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Asia central asia Tajikistan

Darshai

Stories and Photos from Days 7 and
8 in the Pamir – Wakhan Valley: From Ishkoshim to Darshai.

Destination 》Asia 》Central Asia 》Tajikistan 》Darshai

Year Visited: 2019 – August

Days 7 and 8 at the Pamir – Wakhan Valley: From Ishkoshim to Darshai and a rest day in Darshai (Distance: 42 Km; Travel time 4 hours)

After spending a night at the Hanis Guest House in Ishkoshim, I took a shared taxi to Darshai in the morning, as usual, I waited 2+ hours before the driver could gather enough passengers to start the journey. I was little disappointed this morning because we could’t experience the weekly Afghan Market, it was closed this Saturday due to some kind of a threat from the Taliban.

Darshai is a small farming community of less than 300 people in the Wakhan Valley. This little village has a shrine, ruins of an ancient fort from 7th or 8th century, few petroglyphs, and a beautiful gorge you can hike up to with a local guide. The village has very friendly residents, they always invite you to their home and share Choi (tea) with them. I spent 2 days in this village, walking around and admiring beautiful surroundings.

There are no public transports, Google can’t find this village on the map, your best bet is to use Maps.me.

Darshai is a small farming community of less than 300 people in Tajik Wakhan Valley.
The Panj river separates this community from Afghanistan. Those mountains in the pictures are Hindu Kush mountains in Afghanistan.
Darshai village.
Hindu Kush mountains in Afghanistan.
Going back home after a day in farm.
Going back home after a day in farm.
The Ostoni Piri Fokhmamad, a local shrine in Darshai.
The Ibex is considered a holy animal, its horns are always found in the shrine as a decoration as well as an altar.
Higher up, above the shrine you can find some Petroglyphs, no one knows how old are they.

Hiked up the near-by mountain in the early morning to watch beautiful sunrise over the Hindu Kush mountains in Afghanistan. This is the first time I hiked in one country to watch sunrise over neighboring country.

A view from a mountain near Darshai, Tajikistan.. the sun is rising up from the Hindu Kush mountains in Afghanistan.
The ruins of an ancient fort from 7th or 8th century,

My home-stay had a green house, a vegetable garden, a small farm and a large fruit orchard with many apple and apricot trees,

Thousands of Peaches @ my home-stay in Darshai village.
Apple Trees at my home-stay in Darshai village.
Dining area at my home-stay. I had six meals in two days with this view and very friendly chat with hosts
A yurt at my home-stay.
The sheep at the home-stay. First time I saw sheep with big horns, like a mountain goat but a sheep, it is not a Marco Polo sheep.
Making cottage cheese, in India we call it Paneer.
A lovely Tajik girl with a beautiful smile.
A local transport in the Wakhan valley
My hosts in Darshai. Both brothers are well educated with post-graduate degrees. We had very good conversation for 2 days, I learned a lot about a life in the valley, life during the Soviet time, and during the civil war. 

Next stop in the Wakhan Valley is Tughgoz to visit Bibi Fatima hot spring and Yamchun Fortress.

Window on The World's avatar

By Window on The World

In May 2017, 23 days before I was going to complete 50 years, grabbed an opportunity and took an early retirement.. Picked up a backpack and traveling ever since.. Love to travel around the world, experience different culture, local cuisine & drinks .. and take pictures.. so far been to 108 countries and still counting...

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