Photo story: local life on a journey through Tajikistan's Pamir Mountains
In the heart of Central Asia lie the dramatic Pamir Mountains; while the topography of this lofty region poses unique challenges to daily life, new initiatives have helped to bring fresh opportunities to some of Tajikistan’s remotest communities.
At over 11,800ft above sea level, very little grows in the Pamir Mountains, in the easternmost reaches of Tajikistan. The landscape of this Central Asian country is almost lunar in its vast emptiness — the mountains glowing a faint pink and blue in the bright, high-altitude sun.
Few people live in this remote region, which borders Kyrgyzstan, China and Afghanistan. But that’s not to say travellers won’t encounter warm hospitality; along this stretch of the M41 road — known as the Pamir Highway — some locals will offer those passing through a hot meal and place to spend the night.
The skulls of Marco Polo sheep stacked on a stone wall. The robust breed is named after the 13th-century Venetian explorer, who came through these parts on his route to China and chronicled the sheep in his writings.
A semi-nomadic Kyrgyz man in the town of Murghab, Tajikistan’s most easterly and remote outpost. He’s identifiable as Kyrgyz from the distinctive kalpak hat, commonly worn by Tajikistan’s northerly citizens.
In the town of Murghab, a woman works on a loom to produce handicrafts that are sold to passing travellers with the support of the not-for-profit Aga Khan Foundation (valuable income in a region with limited economic opportunities and challenging geography).
A yak stands in a pasture near the village of Bulunkul. With their long shaggy hair, yaks are a stolid symbol of Central Asia; hardy beasts that can endure temperatures as low as -40C during the winter months.
In the stark, yawning landscapes of the country’s far east, the Aksu River has become a reservoir. The waterway is used to power a hydroelectric station, which lies just out of shot, in the furrows of a valley. Nearby Murghab was without electricity until the station opened in 2018, and the township now runs on a reliably clean and affordable source of energy.
To make a living in the Pamir Mountains, many women harvest Cashgora wool from local breeds of goat. It’s then gathered into yarns and exported, or used locally in the production of fabrics and handicrafts.
The dusty Pamir Highway twists through rugged terrain and is one of the world’s highest, wildest and remotest roads. It’s not advised to travel in anything other than a four-wheel-drive vehicle.
Traditional Tajik clothing offers a splash of colour in a landscape of muted browns and greys, and many locals don their finest garb for special occasions — in this case, the opening of a new tourism centre in Bulunkul. Here, travellers can arrange tours and guides for hiking, mountaineering or mountain biking.
One of the main towns in eastern Tajikistan, Khorugh is home to the Ismaili Jamatkhana and Centre, a place of worship and social gathering for the predominantly Ismaili Muslim population.
Also in Khorugh is the University of Central Asia, co-established by the governments of Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan in 2017 to provide an education to the region’s remote mountainous communities.
Strictly speaking, the term ‘pamir’ refers to the region’s high grasslands, although the landscape is dominated by deep river valleys and rocky peaks, most of which were formed hundreds of millions of years ago. The highest summits in the region are found in the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Province, to the country’s east.
