Tajikistan

Afghan offroad border ride to Khorog

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We started as soon as the sun came up today. Remember, we were in hotel bugs. I think maybe I slept 2 hours or something. Still not used to the bugs 🙂

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Anyway the good was that we were early on the road, we were on day two of the ride from Dushanbe to Khorog following the Afghan border. It is another of those beauty rides that will disappear as they are building an asphalt road here. That is, if you like offroad of course.

 

We had to cover about 240km today. For what is like 90% offroad that is a nice distance. Riding through the villages was hazardous though, as the dangerous dogs were placed in ambushes. I held my leg ready for kicking them but it was not always successful, one time I was almost bitten!

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We rode close to the fast flowing river.  In the town of Kalaikhum we stopped to check the gas station. It was from a bucket and I had still spare. My GS is not so thirsty and I could make it to Khorog, so I decided to skip this station. But then our Turkish friend Orhan came by and we talked a bit. He filled his tank a bit and we rode together for some miles.

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The ride itself was simply amazing. I have not witnessed so much beauty in one day before. The pictures should speak for themselves. This is a pure country. Hard, but pure. During a climb we met a Swiss bike called Olivier. He was a very friendly and we would see him again in Khorog.

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We rode to sandy stretches, and at a point the water in the river became calm. The river was also very wide now. We were getting closer to Khorog and were riding to a fertile valley.

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Before entering the city of Khorog we stopped to fill the tank, and also stopped at the airport to watch a landing.

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Inside Khorog we went looking for the best place to stay. Olivier had told us about a place his friend has recommended who stayed there last year. It was called Lalmo, which was the name of the woman keeping the guesthouse. It was a very good place and we would stay here for a few days. We needed some rest and to acclimatize to the height. In the meantime we had gotten to an altitude of above 2000m. It was also a nice place to do mountain walking.

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