Tajikistan > Over the high Ak-Baital pass

Everyone is already up early in the hotel. In Murgab, people follow Kyrgyz time rather than the official Dushanbe time. Unofficially, it’s one hour later. The Russian motorcyclists are already loading their bikes. After breakfast, it turns out one of the Russian riders has a soft front tire. We help him with our compressor. Just as we’ve packed everything back up, Reinier asks for a compressor—his own is broken. Of course, we help him too. With extra fuel for the motorcyclists strapped on the roof, we leave Murgab, looking for Wilco. The road gradually climbs. The asphalt is decent but occasionally wavy. It’s good that we have our seatbelts on; otherwise, we would occasionally lift off the seats. The final stretch to the Ak-Baital Pass is unpaved.

Tajikistan - The AkBaital Pass is the highest point of our trip

We drive carefully uphill—clearly, there isn’t much traffic here. The Ak-Baital Pass, at 4,655 meters, is literally the highest point of our journey. Just over the summit, we take a coffee stop. While we sit by the side of the road enjoying our coffee, the Mali minibus arrives. Reinier and Anna join us. Around us, nothing but a barren, sandy landscape with stunning snow-capped peaks. On the way to Karakul, we drive along the Chinese border. For kilometers, a fence runs along the roadside. In the background, the enormous mountain giants are impressive—each peak over seven kilometers high. The summits are wrapped in thick snow, beautifully contrasting with the clear blue sky. The 3,900-meter-high Karakul Lake is also magnificent. The blue water and snowy mountains form a breathtaking scene, though it’s hard to capture it all in a single photo. At Karakul, Wilco is already waiting for us. We quickly fill his motorcycle with fuel. The town itself isn’t special enough to stay overnight, so we decide to continue.

Tajikistan - The road through Tajikistan along the border with China

We are still fifty kilometers from the border, and maybe we can cross it today. Just outside Karakul, we pass a Dutch traveler on foot—he’s been traveling for eleven months. Where do you even begin? We also pass several groups of cyclists. The Pamir route to Osh is a challenge for many adventurers. The border is at the 4,280-meter-high Kyzylart Pass. When we reach the barrier, we aren’t sure whether it’s a checkpoint or the actual border. It turns out it’s the border. Without too much trouble, we get our Tajikistan stamp in our passports. We enter no-man’s-land—over twenty kilometers of unpaved road downhill. Just past the Tajik post, a Kyrgyz patrol stops us. They inspect the car, with soldiers surrounding it. Where are we coming from and where are we going? After answering, we’re allowed to continue. Only at the bottom of the mountain pass do we reach the actual Kyrgyz border. The road is rough—probably, maintenance falls between the cracks of the two countries. The customs officer wants to see everything in our vehicle, going a bit further than usual. Still, within about an hour, we’re across the border into Kyrgyzstan—our sixteenth country on this trip. In Kyrgyzstan, the time is one hour later. In the first village we encounter, Sary-Tash, we look for a homestay. A simple room, with an outdoor toilet and a warm shower in the barn. Dinner and breakfast are included. Perfect for a night’s stay. During dinner, we toast to day 50—it’s exactly the halfway point of our journey.