Pamir Highway in Dushanbe, Tajikistan
The M41, known informally and more commonly as the Pamir Highway is a road traversing the Pamir Mountains through Afghanistan, Uzbekistan,
Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan in Central Asia.
It is the only continuous route through the difficult terrain of the mountains and serves as the main supply route to Tajikistan's Gorno-Badakhshan
Autonomous Region.
The route has been in use for millennia, as there are a limited number of viable routes through the high Pamir Mountains.
The road formed one link of the ancient Silk Road trade route.
M41 is the Soviet road number, but no road number is generally signposted along the road today, only destinations.
The ultimate guide to taking a road trip on the “roof of the world” – the Pamir Highway.
Basketball-sized stones rained down on us from the roadside cliffs above.
The earth shook violently, and the sound of exploding dynamite echoed down the valley.
We stopped in our tracks and stared fearfully across the narrow Pamir River. 30m from us was Afghanistan’s Badakhshan province,
which was currently under the attack of Taliban rebels.
We looked at Mohammed and waited for his instructions.
Our guide simply laughed.
“The Afghans are building a road.”
The Pamir Highway is one of the world’s greatest road trips.
Unofficially starting in Mazar-e-Sharif in Afghanistan and unofficially ending in Osh in Kyrgyzstan,
this captivating route was once part of the historic Silk Road.
Weaving between soaring mountains and along sprawling desert, the trek that today makes up the majority of people’s exploration connects Osh to
Khorog, a small town in the heart of the Pamir Mountains.
Highway M41 rises over the second highest border crossing in the world and hits the border of Tajikstan and Afghanistan before cutting in on a direct
route to Khorog.
At this point most people continue along the border and into the infamous Wakhan Valley, flanked by the Pamir Mountains on one side,
and the Hindu Kush on the other.
No images or stories can prepare you for just how beautiful the Wakhan Corridor is.
For as many days as you care to take you traverse the fine line between two misunderstood nations.
Tajikistan is more remembered for its civil war and as a major heroin trade route than anything else.
The problems of Afghanistan are well-documented and often overstated.
Still in this narrow passage all one can think about is how surreal its scenery is.
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