We were both hoping for good weather today. When you are on the roof of the world, it is nicer to have the greatest view possible. From Murghab there leave two roads, the first road goes to Sary Tash in Kyrgyzstan. This is the Pamir Highway which we are following. It will take us over a high mountain pass called Ak Baital at 4655m. But there is also a second road to China, following the Kulma Pass to the Karakorum Highway and Kashgar. If the weather is good it is possible to see the high peaks in China.
Unfortunately the weather was not good, and we could not see the peaks. We left the hostel in Murghab and met a swiss couple also 2-up on a GS. They were going to Osh and then back to Dushanbe. We went for some benzine as well in the local station.
Before leaving the town we made a stop at the yurta to ask about interesting side routes. I was especially interested in a side route just before the Karakul lake but he decided against it as there would be a lot of water now.
We left the town and saw a dead camel cadaver next to the road. It was not the first we had seen. Our goal of today was lake Karakul or also called the Black Lake. It is a lake that lies at an altitude of 3900m and is close to the border with Kyrgyzstan.
At first it was overcast, but the further we got, the more we saw some blue skies. So it proved wise to leave town and head on. The mountains were really beautiful, and I would like to stay longer here. We were just riding by this beauty now. In my heart I know I want to come back here one day. We were now close to the Chinese border as well. There was a fence but I guess if you want you could get through at some point.
After a couple of hours we reached the point where the climb started to the high Ak Baital started. We had well acclimatised and drunk enough. We both did not have problems with the altitude. The climb goes pretty gently and soon gravel starts. Before we knew it we were on the top!
From now it went down to the lake, but it was still a while to go. First it was downhill from the mountain with some bends. After that there was a lot of washboard section until we hit asphalt again. We could see the lake in the distance.
When we looked back we were amazed by the views. We rode very slowly to the last checkpoint before heading into the little town called Karakul.
We found a nice homestay and spent the rest of the day walking along the lake. We also met the spanish guys again from yesterday. They said they were heading for Lenin Peak base camp afterwards, like us. But we would not see them again.
It would be our last night in Tadjikistan. Like always when leaving a country it gives me a special feeling. But for this mountainous country the feeling was extra, I really felt bad about leaving already.