When you close your eyes and say Tadjikistan, what words spring to mind? Probably the same as with the rest of us WILD BEAUTIFUL MOUNTAIN SCENERY THE PAMIR SPARSE AND BARREN LUSH AND GREEN ALPINE MEADOWS MOUNTAIN GOATS
You want to see some of the best scenery on earth? You love the best of nature? The word Tadjikistan has you spellbound? Maybe it's time you consider taking a trip there. Not too many have been before you and it takes a sense of adventure and most of all, experience in traveling. But this is definitely one of the top travel destinations for real travelers.

Badakhshan
The capital of this autonomous region is Khorog with about 20.0OO inhabitants. The traditional way of life of the Pamiri peoples, has been preserved to the present day. The Pamiri homes are built around a large enclosed central room, with 5 pillars holding up the wooden ceiling. There's a light and smoke opening in the roof. In Dushanbe, you needto apply for a permit for Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast (GBAO), in addition to your Tadjikistan visa if you care to travel inside the territory of Gorno Badakhshan.

Flying High
The flight from Dushanbe to Khorog is itself one of the major attractions when traveling in Tadjikistan, as the plane takes passengers not over mountains but through vaIIeys. This flight has received 'best of Central Asia' mentions in several guidebooks.

Home Stays
Are not the organized type but the real human experience and the expression of true Central Asian hospitality. You can stay with locals in their settlement, in their summer camps and they will be delighted to have you as a guest. A paying guest, please bear that in mind. You will get a hand quilted mattress, a sheepskin blanket whose smell will be the guarantee that it's not imported from China, your designated sleeping area, a thick quilt to cover yourself at night, it does get cold up in the mountains, and the next morning a breakfast like you've never tasted, a hot bowl of sher с hay, tea with goat's milk, saltand butter.

Jilandy
There's a lake complete with thermal spring. The water temperature at the springs is 90oC,butthere is an area suitable for bathing where the water is about 70oC. There are also fascinating stalactite/stalagmite formations. Good trekking around this a re a with the hot springs the crowning stage. Mount your own overnight camp.

Kafir - Kala
30km from Khorog, on a high cliff dominating the valley, the Kofir-Kala overlooks the village of Bogey with ruins from a pre-lslamic fortress, citadel and two circular temples. In ancient times, this was the well protected cult centre of Shugnon, worshipping the sun. Mount your own campsite here.

Lake Karakul
Formed thousands of years ago, when a meteor struck the Pamirs. Karakul is the largest of a range of about 800 ancient lakes in the Pamirs , which were created by earthquake, tectonic activity and glaciers. The water in this lake shows no life and the region around it has been described as a moonscape. Mount your own temporary camping ground here formed thousands of years ago, when a meteor struck the Pamirs. Karakul is the largest of a range of about 800 ancient lakes in the Pamirs , which were created by earthquake, tectonic activity and glaciers. The water in this lake shows no life and the region around it has been described as a moonscape. Mount your own temporary camping ground here.

M41 Pamir Highway
One description goes as follows: "The route from Khorog to Osh on the M41 Pamir Highway is a mind-blowing, suspension-wrenching, two-day, 728km (450mi) traverse on a badly-surfaced road that's worth every dizzying headspin you get from the relentless hairpin bends. The M41 starts at Kara-Balta in Kirgyzstan (60Km west of Bishkek), travelling south to Osh in the Ferghana Valley. From Osh, the road ascends into the Alau Range of mountains to the crossroads at Sary-Tash. The M41 continues south, ascending to Kizyl-Art Pass (4,280m), which forms the border with Tajikistan. The road then crosses the Pamir Plateau (Karakul Lake) and up to Ak-Baital Pass, at 4,655m the highest stretch of road in the former USSR. The M41 continues through Murghab and Khorogto Dushanbe.
A four wheel drive (4WD) vehicle is a must to travel on this road. Allow a minimum of four days to drive the 1,252 Km from Osh to Dushanbe; more if you plan to do any sightseeing along the way. In spring and early summer there is a risk of the road being blocked by mudslides and in winter the high passes are closed. Ideal travel time: July to October.

Pamirs
The central Pamir (Badakhshan) occupies almost half of Tajikistan and is referred to as Bam-i-Dunya (the Roof of the World) and once you're in the Pamirs, you understand that it is not without reason. He re, some of the highest mountain ranges on earth congregate, the Karakoram and Himalaya to the south, the Hindu Kush to the west, and the Tian Shan to the East. A network of high, wide valleys are draped around peaks reaching over 7000m (23'000ft). This is part of The Great Si I k Road on which merchants and traders have been traveling for millennia.
This region was known to Ptolemaeus and was also travelled by Marco Polo, who wrote: 'For twelve days you cross the valley; it is called Pamirs, and for the whole twelve days you see no houses, neither vegetation; food should be brought by yourself. There are no birds here because it is high and cold. Because of terrible cold, fire is not as bright and not of the colour like in other places.

Visas
Visas are not issued at the airport, nor at Tajikistan's border crossings. Border controls are rare but there are frequent internal checkpoints, and if you intend moving outside Dushanbe you must have impeccable documents. You can currently get visas at Tajik consulates in Moscow and Bonn. If you do arrive in Tajikistan without a visa, the immigration department of the Foreign Ministry in Dushanbe may give you one. Note that every Tajik town that you intend visiting or passing through should be listed on your visa. Asa result of border tensions and smuggling, the army and militia do not appreciate the presence of foreigners, and if officials are not completely satisfied with your papers you will probably be deported.