Acclimatization Guide for Tajikistan’s High Routes

This guide to acclimatizing to Tajikistan’s high routes applies to any person wanting to spend any significant time at high altitude. But not that we are not doctors, nor are we medical professionals or people with experience in high altitude search and rescue. You will need to do your own additional research, and consult a doctor or someone who works at high altitude with tourists.

*The information below is for trekker and hikers, not for mountain climbers.*

If this is your first time at such a high altitude (above 4000 meters, and even a few passes over 5000 meters), or your first time at high altitude while under difficult conditions (example: hiking with a heavy backpack), then do some reading on high altitude trekking and the chances of coming down with altitude sickness. You can read short introductory articles on altitude sickness here, here and here.

However, if you do reading online about trekkers and hikers getting altitude sickness, ignore most of the stories from Nepal, as the “rescues” there are mostly a not-so-elaborate insurance scam involving corrupt local guides, medical clinics and Nepalese helicopter companies. As for Mount Kilimanjaro, tourists arrive with no previous acclimatization and then, due to their rushed schedules, don’t spend enough time acclimatizing. Similarly, ignore the stories of Russian mountain climbers being helicopter rescued in Tajikistan. Many of them fly from Russia with a short period of vacation time and with plans to get to high altitude, not to spend numerous days slowing gaining altitude. They know exactly what they are doing, and they take a calculated risk. But they are people on a tight schedule and with plans to go above 6000 meters, so their experiences don’t apply very much to a trekker or hiker.

The good news for acclimatizing to high altitudes in the Pamir mountains of eastern Tajikistan is that the journey to get there is slow and scenic, so you can enjoy yourself while slowly acclimatizing.

Acclimatization Guide to the Pamir Mountains (eastern Tajikistan)

If you are coming straight from Dushanbe to the Pamirs (or to Chimtarga Pass in the Fann Mountains), then you are not acclimatized, and it will be a while before you are (meaning very slow progress, and then an attempt to do very difficult and technical passes while possibly being dizzy and sick if you go up in elevation too quickly).

If you are coming from Osh in Kyrgyzstan (the standard Pamir Highway starting point) and you have plans for going well above 4000 meters up to 5000 meters, then I highly suggest doing at least part of this acclimatization itinerary between Kyrgyzstan and Khorugh/Khorog (which is also a very nice trip, but you’ll need your own driver):

1. Peak Lenin: leave Osh very early in the morning and drive straight to the Tulparkul Lake yurt camp near Peak Lenin (skipping the village of Sary Mogol) and do a half-day hike to the Traveller’s Pass (4150 meters) viewpoint of Peak Lenin and back (it’s easy with no heavy bag). If you haven’t previously been at higher altitudes elsewhere in Kyrgyzstan, then you should probably arrive from Osh later in the day and spend a night first at the yurt camp before going up the 4150 meters pass the next day.

*Cross border to Tajikistan*

2. Qarokul (Karakul) Lake: After crossing the border into Tajikistan, spend the night in one of the many guesthouses in the village of Qarokul (Karakul) (3930 meters), go for a long walk by the lake, or get your driver to drop you off (and wait for you) at the South Aral Peak hike (4275 meters). Very few drivers are familiar with this hike, so it may take some effort explaining it.

3. Murghob (Murgab): early departure from Qarokul, drive over the Akbaytal Pass (4655 meters) to a Murghob guesthouse, drop off your baggage and depart immediately for the Gumbezkul Pass (4731 meters) day hike, or plan for two nights in Murghob and take a full day to do the hike. Your driver will drop you off and pick you up on the other side of the pass at the end of the day. This should be relatively easy without a heavy trekking bag on your back. The route is on the OsmAnd map app. More info on the Gumbezkol hike in the article on Tajikistan’s High Routes.

4. Bulunkul (optional overnight stay at 3750 meters).

5. Drive through the Khargush Pass (4344 meters) on your way to the Wakhan Corridor. About 4km south of the pass is a hike (referred to as Panorama Ridge) that starts from the road. The drivers all know about it (and use some version of “Panorama“ when referring to it). Starting from about 4270 meters, you hike up to “Hausibek’s Viewpoint“ (the driver’s don’t know this name) at about 4765 meters, and then back down. The viewpoint gives you a view of Afghanistan. The trail is clear on the OsmAnd map app.

6. Wakhan Corridor: stay in the village of Zong or Hisor (not in Langar) and do the day hike to the meadows (~4000 meters) below Peaks Marx and Engels. The hike up from Zong is way easier and more enjoyable (and the guesthouses there are reviewed more favorably). On the way back you can then go straight down to Langar, viewing the petroglyphs along the way, and then the shrine in Langar. From Langar you can either walk to Zong or Hisor on the road, or go through the farmland and hamlets north of the road for a more enjoyable walk.

7. Khorugh: go to Khorugh, AKA Khorog (with an optional overnight stop in between at Vrang, Yamchun or Ishkoshim) and find a hostel or guesthouse that will store your extra baggage while you then do your planned high route. Khorugh is a decent place to rest for a couple of days, use the internet (the first chance since Kyrgyzstan) and buy food for your hike (better than village stores, but not as good as Dushanbe or Bishkek).

If any of these hikes listed above in the acclimatization itinerary were too difficult in terms of fitness or technically (for example, you were making slow progress because you couldn’t get good footing or you kept slipping and falling, or you found it too steep or rocky), then you should not attempt any of the high routes listed on this website.

Acclimatization Guide to the mountains of western Tajikistan (Fann, Zarafshon, etc.)

If you are coming from high altitudes in the Pamirs or from Kyrgyzstan, then you are ready for everything in western Tajikistan (expect Chimtarga Pass). If you just arrived in Dushanbe from low altitudes, then you need to commit to slowly gaining altitude on some routes. This is actually quite pleasant, as the scenery and camping at mid-altitudes is excellent in western Tajikistan. And if you feel yourself getting sick, it is quite easy to quickly lose altitude in the steep mountains of western Tajikistan as their valleys are far, far lower than those of the eastern Pamirs. All of the routes listed on this website for western Tajikistan will provide an optional acclimatization itinerary. All the medical rescues I know of are in the Pamirs, and none in the Fann Mountains.

Managing mild altitude sickness

If you are worried about elevation sickness, then head down to your doctor’s office and ask for a prescription for Acetazolamide (branded as Diamox in the US). It can prevent and reduce the severity of symptoms. More info here.