Information about my 1,300-km trek across Tajikistan
Start date of trip: 6th June 2025. Article publication date: 17th April 2026.
If you are looking for information on hiking the Pamir Trail, your first stop should be the official website. I’ve contributed all my general notes there. The purpose of this page is to record additional details, specific to my hike, which do not belong in a general guidebook, but may still be helpful for your planning.
If you’re interested in stories about the Pamir Trail, I’ve written an article for Volume 35 of Sidetracked Magazine, and I am working on some maps, blog posts and podcasts (follow my mailing list or social media accounts for updates on these).
I hiked the Pamir Trail across Tajikistan, north-bound, in the summer of 2025. I started in Vrang, on the Afghan border, on July 16th, and finished in Shing, near the Uzbek border, on September 5th, after 52 days, including three rest days. According to my GPS, I walked 1,400.0 km and ascended 66,000 m, giving daily averages of 27 km and 1,300 m, but GPS tends to exaggerate. I walked solo with no support; I bought food from village shops. I used no other forms of transport. In Section 8, I followed the ‘Bardara Diversion’, as solo hikers are forbidden from visiting Lake Sarez. I took Section 6B, instead of 6A, which was the most difficult part of the walk, but avoided road transportation.
Hiking the Pamir Trail was part of a larger summer adventure. Starting in Beijing in early June, I travelled all the way to Tajikistan and then onwards to the UK without flying. Here’s a summary of my itinerary:
| Month | Dates | Description |
|---|---|---|
| July | 6th–14th | Crossed China: Beijing–Lanzhou–Urumqi–Kashgar by train, then to Tashkurgan by minivan. |
| 14th–15th | Crossed into Tajikistan at the Kulma Pass, and continued to the trailhead, each time via shared taxis: Tashkurgan–Kalasu–Murghab–Khorog–Vrang. | |
| 16th–20th | Started my north-bound Pamir Trail hike in Vrang. Crossed the Vrang Pass (5,010 m). Finished Stage 9 at Bachor. | |
| 20th–25th | Hiked Stage 8 via the Bardara Diversion, as solo hiking is forbidden via Sarez Lake. Finished stage at the Bartang River. | |
| 25th–30th | Hiked Stage 7, to Vanj, including a rest day in Rushon. | |
| 31st– | Hiked Stage 6B. The hardest section of the hike, with a very difficult pass and river crossings. Finished the stage in Vahdat (Jirgatol). Shoes repaired. | |
| August | 9th | |
| 11th–14th | After a rest day, hiked Stage 5, passing Navobod. | |
| 14th–19th | Hiked Stage 4, arriving in Langar. During this stage, my tent became flooded, destroying my camera, and I was ill. Two bear sightings. | |
| 20th–23rd | Hiked Stage 3. Experienced rain for the only time on the hike. Arrived in Margheb. | |
| 25th–31st | After a rest day in Margheb, hiked Stage 2, including a night at the quirky Khoja Obi Gharm Sanatorium. Arrived at Sary-Tagh. | |
| September | 1st–5th | Hiked Stage 1. The Chimtarga Circuit was a beautiful denouement. Finished the Pamir Trail at Shing, after 52 days on the trail. |
| 6th | Exited Tajikistan to Samarkand (Uzbekistan) shortly before my 60-day visa expired. | |
| 9th–16th | After resting in Samarkand, I went by train to Almaty (Kazakhstan) and visited a friend. | |
| 16th–21st | Rode the three-night train from Almaty to Saratov (Russia). See this Caravanistan thread for details. Then south by train: Saratov–Volgograd–Mineralny Vady–Vladikavkaz. I took a shared taxi from Vladikavkaz to Tbilisi. | |
| 22nd | Train across Georgia: Tbilisi–Batumi. | |
| 23rd | Batumi–Sarp–Hopa (Turkey) by minivan, then bus to Erzurum. | |
| 24th–26th | I crossed Turkey by train: Erzurum–Ankara–Istanbul. | |
| 26th– | Crossed Europe by train: Istanbul–Veliko Tarnovo (Bulgaria)–Bucharest (Romania)–Vienna (Austria)–Frankfurt (Germany)–Brussels (Belgium)–London (UK). | |
| October | 1st |
I used my standard summer hiking gear list. I didn’t bring full crampons (only micro-spikes) or an ice-axe, although in some places, an axe would have made me safer. Based on the official notes, I brought a 30-watt charging system. In fact, I brought a MacBook charging block and cable with a ‘continental Europe’ adaptor, but this was probably heavier than necessary.
Around half-way, in Jirgatol, I had my shoes repaired. There I also bought a SIM card, which worked for about 20 days, but only provided internet access very rarely.
I spent 53 nights on the Pamir Trail, including the night before I started, and the evening I finished. Of these, 34 were spent wild camping, 11 in homestays, five in hotels, and three in private homes. I did not arrange any re-supply drops; instead I bought food from village shops. The villagers grow most of their own food, which means that the shops are not very well stocked. I often felt quite hungry. I made the most of the generous, delicious meals served in homestays and private houses. Wherever possible, I tried to boost my dried goods with local produce, for example: bread, honey, and qurut. Shepherds often offered to feed me as well, although if you accept this, it’s best to try to repay them. Water is quite abundant along the trail, and I rarely carried more than one litre in reserve.
I spent an average of 14 USD per day, for 52 days, a total of 720 USD. This included 13 nights of paid accommodation, averaging 25 USD (typically with dinner and accommodation), 90 USD of additional meals (typically costing 7 USD), 130 USD of park fees (at around 12 USD per day), around 140 USD of re-supply food (typically 10–20 USD per 3–4 day stretch), plus other costs like my Garmin subscription and SIM card. There is also the cost of getting to and from the trail, but, since I did not follow a standard route, I won’t write up the costs of that part. Suffice to say, if you are on a budget, shared community taxis are not too expensive.
See also more links in some of my ‘related articles’ below.