Photography | 06.09.2010
I had been waiting for it for months. It finally happened : in August and September, I travelled across Tajikistan. Hiking through the Pamirs, the Roof of the World, was an incredible experience in this surprising and peaceful country.
Here is a small selection of the pictures, and you can click here for the extensive gallery.
This abstract landscape was my first time looking at Afghanistan...
[Flying to Khorog, Tajikistan, August 2010]
[Flying to Khorog, Tajikistan, August 2010]
One Kyrgyz kid waiting for his dad to finish sawing the engine so we could go again...
[On the way to Yashil-kul, Tajikistan, August 2010]
[On the way to Yashil-kul, Tajikistan, August 2010]
... and what a sunrise...
[On the way to Yashil-kul, Tajikistan, August 2010]
We were thirsty and totally out of water. I walked a few kilometers down to a lake to try to get some. Unfortunately, the lake was salty. But this man showed up, and showed me a small source of absolutely pure fresh water. I asked him what he was doing, living alone there. He said he was a "traffic inspector". but there was only one small road, with probably less than one car per day using it, so I don't really know what it meant hahah...
[On the way to Yashil-kul, Tajikistan, August 2010]
now, that's where it really starts...
[On the way to Yashil-kul, Tajikistan, August 2010]
Reaching Yashil-kul.
[Yashil-kul, Tajikistan, August 2010]
[Yashil-kul, Tajikistan, August 2010]
We soon became experts at passing rivers ! Every new river, we were afraid that we would get stuck and have to turn all the way back, which, after 5 and 6 days of walking, would have been terrible.
but we were doing fine :)
[Yashil-kul, Tajikistan, August 2010]
Sunset at Yashil-kul.
[Yashil-kul, Tajikistan, August 2010]
Some rivers were a bit more difficult to cross than others. But we had different techniques. Sometimes it was better to take out the bags, jump, throw the bags from one person to the next :D
[Yashil-kul, Tajikistan, August 2010]
I wish I had the sound that goes with that picture : some NGO provided a solar panel to that family in the middle of nowhere. So they had a bit of electricity, that they used for a CD player blasting a crazy modern russian electro song... totally absurd !!
[Yashil-kul, Tajikistan, August 2010]
Our parents are gonna kill us for that picture, but we did consider another option to cross : we found these 2 cables, probably from an old bridge... we considered crossing that way, with our bags strapped behind us.
We quickly realised it was impossible though :D
[Gunt Valley, Tajikistan, August 2010]
The Gunt Valley
[Gunt Valley, Tajikistan, August 2010]
Pierre walking in the big open spaces.
[Gunt Valley, Tajikistan, August 2010]
The second part of our trip starts in Jawshangoz. We managed to take a car to drive to Roshtkala (despite the fact that the militia said we didn't have a permit for that area, for some weird reason) and then to Jawshangoz, which is 120 kilometers further.
Our plan was then to walk back these 120kilometers in a few days, without rushing and enjoying the Shokh Dara valley.
This time, our friend Pierre was gone to a different valley, so it was only Eva and I.
[Jawshanguz, Tajikistan, August 2010]
Cute little girl...
[Jawshanguz, Tajikistan, August 2010]
We still camped in the valley for the night. and at sunrise, Karl and his friend were there in the distance.
It was a wonderful valley. and it was for my birthday :)
[Jawshanguz, Tajikistan, August 2010]
The Shokh Dara valley is not as famous as the other valleys around (the Bartang and the Wakhan). But it is still amazing, and we didn't see any tourist at all for 8 full days :) we almost started to feel like locals hehe
[Shokh Dara Valley, Tajikistan, August 2010]
We very quickly got invited for tea on the way. I liked her style ;)
[Shokh Dara Valley, Tajikistan, August 2010]
This is the day after the rainy one : we ended up in this unbelievable valley, almost 4000 meters high, in the village of Vrang. Three ladies said hello in the distance, and invited us for tea. We were so desperate at the time, that it felt like a miracle.
we were tired, wet, Eva in pain. And we suddenly felt that we fell in a Miyazaki movie. The ladies invited us in their warm house, took care of us, cooked us a warm dinner (Potatoes! with pasta !! fried in oil!!! a bit heavy hehe). then told us to sleep there and prepared us a comfy bed. but before sleeping, they wanted to show us their village. we watched yet another volleyball game, and ended up with more food watching a bollywood movie dubbed in russian on the village's TV.
[Shokh Dara Valley, Tajikistan, August 2010]
Our lovely lovely hosts...
[Shokh Dara Valley, Tajikistan, August 2010]
[Durum-kul, Tajikistan, August 2010]
The morning after, with our tent in the abandonned house :)
[Durum-kul, Tajikistan, August 2010]
Cute Pamiri kids in a house where we took some tea (again). The family there was really poor, but absolutely refused any money for the tea. They even gave us fresh bread for the road.
[Shokh Dara Valley, Tajikistan, August 2010]
Outside the homestay. That valley was soooo peaceful...
[Shokh Dara Valley, Tajikistan, September 2010]
I got yelled at by the militia for taking that picture as this area was military-controlled. But it looked so nice :)
[On the road Khorog-Dushanbe, Tajikistan, September 2010]
This was a small selection of pictures, and you can click here for the extensive gallery.
