking got us close to the edge

After days of admiring nature, our next adventure was to cross the man made Hussaini Suspension Bridge over the Hunza River. It was definitely the most challenging bridge we have crossed (Atlas Obscura calls it the most dangerous bridge in the world.) Dawn stayed back for the initial photo then found herself trying to cross alone, one slow step at a time.

Andy and Nicholas crossed the Hussaini Suspension Bridge, linking two faces of the Karakoram Range.

A kind older woman who lived in the village on the other side, grabbed Dawn’s hand and helped her across. No shared language was spoken but she amusingly mimed for Dawn to relax.

Dawn being helped by an older Pakistani woman

The gaps to the glacial water down below were no joke!

After a beautiful hike, we returned back across the bridge and got on the road to Karimabad. Built into the hillside, initially as a caravan stop, the town is the capital of the Hunza Valley. We had decided to stay in the center to explore the old bazaar and forts. In case we give the impression that everyday is full of sunshine and roses, arriving in Karimabad was a challenge. We were trying to find a place we could actually park our truck. Booking sites did not have accurate information on the parking situation (free parking included meaning good luck finding your own spot on a crowded shopping street). Places recommended on the iOverlander app were no longer operational or impossible to find along steep single lane streets that we could barely pass along. It was one of those days where Andy (driving) after several frustrating dead ends on steep streets, was ready to fire the town as a place to stay. Nicholas was busy in the back seat researching hotels online. Finally, we found a place to park outside a pleasant outside cafe and while we were waiting for lunch, Dawn set off walking, found a place with a small parking lot that we shared with a tour van and we got safely landed.

Karimabad was a pleasant city, the most touristy place we had seen in a while, but the cultural amenities were interesting and the old bazaar shops fun to wander around.

Another beautiful view from the road to Karimabad

Baltit Fort, over 700 years old and seat of the rulers of Hunza for centuries

Unique architecture of Baltit Fort and stunning mountain views

Intricate wooden carving and views down the Hunza Valley.

Stay tuned for part two

 

[the deputy]

Thank you, for sharing. Much appreciated.

Still cracks me up when l scroll through this page and you're sitting on the hood of the Toyota. Cracks me up, because l had to climb over my brush guard in Alaska, to check something under the hood...and it wasn't as easy as it once was. Everything seems a bit harder at 65...lol.

Safe travels and thank you, again! Brilliant report.

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

Those mountain pictures are incredible (the first one speaks to me) ! I've been waiting for this part of the trip way too long. Your trip report continues to be the best thing to ever hit XP. There's so much nonsense being posted on this site now that it's a breath of fresh air to see real travelers traveling. Please keep doing what you do and keep posting here. And again I say, please post more pictures (not that your writing isn't entertaining & grammatically perfect.....it's first rate stuff). Thank you !

Just curious.....do you guys have a website maybe ? Do you post more elsewhere ?

 

[tacototheworld]

Those mountain pictures are incredible (the first one speaks to me) ! I've been waiting for this part of the trip way too long. Your trip report continues to be the best thing to ever hit XP. There's so much nonsense being posted on this site now that it's a breath of fresh air to see real travelers traveling. Please keep doing what you do and keep posting here. And again I say, please post more pictures (not that your writing isn't entertaining & grammatically perfect.....it's first rate stuff). Thank you !

Just curious.....do you guys have a website maybe ? Do you post more elsewhere ?

Thank you so much! We have lots more photos on our website at roguewanderers.com. Unfortunately Expedition Portal limits each post to 20 photos so we have to be selective.

 

[tacototheworld]

Pakistan - Part 2

We left Karimabad to explore the Nagar Valley and ended up in the village of Minapin with crystal clear views of the majestic Rakaposhi. We set off on the trail to base camp hoping for some even more extraordinary views.

Photo from Nicholas of the glacier near base camp

Although it was not initially in our travel plan, we decided to throw a trip to the basecamp of Nanga Parbat into our itinerary and it ended up being a highlight.

It was a little difficult to find information so here is the breakdown of what we did:

• You cannot self drive but must hire a local driver to take you into Fairy Meadows
  
  
• We arrived in the morning and parked at the large hotel at Raikot Bridge. (Parking was 1000 rupees or $3.50 a day, guard on site)
  
  
• We packed light backpacks with clothing for 3 days (also brought our own toilet paper which was a good idea)
  
  
• If you are squeamish about shared blankets (Dawn is) you might want to consider bringing a lightweight sleep sack
  
  
• There is no need to bring food, you can buy snacks and bottled water at Fairy Meadows and guest houses all cook meals for you - breakfast is usually included, lunch is about 1,300 rupees and dinner about 2,000
  
  
• The hotel staff arranged for a jeep to take the three of us, roundtrip cost for the jeep 16,100 rupees ($58)
  
  
• The road is steep, curving, very narrow and in general, hair raising, but local drivers seem to know it well. It takes about 90 mins to get to the end of the road from Raikot Bridge
  
  
• From where the driver drops you, it is a 6km walk into Fairy Meadows. The trail is easy to follow, moderately steep but not difficult. It took us a little over 2 hours. There are tea houses along the way and also the option to ride up on a donkey.
  
  
• Fairy Meadows is a large grassy field with excellent views of Nanga Parbat and a range of guest houses. We stayed in the mid range- 7,000 rupees ($25) for a private room with a cooked breakfast. Dinner was a separate charge - about 2,000 rupees each. Hot water was available on request for a shower.
• 
  
• We were there in fall and it was COLD (well below freezing) at night! Luckily our room at Beyal Camp had a little wood stove in it.

The hairy road to Fairy Meadows. It's mostly single lane track with steep drop offs

Dawn sitting in the back of the jeep so she doesn’t have to look

Fairy Meadows Accommodations and local homes

Trail from Fairy Meadows to Beyal Camp

View of Nanga Parbat from Beyal Camp

Cabin accommodations at Beyal Camp

Freshly cooked dinner - all over a wood stove

Hike from Beyal Camp to base camp

Tea house at basecamp, 13,800'

Crossing the glacier - hardest part of the loop we did

Third night in view of Nanga Parbat - back at Fairy Meadows, Dawn attempting to stay warm under all the blankets

Warming up at the morning breakfast fire

After three days in the mountains we were refreshed but also ready for a long hot shower. We made our way to Chilas to see the ancient buddhist petroglyphs. This was the only area in Pakistan where we felt unsafe, there was an edge that is hard to describe but all of our “spidey” senses were going off.

Buddhist petroglyph near Chilas

Our next stop was Islamabad where we sadly dropped Nicholas off at the airport for his flight home. Strangely, we spend two days in the city but never took a photo.

Our last stop in Pakistan was Lahore. With many more older buildings and cultural attractions than we had found in Islamabad, Lahore had a unique charm.

This beautiful young woman requested a selfie with Dawn (if Dawn looks red faced its because she was, it was hot and sticking to long sleeves and long pants for clothing was hard)

Central square of old Lahore

What most of the streets looked like

Then it was time to head to the Wagah border with India. Leaving Pakistan turned out to be quite a challenge. Our USA based agency that issued our Carnet de Passage refused to cover Pakistan due to some ongoing dispute. We had spoken to a Pakistani guide who told us we would be able to enter the country for a few weeks without a Carnet. Based on this, we had mailed our old Carnet from Tajikistan back to the US and picked up our new one which covered India onward in Islamabad. When we entered Pakistan with no Carnet, customs gave us a hard time. We explained the whole situation, they called and spoke with the guide who advised us and in the end let us in.

We arrived at the Wagah border at 9am feeling optimistic. But we caused a huge consternation, hours of phone calls with supervisors, the border officer who let us in from China . . . The fact that we did not have a Carnet which stamped us in to Pakistan was an issue. We discussed and negotiated all day. Eventually they agreed to take our current Carnet that we had picked up in Islamabad and stamp us in and out of that one. We did feel that it was ironic that the point of the Carnet is to make sure that you do not offload your vehicle in a country, selling it without appropriate paperwork and paying taxes but all we wanted to do was leave WITH our vehicle. Finally at 4pm they told us that they would stamp us out but it was too late to leave, the border was closing. So we popped up in the parking lot and spent the night.

But at least parking there put us in excellent position to walk to the famous Pakistan to India Wagah -Attari border closing ceremony. Since 1959, border guards on each side of the gate have engaged in an elaborate call and response battle style step ceremony. The whole ritual symbolizes the relationship between the two countries - ongoing rivalry and strife but also a recognition of brothers in arms.

View from the packed Pakistan side ceremony to the stadium on the Indian side

We were surprised what a huge deal the ceremony was- each side had a huge stadium filled with spectators.

Pakistani border guards posing for the photo opp

People in the stands wanted an overwhelming number of selfies with us - we were the only obvious foreigners in the crowd

That’s a wrap for Pakistan. It was a unique, fascinating experience to travel there. The scenery in the northeast is breathtaking and the villages enchanting. People are curious and kind to visitors. Tourism infrastructure exists in a few places, but for much of where we traveled we
had to rely on our own maps and researched information to find trails and attractions. But that is the way we like it, so it worked for us. Thank you for reading, we appreciate all your support and questions. Safe travels!

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

Wow ! It continues to be an incredible journey ! I can't even begin to imagine the feelings that you guys must have had to make it to Nanga Parbat (8,126 m), sometimes called Killer Mountain, the 9th highest mountain in the world. Nanga Parbat has the most storied history of any mountain in the world in my opinion. Some readers may remember the movie Seven Years In Tibet which tells the incredible 1939 journry of Peter Aufschnaiter and Heinrich Harrer attempting that mountain and ending up in Tibet. The mountain was first climbed in 1953 by Herman Buhl. It was also the first summit of an 8,000er solo without oxygen. Some say that he was the greatest mountaineer to have ever lived, including me. In 1978 Reinhold Messner (some also say that he's the greatest mountaineer to have ever lived) did the entire route solo without oxygen to the summit. So a storied mountain, indeed it is.

Thanks guys for taking the time to share with us. Sorry I got a bit carried away. You saw something that I'll never see.

HJ/72/5 Nanga Parbat

The HJ/72/5 Nanga Parbat

The HJ/72/5 Nanga Parbat

www.himalayanclub.org

 

[tacototheworld]

No you added great context. The pictures don't do justice to the absolute immense size of this mountain. As a former mountain climber (I climbed up to 7,000 meters) The most direct route from base camp evolves in a massive arc around the side of the mountain avoiding massive near-vertical walls.

In about a month we'll be heading to Nepal and then later Tibet.

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

I've been up in the thin air as well and I miss it until I think about the headaches, the nauseousness, the lack of appetite, the coughing, etc. Then I think I'm fine right here.....

I hiked the Annapurna Circuit in 2015 and loved it. Nepal is in the process of eliminating much of the trail by building a road over it. I suspect each year will be worst for the traveler but maybe better for the inhabitants (?). Have you guys considered doing any longer treks on your trip ? You definitely seem to both be in great shape and more than capable.....