What is the Takali Mountain Knot?
The name of this website/project is taken from a mountainous region of Tajikistan. This is the first area where I started intensive mapping and research.
However, Takali is not a term used by local people for this area. There is no unified local name for this area in the map of Tajikistan. The name is an invention of Russian cartographers who needed a name in this location for the "mountain knot," which is where several mountain ranges meet. In the case of the Takali Mountain Knot, it is the area where three mountain ranges meet: the eastern Zarafshon range, the eastern Hisor (Gissar) range, and the Qarotegin range.
Takali does not make an appearance on any publicly available maps, aside from in old Soviet geography textbooks. The only people still using this term are trekking and climbing groups from Russia and other post-Soviet countries. They have superficially mapped the area (with an emphasis on advanced mountaineering routes) and classified its peaks and passes, and they use "Takali" to organize information on the area, which they refer to in Russian as "Район Горный узел Такали."
Where is the name Takali from? There is a centrally located mountain peak, glacier and river that all use this name, and that's likely where the cartographers got the name. The only locals who will recognize the name will be shepherds in the upper Yaghnob Valley (Gulboz) who know of the Takali River (a tributary to the Yaghnob River).
The maps below show exactly what Takali is, and where it is. Click on the images to enlarge for better viewing.
To start with, all mountains of Tajikistan are within the broader Pamir and Pamir-Alay mountain range. In Tajikistan, "Pamir" or "The Pamirs" refers to the eastern mountains in the GBAO (Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast), itself general referred to locally as 'Pamir.' Pamir-Alay, while not widely used in tourism or by local people, refers to the mountains of western Tajikistan: Turkestan Range, Alay Range, Zarafshan Range (including Fann Mountains) Hisor (Gissar) Range and the Qarotegin range, as well as other lesser ranges.
The Takali Mountain Knot is within the Pamir-Alay mountain range, specifically in the area where the Zarafshon (Zeravshan), Hisor (Gissar), and the Qarotegin (Karategin) ranges meet.
Takali on its own, with a tourist-centric categorizing of mountain ranges. Note that the Eastern Turkestan Range was once a regularly visited climbing and trekking region in Soviet times, but is now a restrictive border zone with Kyrgyzstan (see comments below). The western Hisor (Gissar) range includes most of the day-trips from Dushanbe (Karatag, Shirkent, Siyoma, etc.) The Fann mountains are the place to go if you want a predictable, easy to access (but occasionally crowded) experience.
Regarding the ranges in the map above, the eastern Turkestan range is the border with Kyrgyzstan. This is a closed region, and an expensive and time-consuming permit is required to approach from the Kyrgyz side (namely, the Karavshin Gorge). Don't expect to easily visit the Tajik side of the eastern Turkestan range. There is a border patrol post in the upper Zeravshan (on the right bank, the north side of the river), and they may not allow you to go further up the valley. The western-most parts of the Hisor range is the border with Uzbekistan, and there are border patrol posts that have occasionally been difficult in the past (specifically in the Karatag/Qarotogh and Shirkent valleys). Meanwhile, as is well known, a permit (easy to get) is required to visit the Pamirs, and the Afghan and Chinese border areas need to be contended with (and additional permits are required for certain lakes and national parks there).
Takali has no such problems: there are no international borders, nor regions that require a permit or fee. The only places that may offer some difficulty are in some obscure industrial areas, such as the Chinese gold mine that blocks the entrance/exit to the Pokrud river valley (easily avoidable with alternate routes). The only obstacles are geographic: high water in rivers and snow in high passes. Also a factor is the lack of tourist infrastructure: few guesthouses and unpredictable transportation on the rural mountain roads. Lack of Tajik and Russian language skills will also slow you down on your way to the trailhead. Best time to visit? It depends. If you stick to lower elevations (Khanako River hike, lower Yaghnob, Eastern Zeravshan valleys) you can hike as early as May-June-July (but beware that May still has high spring precipitation, and you may get rained on a lot at lower elevations during this month). If you want to go through the high passes, then August and September is the best time (I prefer waiting until mid-August).
Read here for advice on how to survive in the mountains here.
For smartphone and paper maps, click here.
Suggested treks can be found here. For some seriously difficult exploring in the Takali Mountain Knot, read this. For a list of mountain passes not described in our list of suggested treks, click here.
For practical info on how to get to the trailheads, read this.