Best Things to Do in Tajikistan

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This was a wonderful trip to a relatively unexplored part of the world. Anna made everything run very smoothly.

This was a wonderful trip to a relatively unexplored part of the world. Anna made everything run very smoothly.

It is a fascinating part of the world with layers of history going back over thousands of years. The local people were very friendly.

If you want to see classic Silk Road architecture then go to Uzbekistan.
If you want to see amazing mountain scenery then go to Kyrgyzstan.
If you want to see both of the above plus three other countries in Central
Asia, whilst experiencing a wide range of 'best of' activites plus a few off
the beaten track sights, all crammed into three hectic weeks, then the Five
Stans trip is the one for you.

My expectations were high, but this trip surpassed them.
I can't pick one, here are a selection of things that blew me away:
Surreal Ashgabat.
Beautiful Bukhara.
Samarkand. Obviously.
The night sky (and entire yurt experience) at Son Kul lake


Suzie Grant is a one woman whirlwind. She held our great group together,
looked after us all, kept our spirits up and used her natural curiousity to
help make it the best trip possible for us. It was a privilege to travel
with her.


Bear in mind that the itinerary is very 'full on' and, although I consider
myself to be relatively fit, I was quite tired by the end of the trip.

That said, I am grateful for the opportunity to do so much in such a short
period of time.


Just go.

This amazing trip was like several holidays rolled into one. From the surreal
weirdness of Ashghabat and Darvaza, through ancient archaeological sites to
the stunning monuments in Bukhara and Samarkand, through the desert to the
Afghan border then up into beautiful mountains, lakes, rivers and nomad
camps, before descending back down to the modern post-Soviet cities… every
day there was something new and wonderful to see.
So many! Ashghabat set us up with three weeks' worth of jokes; we all fell
instantly in love with Bukhara; the necropolis in Samarkand was an unexpected
delight; the drive into the Fann Mountains was a welcome return to awesome
scenery, and the whole of Kyrgyzstan was jaw-droppingly beautiful, especially
the ever-changing colours of Son Kul lake and the brilliant stars on a clear
night.


Our fantastic tour leader Ale(jandro) was a major reason for the success of
the trip - always on hand to organise things or deal with any issues,
endlessly cheerful and calm, and full of entertaining stories about his
previous trips. The local guides sometimes varied in quality, but the best
ones were truly stellar - Bek in Uzbekistan and Valentina in Kyrgyzstan in
particular were excellent.


The Tajik visa is valid for about 45 days, so allow a few days' leeway at the
start rather than trying to calculate your exact entry date (a few people got
this wrong and had to get new visas over dodgy Turkmen internet).
The Turkmen LOI can arrive very late, not the "month in advance" suggested in
the trip notes, but nobody got rejected.
Take plenty of rehydration salts even if you have bowels of steel - nearly
everyone had some troubles, and the salts are also good if you're sweating
buckets (which will definitely happen at 46 degrees!).
Learn some Russian if you can, it's spoken almost everywhere, and will help
you understand the bill at restaurants.
The transfer window at Istanbul Airport on the way home is very tight - do
whatever it takes to speed things up, whether going through the VIP security
check or hitching a ride with a motorised wheelchair (have some $$ ready to
tip the driver), as you may have over a mile to run to make it before
boarding closes - we all made it, but only just.


Make sure you have plenty of room on your camera memory card!