on July 29, 2025
“The Fann Mountains are part of the western Pamir-Alay mountain system in Tajikistan’s Sughd Province, between the Zarafshan Range to the north and the Gissar Range to the south. In an east-west direction, they extend from the Fan Darya to the Archimaydan River.”
A team member dropped out of the trip, visa delays, and a visa run to New Delhi for Srijan and me. We also faced a route change (and subsequent logistical changes) literally two days before the start of the trek, ‘bakshish’ on the road to get to the border, an electric pole blocking the road leading to our trailhead, and a flat tire. All of this happened before we even set foot on the trail!
If you can count on us for one thing, it’s to figure out logistics for an adventure.
When Srijan and I touched down in the historic city of Samarkand in early July, it became the starting point of HAL’s maiden trip to Central Asia. Marie, Baptiste, and Maude joined us a couple of days later. We toured the city in the hot summer, basking in its past glory (Registan—a cultural highlight), followed by good food—think of plov and shalikh—and a lavish breakfast at Antica B&B, run by Aziza and her five-star, all-women crew. Hats off to you ladies!
If we were visiting Samarkand in 1375, we would have been at the capital of the Timurid empire and at the center of an Islamic renaissance. Reading ‘The Great Game’—where Victorian Britain and Tsarist Russia fought a secret war in the lonely passes and deserts of Central Asia—helps put this (and other) historical places in perspective. On July 14th, we crossed the Uzbek-Tajik border—with the mountains of western Tajikistan in sight—not as spies, but as explorers.
Over the next twelve days, we visited traversed through different valleys in the Fann Mountains, which were part of the historic Silk Road. We camped alongside beautiful turquoise lakes like Chukurak, Kulikalon, and Alauddin. We also had opportunities to stop at a shepherd’s hut along the way for snacks which involved bread (a big part of Tajik culture), sweets, and yogurt.
The Fann Mountains are well connected with multiple trails from different directions and villages, so we saw fellow trekkers quite often, especially in and around the lakes. Back in the Soviet era, this used to be a popular playground for Russian alpinists and trekkers, and the Russian travelers we saw on the trail were a reminder of this history.
Chimtagra is the highest mountain in this area, with an altitude of 5,489m. And Chimtagra Pass (4,754m) was our highest pass on the trip, passing between Mt. Chimtagra and Mt. Energia. The downhill after the pass was gnarly, especially with loose scree and steep slopes. At one section where there was hardly any trail, a local crew member described it as a “Tajik lift”—which meant sliding downhill with the scree, your body slanted backward, trying to balance while the rocks moved beneath you!
There are many incredible people to thank for making this trip happen—especially our local crew, led by Hikmat and Alfred. Also, Rabi, Sunil, Vijay, Tajik Ambassador to India Mr. Lukmon, Mystic Holidays (our ticketing partner), and Jan Bakker, co-author of the “Trekking in Tajikistan” guidebook.
Jebo Tajikistan you have our heart and we will be back! Rakhmaat.
I will let the pictures (below) speak of our adventure from here on. All the fun was sponsored by ‘The Goat Killers.’ P.S. no goats were harmed in coming up with the team name.
#WorldFastpackSeries #HALexpeditions #tajikistan #uzbekistan
