Trek The Wakhan
fromIn September 2024 we will be heading back to one of world’s most remote corners. A 21-day journey to visit the land of one of the world’s last and least visited nomadic cultures: the Kyrgyz of the Afghan Pamir.
The journey begin in Kabul before crossing by vehicle into the heart of the Hindu Kush mountains and later pass through the Wakhan Corridor to the Afghan Pamir. Encounter Kyrgyz and Wakhi nomads as you make your way through this once great section of the Silk Road by foot.
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Vacation Style Holiday Type
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Activity Level Tough
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Group Size Medium Group
A 21-day journey to visit the land of one of the world’s last and least visited nomadic cultures: the Kyrgyz of the Afghan Pamir. We will begin in Kabul before crossing by vehicle into the heart of the Hindu Kush mountains and later pass through the Wakhan Corridor to the Afghan Pamir where we will meet our guides and pack animals to continue our journey.
The middle section of this journey will be made by foot as we make our way to the summer grazing grounds of Chaqmaqtin. We will have the opportunity to encounter Kyrgyz and Wakhi nomads who graze their livestock here during the summer months, as well as seeing ancient tombs and Buddhist engravings and ancient Rock Petroglyphs, which live as a reminder of this one great section of the Silk Road. The journey will end in Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul.
Highlights:
- Arrive in Afghanistan and travel through the remote North of the country.
- Discover the culture of the Wakhi and the Kyrgyz nomads of this rarely visited corner of Central Asia
- Explore deep into territory where few outsiders have ever been
Start Point: Kabul, Afghanistan
End Point: Kabul, Afghanistan
Maximum number of people: 10
- All accommodation
- Breakfast
- All food outside the major cities
- Transport/transfers
- International guide
- Local guides
- Local cook
- Tents and camping equipment
- Pack animals
- Permits to visit the Wakhan region
- Any necessary visas
- International flights
- Insurance
- Entrance fees
- Drinks
- Tips
- Lunch and dinner (unless specified)
- Day 1 Kabul
- Day 2 Kabul – Faizabad
- Day 3 Faizabad - Ishkishim
- Day 4 Ishkishim - Qala e Panja
- Day 5 Qala e Panja - Sarhad e Broghil
- Day 6 Sarhad e Broghil - Shawr
- Day 7 Shawr - Sang e Nauishdah
- Day 8 Sang e Nauishdah - Nauabad
- Day 9 Nauabad - Ghughumdeh
- Day 10 Ghughumdeh
- Day 11 Ghughumdeh - Agbelis Pass – Kurchin
- Day 12 Kurchin - Bozai Gombaz
- Day 13 Bozai Gombaz - Chagmagtin Lake
- Day 14 Chagmagtin Lake
- Day 15 Chagmagtin Lake - Bozai Gombaz
- Day 16 Bozai Gombaz - Qala e Panja
- Day 17 Qala e Panja – Ishkishim
- Day 18 Ishkishim - Faizabad/Kunduz
- Day 19 Faizabad/Kunduz - Kabul
- Day 20 Kabul
- Day 21 Kabul - End
We do not and cannot offer a uniform accommodation standard on our itineraries. We consider comfort, location, design, character, historical interest and whether the money we spend will go into the pockets of the local community when we make our choices of where to stay.
The accommodation will be based on two people sharing a room when it is available.
When we are in the Wakhan area we will be staying in single tents and in local guesthouses that sometimes only offer central communal areas to sleep in. Pamiri style communal homes generally open-plan sleeping areas, though there are occasionally individual rooms for one or two people. At the end of the trip, we will stay in a hotel in Kabul.
- All accommodation
- All food outside the capital cities
- Breakfast in Tajikistan
- Breakfast in Kabul
- Transport/transfers
- International guide
- Local guides
- Local cook
- Tents and camping equipment
- Pack animals
- Permits to visit the Wakhan region
- Any necessary visas
- Insurance
- International flights
- Entrance fees
- Drinks
- Tips
- Lunch and dinner in Tajikistan
- Lunch and dinner in Kabul
Our trekking trips are designed to be physically engaging and do provide a level of challenge for most people. As a general guideline, we recommend that you have some prior experience walking with a 10-15kg day pack for up to 8 hours per day, over 5 or more days through uneven & varied terrain (and weather); ranging from hard-packed earth, tussock grass, boulder fields, scree slopes, soft snow patches, and knee-deep rivers.
We do not directly arrange international flights to Afghanistan. There are daily flights from Dubai to Kabul with Kam Air.
We do not arrange Afghanistan visas directly. Many embassies around the world do not issue Afghan visas. We suggest you apply in Dubai en route.
The Wakhan and Afghan Pamir regions are extremely remote and in one of the least developed countries in the world. Please ensure that your insurance covers you both for visiting Afghanistan and for rescue in the Wakhan region of Afghanistan.
If you have any questions about which insurance company to select, please contact us.
All breakfast, lunch and dinner food for the trek will be purchased in Kunduz, Faizabad or Ishkishim. Once we are on the trek, we will only be able to eat what we bring with us, or barter from people along the way. Any specific allergies or dietary requirements can be accommodated if we are given prior warning. Please feel free to bring your own energy bars/trekking snacks from home, if you want to supplement it with what we provide you.
In cities we will provide breakfast only.
We always check the vehicles we use thoroughly before each trip. In the Wakhan corridor and Afghan Pamir region of Afghanistan we aim to use four-wheel drive vehicles.
When we choose our vehicles and drivers we take into consideration the road conditions, the length of journey and the competence of the man behind the wheel. Your comfort, enjoyment and safety of the journey is the top priority.
For this trip we use team leaders from Untamed Borders who have experience guiding in the Wakhan. One of these guides will be international. In addition to these experienced leaders, we will be working with local Wakhi guides and porters who know the routes and region well.
Trips to Afghanistan do create dangers all of their own and whilst we want you to have as much freedom as possible, we must state that the tour leader has the final word with regards to changes in the itinerary for safety reasons. Whilst the route we have chosen passes through areas that we consider to be relatively stable things can change and we may have to alter the route or cancel sections of the trip at short notice.