Destination 》Asia 》Central Asia 》Tajikistan 》Tughgoz
Year Visited: 2019 – August
Day 9 at the Pamir – Wakhan Valley: From Darshai to Tughgoz (Distance: 30 Km; Travel time 7 hours)
After exploring Darshai for 2 days, next stop was to visit Bibi Fatima hot spring and Yamchun Fortress. The day turned out to be the most memorable day in my traveling life.
I started a day with a free ride in 1974 Lada till next village, 10 km away. After the Lada dropped us in the village, we waited around 4 hours at the road-side before a big truck, an 18-wheeler, stopped and gave us a ride for next 20 km. The truck driver dropped us 4 km outside the village. While we were walking towards the village, trying to reach the village before dark, a young boy on his bicycle approached us and said “you sleep tonight in my house”. The boy invited us to stay in his house, his parents provided dinner. After dinner, kids performed a talent show, singing folk songs and dancing for us. Everyday in the Wakhan Valley is a pleasant surprise.
Bibi Fatima Hot spring and Yamchun fortress are 6 km up on the hill from Tughgoz village, you can get a shared 4×4 taxi for a reasonable price.
The Yamchun Fortress was originally built in 300 BC to 100 BC and it was expanded between the 10th and 12th centuries. The fortress is the best preserved Silk Road era monument in the Wakhan Valley. Yamchun Fortress has a strategic location overlooking wide area of the Wakhan Valley, and large sections of the Hindu Kush mountains in Afghanistan. The fortress is located few kilometers before you reach Bibi Fatima Hot Springs.
Photos below are of my Host family in Tughgoz. The family was not rich, the house didn’t have a running tap water, the toilet was a big hole in the ground covered with wooden planks. But, everyone in the family had a big heart, they invited us in their home with open arms. Mom provided dinner, made bed for us in the boys’ room. All kids were so talkative, they sang and dance for us. I will never forget their kindness, willing to share whatever they had, the best hospitality in the Wakhan Valley.
Next stop in the Wakhan Valley was Langar, the first/last settlement in the Wakhan Valley depending on from which direction you are coming from.
Window on the World 