Varzob to Ziddi Trek

This report covers the 2-3 day hike from the Varzob gorge just north of Dushanbe to the Ziddi Valley to the north over the eastern Hisor Mountain range (also known as the Sanginavishta range). The starting point is the village of Hushyori and the end point is the village of Ziddi (also known as “Kalon“). The main pass is the Kulol-Sangalt Pass.

Why do this hike?

1. The starting point is very close to Dushanbe.

2. It gets you halfway to the Yaghnob Valley, with the section from Ziddi to Yaghnob being much easier.

3. As an alternate route on the Pamir Trail.

4. It ends in the village of Ziddi (restock on food, onward car transportation).

Why would you not want to do this hike?

1. The north side has some snow and ice to cross, especially earlier in the summer. So July may involve some snow travel, some of it in steep areas (meaning crampons and an ice ax are a good idea).

2. It’s not as spectacular, accessible and easy as the nearby Fann Mountains.

3. Unclear trail in many locations, especially up high. Rough trails and very rocky in places.

4. No guesthouses anywhere on this route.

5. Aggressive shepherd dogs and camps will be more common here than in the Pamirs or the Fann Mountains.

6. Total isolation on a route that nobody visits (shepherds stay below the grass line, and do not go through the pass).

Alternate routes: The Pamir Trail project is attempting to find a route across this same ridge, but probably further east. Check their website for updates.

The video above is from a 3-day hike (September 1st to 3rd, 2021). This is a time of maximum snow melt. We only had to walk on an easy and safe short section of the glacier on the north side of the pass. The rest was on rock or trail. Hiking in July or earlier may require crampons and an ice ax.

Trip Report

Location: The hike starts in the village of Hushyori, on the main highway north of Dushanbe. The Pamir Trail also goes through Hushyori, so you may be coming from the Iskandarkul/Saratoq(Sarytag) area (a 6-7 day hike to this point). You should have your map app open to follow the advice and route given below (preferably the OsmAnd map app).

The hike: Minimum two full days of hiking, but probably three.

Transportation: If coming from the Fann Mountains and arriving in Hushyori, you will probably be wanting to go to Dushanbe to restock on food and charge batteries. Go to the southern part of Hushyori along the main road and look for taxi drivers waiting around - or stand by the road and put your hand out (a low wave, not a thumbs up). A single seat should be about 25 Somoni (2021 prices) from Hushyori to the Vodonasos Bazaar. This is where the local drivers will be going. But if you hitch a ride from someone just passing through, they may be headed for the western part of Dushanbe, and away from the center (where most tourist accommodation is). To hire a local driver to leave immediately (e.g., not in a shared ride with other people), expect to pay about 100 Somoni to Vodonasos Bazaar (2021 price, to adjust for weakening Somoni, consider the price to be $10). Once you arrive in the Vodonasos area, go to the southwest corner of the main intersection (in front of the #185 building on the map). Here you will find shared taxis with a #3 sign in their windows (or just holding up 3 fingers at you). Current price (early 2022): 7 Somoni, but just give them 10 since they will have to help you put in and take out your backpack and deal with a dusty, smelly, sweaty mountain traveler. The #3 cars go south all the way along Rudaki Avenue to the train station. Just stay “stop“ when you want to get out. You can walk to many guesthouses, hotels and hostels from Rudaki Avenue. I prefer “City Hostel“ as it is close to Rudaki Avenue and to the “Rudaki Plaza“ supermarket (in the area of the Pedagogical University).

For Dushanbe-to-Hushyori, you can again take the #3 shared taxi, this time going north (just walk to Rudaki Avenue and wave at them when you see the #3). The Vodonasos area is its final destination. Once here, avoid the long-distance drivers (Khujand and Panjkanet) and the tourist drivers (usually yelling “Iskandarkul!“ at you) and walk to the north side of the street across from the Vodonasos Bazaar to the taxi stand marked as “Shared Taxis to Varzob“ on the map. Varzob refers to many destination in the Varzob gorge. You may not find a Hushyori driver, but you will very likely find a driver who will take your 100 Somoni to take you to Hushyori. Note: the locations for drivers/taxis do occasionally change.

Camping: Somewhat awkward, as there are limited good spots for camping (due to the steepness, rockiness and narrowness of the gorge). We did a half-day hike from Hushyori to the 1900 meter camp, and then the next day did a full-day hike through the pass and to the flat grassy area at about 3600 meters (flat, grassy and with good water, but cold). If you stop anywhere in between you will be on a rough, rocky area not well-suited to comfortable sleeping and tent-pitching. This requires a long and fast day, especially later in the summer when the days get shorter.

The Trail (southside): From Hushyori to the shepherd and firewood cutter camp at about 2080 meters is a very clear trail. Afterwards you cross a small footbridge (that may be destroyed and not rebuilt - it doesn’t look like a permanent bridge - you may have to ford the small river). From here you start to hike above the gorge in a forest. There are multiple livestock trails here that appear and disappear and often run parallel to each other. You may be having to push your way through some brush and branches, depending on the route you end up on.

By the time you get to the waterfall at 2350 meters, there will be no more trees or brush and the trail will transition to high altitude grassland and low vegetation. Here you will find multiple grazing trails made by the sheep. By 3300 meters it will be mostly open terrain, and the multiple faint trails will be going in directions that you don’t want to be going, as you will be heading straight up to the pass.

The Pass

The vast majority of passes in Tajikistan have names that only exist in mountains climbers’ databases and on digital maps (such as Open Street Map data). A pass has a local name only if shepherds go through it or if people use it or used it to visit a neighboring valley. “Kulol-Sangalt Pass“ is merely descriptive (it connects the Kulol gorge to the Sangalt gorge). If a shepherd asks where you are going, just give the name of the village on the other side of the mountains (“Ziddi“). Nobody uses this pass. The shepherds stay on their side of the pass, and there is a major north-south highway just to the west for people wanting to go to Ziddi.

Kulol-Sangalt Pass is not technical on the south side, you will be able to walk up without putting your hands down. It’s hiking over rock and grass, not scrambling. Choose your approach, as the terrain is wide-open. The south-facing slope should be snow free as early as the first week of July (not including the bottom of the gorge where snow accumulates from spring avalanches, but where you will not be hiking). However, the entire Hisor range follows the same pattern: ice-free south slope, and then glaciers on the north side. There is a small glacier on the north side that you will need to walk on (it was safe and easy in the first week of September). But in July and perhaps into early August there may still be plenty of snow on the north side slopes, not just on the glaciers. This may require crampons and an ice ax for the steep sections. My advice: if you were able to easily do Mura Pass (the pass between Iskandarkul/Saratoq(Sarytag) and Hushyori, then you should be OK to do Kulol-Sangalt Pass.

From Kulol-Sangalt pass you will head directly towards Sangi Siyoh Pass (same elevation, but you need to go down and then up, losing some elevation). Sangi Siyoh is a descriptive name (meaning “Black Rock“), as the ridge you cross over has a visible black rock layer. The area transitions from walking on snow/ice, to walking over some loose scree/talus. Basically it’s a steep rock field with rocks that move under your feet. There was no rockfall when we were here in September, but I can not guarantee that there won’t be any falling rock when the snow and ice above you is melting earlier in the summer.

The next ridge you cross over is given another descriptive name: Piryakhho Pass (Glaciers Pass, as it is in between two glaciers). This is an easy ridge, but steep and slow on the west side.

The trail (northside): The approach to Kulol-Sangalt Pass from the south takes you occasionally across or on a faint sheep trail. But on the northside of the Kulol-Sangalt Pass there is no more grass, and no more sheep grazing (not until further below at about 3300 meters). You won’t see any more trails, except for in the passes themselves where there are some signs that ibex cross the ridge at a choke-point. It is very rocky. The rocks are often loose. These rocks are smaller rocks (small enough that you could lift most of them up). But at the bottom of the steep section below Piryakhho Pass you will have to go through a glacial moraine section with massive boulders. Some people navigate this sort of terrain easily, and some take forever. There may be an occasional boulder that moves under your feet. After the stream crossing at 3350 meters, you should have no more problems. A steep section starts, but it is a grassy area and you will be mostly on a sheep trail for the steep descent. After the shepherd camps at 2800 meters you will have to walk on some loose rocks and through the weeds. It is not pleasant. The rocks are small, but moving underneath your feet (and the sheep trails appear and disappear). By the time you are at 2550 meters the terrain turns more so to soft dirt and easy trails as you go up an over a ridge to avoid the giant coal mine operation (the goal is the 2615 meter pass above to the west of the coal mine - it likely has a name given by the shepherds, but we didn’t find out what it’s called). Between this pass and the village of Ziddi the route alternates between a very clear trail, and open grassy fields. It’s a very pleasant area.

River crossings: I never took off my boots once. There were either bridges, or a quick hop from rock to rock (see the video above). But this was in early September after all the snow had melted. Earlier in the year you may have some unpleasant river/stream crossings (especially later in the day). But the shepherds are able to easily get everywhere they need to in this area. So you should be able to find some place to cross.

Drinking water: This is a livestock grazing area, so you should filter or treat your water. The main river was clear (not silty) when we visited in early September. But if it is silty, then you won’t be able to put it through a filter. So bring some sort of chemical treatment. That being said, my local friends drank directly from the river with no problems. There are also side streams and an occasional spring with clear water (check the map to plan for springs and streams to restock water). On the south side of the pass there is no more water above 3300 meters (not until you reach the camping spots at 3600 meters on the north side of the pass). The next waterless section is further down on the north side, between the 2800 meter shepherd camp and the ‘Obiborik’ stream after the 2615 meter pass to the west of the coal mine. But we were there in the dry season, and we crossed many dry streams that may have water flowing earlier in the summer. I can’t imagine ever needing to carry more than 2 liters of water here.

Transportation from Ziddi: In the village of Ziddi you should be able to find a spot in a shared taxi or minibus heading to Dushanbe. Usually, these drivers leave in the morning and return later in the day. We arrived at about 5pm, so we needed to talk to a shopkeeper who called a taxi driver for us to negotiate with (most people have a driver’s number in their phone contacts). I forget how much we paid, but the driver honestly said that he won’t find any passengers for the return trip as it would be too late in the day and that he would return empty. So I think we had to pay about 200 Somoni ($20 at the 2021 exchange rate, but keep in mind that my local Tajik friends did the negotiating). I’m not sure where the taxis congregate earlier in the day for the trip to Dushanbe.

Onward to the Yaghnob valley: your can restock on food in the village stores in Ziddi (but not very good selection: ramen, dry noodles, chocolate/candy, etc…) and then walk up the Ziddi river gorge (combining roads and sheep trails). You can then rejoin with the Pamir Trail and go past the Leilakul lakes (Loylakul) and then over the Akhbakul Pass (Kul Pass) to the Yaghnob valley. There is a more direct route to the village of Margheb (the starting point for visiting the Yaghnob, and home to three tourist guesthouses): the Qaratabon Pass. I have not been through this pass, but it seems like easy open terrain.

Warnings: Stinging yugan, aggressive shepherd dogs, rockfall, isolation.

Expect the stinging Yugan plant to be present in early summer (when everything is green). Read our Yugan guide here (sorry, many of the photos are Facebook links, requiring you to be signed into Facebook, but the article has many links to photos elsewhere). Solution: in the green season of early summer don’t wear shorts or short sleeves, and wear gloves. I think you will encounter yugan on the southside between 2000 meters and 2500 meters, and on the northside between the 2800 meter shepherd camp and for a while after the 2615 meter pass that you take to avoid the coal mine. We visited in the dry season, when the dried-out yugan plants can’t sting you.

Shepherd guardian dogs are a seldom encounter in the Fann Mountains and in the Pamirs. But the Hisor/Hissar mountain range is very grassy on both the south and north slopes, attracting many shepherds to this area. The dogs can be aggressive when you come close to a camp or to the flock. No tourists have been mauled or bitten (they chase and bark, but generally don’t bite unless you are a bear or wolf), but the encounter is scary. Sorry, Tajikistan’s mountains are not a place for people with a phobia of dogs.

How to deal with aggressive dogs? You can go around them if the terrain allows (e.g., to avoid a shepherd camp), you can wait for the shepherd if he is nearby (he will escort you through the flock or past the camp), and if they chase you, then swing a stick or trekking pole (they think it’s a heavy shepherd stick and it intimidates them) and/or throw rocks. I don’t aim to hit them, I just toss it in their direction and show them a rock in my hands (this also intimidates them). But I have had two dog encounters where nothing worked (in one case we just had to ran away from their camp until the dogs were satisfied that we were far enough away, and in the other encounter a shepherd sprinted to get in between me and the dog).

We saw no shepherd dogs in the first week of September on this hike, as the grass was dried out and already eaten. But there were signs of many sheep having been there recently (probably well into August).

There may possibly be a section with a rockfall danger in the earlier part of the summer (for a couple hundred meters just north of the Kulol-Sangalt Pass). This is a common danger along the Hisor mountain range (same for Mura Pass, and likely also for Dushokha Pass to the east). One trip report is not enough to accurately assess the rockfall danger. Visit at your own risk.

Isolation. You can see the locations of the shepherd camps on the maps. Above the last camps don’t expect to see anybody, as no tourists visit here. And the shepherds leave this area by later summer (we met nobody until we were almost in the village of Ziddi).

The Map

This entire route has been mapped on Open Street Map. So it is a fully clear route on the OsmAnd map app (Android and iOS). Other map apps also use OSM data, but they don’t full integrate all the data into the map. OsmAnd is far superior for use in the mountains of Tajikistan (pay for the $10 upgraded version so that you have the version with updates and the contour lines and hill shading). You can download all of Tajikistan for offline use (using just the satellite GPS signals). The OsmAnd map app has many manual settings, so play around with it for a while to get the appearance and features you want. Note: the hill shading download really helps you to read the terrain once you have set up the contour/topographical/elevation lines.

Your favorite map app from home does not work as well in Tajikistan. All of them (as of 2021/2022) have some sort of fault(s) that present some danger or confusion. They are very out of date or they leave out vital information.

Tajikistan map download on OsmAnd: 51MB; Contour Lines: 625MB; Hillshade: 268MB. It’s best to do this before you get to Tajikistan (while you still have fast internet).

Note that the GPS signal gets unreliable when you are in the steeper/narrow parts of the lower Darai Kulol gorge.

Final notes: I did see at least one empty gun shell at higher elevations. So hunters do visit here. However, hunters usually go out in early winter (not too much snow to walk through, but far easier to see the wild animals against the snow).

Despite one mountain climber’s claims, this is not any sort of nature preserve, and there are no restrictions on hikers visiting (his further claims that the sheep grazing here and the bridges built by the shepherds are illegal were refuted by a government employee). The same climber posted photos of his own visits to this area. He seems to be motivated by a disdain for ethnic Tajik shepherds and European/American hikers, but he clearly feels that Russians and ethnic-Russians should have full access to this region as their own personal playground. Others clearly ignore him, and more casual day hikers from Dushanbe do visit the lower part of the Darai Kulol gorge, and some people do drive through the coal mine to do some hiking in the Sangalt gorge.

To be clear, I am not referring to the Russian climber who has made the most important contributions to mountain maps for tourists in Tajikistan. He has published many valuable resources (maps and trip reports). Check out his early summer mountaineering trip to this area. There is some small overlap with the route, but most of it is snow/ice mountaineering that is not relevant to a hiker.

The coal mine on the north side may not want you walking through their operation (dangerous) and taking photos (it’s either annoying or makes them paranoid). That’s why there is a route mapped that avoids the mine. The detour is also the scenic and quiet route, to be clear.

Villagers in both Hushyori and Ziddi were very friendly and happy to see us, and they were more than happy to hear about our hike above their villages.