Hi! Hey. We've just arrived in the Fann Mountains in northern Tajikistan
we just drove up through six of the seven lakes in the Haft Kul
my cheeks hurt I've been smiling so much
I'm so excited for this trek. What we doing?
We're gonna be trekking for the next 8 or 9 days through the Fann Mountains
From what we've seen so far I have a feeling this is gonna be one of the most spectacular treks we've ever done
Seriously, my cheeks hurt so much
Day 1, starting
That's us set up camp
we decided to camp by the river just below the 7th Lake
It is stunning here, really really spectacular
like, I'm SO excited for the next, what, 9 days
where we're just gonna be hiking around here
It is....Spectacular
Dinner time. SO hungry
It's a beautiful morning here
we are setting off on our second day of trekking
Del's just getting everything packed up over there
had some breakfast, had some coffee
today we're gonna head over our first pass
Tavasang Pass I think it is
maybe a long day, not quite sure
so, we need to get cracking, we're running late as always
We stopped in the village to buy some bread
this is what we got, it's like rock solid
and I swear it must weigh over a kilogram
maybe like 1.2kg
(Del) Maybe 1.5
Really?!
Well, I'm hoping it's soft inside
(Del) It's like a rock
Go on! Bite into it
We're just heading up to our first big pass
the Tavasang Pass
It's been quite the slog up the hill here
We've come up about 700m or something like that
but we've still got about 600m to go
The local boys have just joined us, showing us the way
It's been a hell of a climb but we've made it to the top of Tavasang Pass
a lot later than we thought we were gonna be here
we don't have too much time before sunset
so let's get down the hill as quick as we can eh, Kim?
I'm dying
It was a tough climb, it really was a tough climb
Third morning here in the Fann Mountains
we camped here last night
this beautiful spot
just sort of maybe 300m below the pass
we got in really late though
it was what, like, half an hour before it got dark?
Yeah, we got in at 730, got dark at 8
so we didn't have a lot of time, we just got set up as quick as we could
then we were eating dinner in the dark
there was a few other people camping here
I got very excited when I could see them from the top of the hill
I was like Yesss, not too far
So today, a little bit easier than yesterday
we're just heading down the valley, mostly downhill
quite gradual, just along the river so should be nice
Shall we get moving?
Yeah, the cows are coming
Alright, let's go
I think that's pretty much the steep descent from the pass over
There were some pretty hairy bits there
extremely narrow paths with unstable footing
and sheer drops down the other side
Yeah, very loose kinda dusty paths, lots of little rocks
Anyway, we've come down almost to river level
in this valley, just by the Sarymat River
and we're going to be following this valley now for the rest of the day pretty much
Looks like dusty rocky road is over
and we're into a little bit of green path now
Right, let's keep on trekkin
It's about 5.30
and we're not
as far as we'd hoped we would be today
but, doesn't matter, we're just gonna stay here, it's a nice spot
We're not on a tight schedule, so it's a good time to stop
time to set up camp
For dinner tonight we have some
Porcini Mushroom Risotto
give it a good stir
smells good
There you go
Oh my god
It's really good
Get all the way to Zimtut. Zimtut yeah...
try get there tomorrow
Day 4 on our trek today
We had not a great sleep
it was freakishly warm last night
it felt like we had underfloor heating
but, it's a beautiful morning
we got some washing done
I say we, Del did the washing
and today we are NOT climbing any passes
we need to buy some bread in the village cause we're pretty much out
and........that's about it
That's about it. Right, let's go
We made it to Zimtut, which was our target destination
It's been quite a long day
(knocking at door)
Oh, someone's coming
So we got called away for dinner there
we're staying at a homestay
We were met by a very excitable young kid
he heard there were tourists coming
so in the end we're staying here at the homestay
in a room and that's fine
because we don't have to put away the tent in the morning
and we can get ready quickly
And we got a shower
And I even had a beer, I wasn't expecting that until we got back to Dushanbe
Time to go to bed
and, eh, we'll get back to the hiking in the morning
yeah, I'm exhausted
Day 5 on our trek
we've been going for about, what, 3 hours now
left Zimtut village, went up to Guitan
and then it's just been kinda up up up up up
We've stopped for a little snack
and this is a really exciting snack for us
some dried fish from Korea
It may not sound too exciting, but we love this stuff
Anyway, we're heading up to the pass and then down to Chukurak Lake
Day 6 today
we've just woken up next to Chukurak Lake
Yesterday turned out to be another long day
We lost the trail once we came over the pass a little bit
it wasn't very clear, there was like several trails going off
Anyway, we got here
It did make us change our mind on what we're going to do today
So, Del had planned that we were gonna go up over the Chukurak Pass
But, em
I don't even wanna hear the word 'Pass' for at least another four days
Instead we're gonna go around the mountains a little
and then I think it'll be a steep climb up for a couple of hours
to get to Kulikalon Lakes but
this way we can go via the little shop
Anyway, we had a good sleep and it's a stunning place to wake up
Absolutely gorgeous
On to Kulikalon Lakes
yeah
We've arrived at Kulikalon camp
at the lake here
Today was a good day
everything went well
6 hours of hiking
it was really steep coming up but I didn't even mind it
cause it was stunning
there was a big river coming down the whole way
the views were amazing
there was those kids at the "swimming pool"
it was just a good day
So, we're gonna stay here tonight
and then tomorrow we are just gonna do a short hike to one of the nearby lakes
and stay there
we've got kinda a bit more of a relaxing time over the next few days
Yeah, no more super long days
Anyway, time to put the tent up
OK, that's your job (Del moaning)
Sorry
It's like a Swedish massage, no?
Isn't it helping? (Del) I don't need that
Right, I'm gonna put the tent up
Right, I'll do the mats
7th Day today
this is our chill out rest day
we just walked about 4 Ks or something
yeah, not much
It's like 1.30, and it's so nice to arrive at our final destination in time for lunch
so, we're just appreciating having the time to actually relax and enjoy this place
rather than just charging on charging on charging on
it's good to build in some extra days
Yeah, if you have the time it's great,
and on that note let's have lunch
We're onto our 8th Day in the Fann Mountains
this is Lake Dushakha
it's absolutely stunning
Day 9 in the Fann Mountains
It's 7.30 in the morning
we've been up since 5
packing, eating breakfast
all that jazz
It's a little chilly just now in the morning
the sun's gonna hit us fairly soon, but we're just about to head off
up, over Alauddin Pass
it's just over there
and down to the Alauddin Lakes today
We're here at gorgeous Lake Alauddin
we got here the day before yesterday
we came up over the pass just behind us there
it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it was gonna be actually
it was steep up, it was steep down
but there were no narrow paths with sharp drop offs or anything like that
so it was OK
I think it was the easiest of the three passes we've done actually
I'd been building it up in my head, and actually it was alright
So, we've had two nights here
and all that's left of our Fann Mountains trekking trip now
is a short hike down the valley to
Vertical Alauddin Camp, is that what it's called?
Something like that, Vertical Alauddin
it's about 3 or 4 kilometres down the road
We're hoping we can arrange a ride down to Iskanderkul from there
and then tomorrow, we're gonna head back to Dushanbe
It has been absolutely magnificent here
It's so different to anywhere else that we've ever been trekking before
Beautiful lakes, fantastic mountains
great trails. It's a wonderful place to come
We hope you've enjoyed seeing what this trek is like,
and following us along on the journey
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you can drop us any comments below if you've got questions
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And we'll see you next time
See you next time, bye. Bye!
Don't forget the bell. Oh yeah, don't forget the bell.