Free car wash on the Pamir highway

Hi Sam.

Hope this reaches you in good time – sorry for delay in replying!!

I travelled the Pamir highway from Osh to Dushanbe a week or two ago flew home from Dushanbe on 22 July 2012.

Weather was fine pretty much all the way – a little snow up at Ak Baital Pass, but it is at 4655m and Kyzyl Art Pass too, but passing flurry only. No problems on the roads really – bumpy – and the odd part where the run off waters crossed the road, but no problems for four wheel drives.

The mountains and valley were awesome by the way.

My journey was not entirely on the Pamir highway as we drove off it just below Yashil Kul to drive down the Wakhan valley following Pamir and Panj rivers (which I’d recommend), we then re-joined the Pamir highway at Khorog a few days later. So I can’t comment on the section between the Rushan and Sugnan ranges that goes direct to Khorog.

Don’t know how you’ll be travelling, but I’d highly recommend Pamir Guides (http://www.pamirguides.com/about-us) – Kuban, one of the founders, was my driver. We had three vehicles and all three drivers were excellent and you may want to contact them for advise about the highway as they are very experienced.

There was – I think (memory fails me) – another point were we missed a section of the Pamir highway near Kalaichum where I sure we kept following the Afghan border down to somewhere near Kulob – here we encountered a bridge over the river which was being repaired – we drove through the river to save time!!

Mind you an hour or two later in the hills a radiator burst as a result of hitting rocks in the river or it may have been the sudden temperature change in the river waters that cracked an old repair open – not sure, but drivers had to take engine apart and repair the radiator!!

Hope this helps in some way – are you blogging your own journey??

All the best on you journey!!