A lake, mountains and the capital of Tajikistan

Enjoying Tajikistan as part of our travels along the Silk Road, we left Khujand in northern Tajikistan and headed south with a hired driver and his car. We were aiming for Iskander Kul, a glacial lake in Tajikistan's Fann Mountains that lies at an altitude of 2,1295 metres above sea level. Kul means lake in most Turkic languages.

The mountain road down to Iskander Kul, Tajikistan

The lake’s name, Iskander, is the Persian equivalent of Alexander, which in this case refers to Alexander the Great. It is said that the people in this area resisted Alexander’s rule and so he diverted a river to drown them. It is also said that Alexander’s horse drowned here, which made the lake famous. Whichever is true, the fact remains that this place is stunning.

Precarious M-34 road through the Fann Mountains (UNESCO), Tajikistan

The road through the Fann Mountains (which are on the UNESCO list) is amazing. It is the M-34, a highway that links Khujand with the Tajik capital Dushanbe. It climbs through the mountains to 2,751 metres above sea level with no regard for safety – there are no guardrails, no centre lines, plenty of switchbacks, and no passing lanes. But the scenery is beautiful, with snow-topped mountains, large craggy hills, steep river gorges, and thick fog.

Marg in our lake-view room, Iskander Kul, Tajikistan

Once at Iskander Kul, we stayed in what the Tajiks call a campsite, but it was like a small low-end resort right on the lake. We had a wonderful room with an ensuite, and windows on the lake side that gave us a fabulous view of the water. It was raining on the day we arrived, so the views were murky but still beautiful.

Magical views of the still lake, Iskander Kul, Tajikistan

By the afternoon, the murk had cleared, giving us the chance to get out and have a good look around. The lake is around 72 metres deep and covers around 3.4 km². There is a large area of land around the lake and surrounding mountains that is a nature reserve that supports various endangered bird species. 

Leigh on our waterfall and bird walk, Iskander Kul, Tajikistan

So we went for a wee walk to see what birds we could spot, and to find the local waterfall. We rugged up in our warm gear and raincoat, and set out armed with sketchy directions from a website. But somehow, we missed the waterfall turn-off. Then it began to rain again so we gave up – no waterfall and no birds, but lovely scenery. 

The camp café at Zumrad campsite, Iskander Kul, Tajikistan

After that, we headed to the warm camp café and ordered a lunch of soup, local bread, and green tea for us and our driver – thank goodness for Google Translate we say! There were other people there, and as always, we got chatting, finding that they were from Nederlands, Indonesia, Finland, and Tajikistan. They were all young and energetic, having come to the lake and mountains for the seriously good hiking opportunities they offer. 

View of lake from Zumrad café, Iskander Kul, Tajikistan

As we were admiring the lake views from the café, a local Tajikistan guy, hearing we were from New Zealand, offered to share his favourite wine with us. We looked at the label and were surprised to find it was New Zealand’s Brancott Estate Sauvignon Blanc – who knew!! We politely declined and he did not offer again, but if he had offered it four times, local custom says we would’ve been obliged to take up his offer. Besides that, he must have paid a lot for it; at least 232 Tajikistan Somoni (about NZ$35).

Zumrad campsite baker and tandoor oven, Iskander Kul, Tajikistan

On the day of our departure, the friendly lady who seemed to run the place, waved us over to a shed. What a lovely surprise when she pulled out a round of bread from her hot tandoor oven and made a gift of it to us. So, as we drove on through the mountains to our next destination, all three of us pulled off bits of hot bread to nibble on. It was delicious.

Mountain towns around Iskander Kul, Tajikistan

Driving out of Iskander Kul, the unmade road presented a lot of challenges for our driver. The rain had caused washouts and we had to navigate huge water-filled potholes, and many rockslides off the mountains, as well as roaming stock. But he took it slowly which gave us time to look at the precariously perched mountain villages that we’d missed on the way down to the lake because of the rain. Eventually, we reached the dangerous M-34 road again.

The sinister Anzob Tunnel on the M-34 road, Tajikistan

But the M-34 felt particularly dangerous when we reached the Tunnel of Death aka the Anzob or Istiqlol Tunnel, a 5-km long tunnel sitting at 2,700 m above sea level. Said to be one of the most dangerous in the world, it is shockingly pitch-black inside with no road markings, appalling carbon monoxide fumes, water-filled potholes that drivers swerve to miss, and drivers that overtake without regard for oncoming traffic! It was a scary 20 minutes in there, and we drove out of it into blind fog. What a drive!

 

Clean tree-lined street in Dushanbe, capital of Tajikistan

Finally we arrived in Dushanbe, which dates back to the 3rd century as a trading town. Now days, it’s the capital and largest city of Tajikistan (pop 1.2 m in 2022). Dushanbe was a pleasant surprise to us. It seemed to be a quite cosmopolitan city, with clean and wide tree-lined streets, and a lively foodie scene.

Diversity of architecture in Dushanbe, capital of Tajikistan

It also has a diversity of architecture and heaps of cranes working the city. We counted 19 just from our hotel window. It seems that the government of Dushanbe is trying to eradicate their old Soviet-era buildings to make way for modern ones. Unfortunately, this has sometimes been done through forced evictions or illegal demolitions, and a disregard for heritage buildings. We could see the changes with modern skyscrapers alongside soviet style, or stylish but older buildings.

Rohat tea house, Dushanbe, Tajikistan

On our rambles around Dushanbe, we visited many parks, saw lots of interesting buildings and had several interesting meals. On one walk, we visited the famous Rohat tea house that has just been saved from the Dushanbe government's demolition drive to update the city. Built in the Soviet era to replicate a valued meeting place of earlier Tajik history, the tea house is an open, two-storey building, hand-painted in Tajik motifs. It is beautiful, and we enjoyed a cuppa there.

Kurushi Kabir Park, Dushanbe, Tajikistan

Dushanbe is rich in greenspaces, and we really enjoyed walking in the shade of the street trees in the heat of the day. Parks abound, and are lit up at night. The locals come out in droves in the evening and it seems very safe as children are playing around the parks until after 10:00 pm. Our hotel was opposite Kurushi Kabir Park, and we had a few meals in the park’s restaurant while enjoying watching the locals at play.

The president's photo is on many buildings in Dushanbe, Tajikistan

While in the capital, we learned more about Tajikistan’s background. Tajikistan is a very poor country, ruled by an authoritarian president who has been in power since 1994, after a civil war that followed Tajikistan’s independence from the USSR. He and his government have been accused of gross corruption and many forms of human rights abuses. His photo can be seen on many of Tajikistan's buildings.

People seen in Tajikistan

On our travels, we always note the local clothing. Tajikistan is a Muslim country, but the Soviets tried to eradicate Islamic traditions by banning beards for men and the wearing of "oppressive clothing" like veils or the hijab for women. The Tajik government has since re-enforced the Soviet approach. They failed to eradicate the religion but women now tend to wear a version of Islamic tunic, long pants and head-covering, while for men it’s a simple jacket, shirt and tie, but no beard.

The mountains seen from Dushanbe, Tajikistan

It’s now time to leave Tajikistan but we’ve really enjoyed it here. Tajikistan people seem the friendliest so far on this trip, the produce in the bazaars is always beautifully fresh and vibrant looking, breakfasts are a feast with lots of little dishes laid out for each person, cutlery is mostly a spoon and fork but in some places there is none, and all the places we visited were clean. We are now looking forward to visiting Kyrgyzstan, but that’s in the next blog.

This blog is one in a series about our travels along the Silk Road of Central Asia.