Pamir Highway: Shortcut Kara Kul-Rushan possible?
 

Dear Pamir lovers.... we are wondering if anyone has crossed from Kara Kul (M41 east) to Rushan (M41west) on the shortcut recently?
Same question for Bulunkul near Alinchur to Savnob (north west)?

Thanks

It looks an awesome track on satellite images and contour maps. Just off that track (via another track) is the famous landslide dam, 300 metre high natural dam (highest in the world) caused by a landslide 100 years ago ... Usoi Dam / Sarez Lake

http://www.mergili.at/worldimages/up...7-d29956fd.jpg

Hi
Take Markus map and you have an answer, sarez is strictly off limits and you can only go by foot, cross to Bardara.
Bartang has a road, but it is allways destroyed in summer at hot weather, you know the weather of this beginning august. People went through earlier this year on cars, but with the hot days middle and upper Bartang were cut off as told us Pecta, just phone them before you go.
Pictures during flood can be found on our blog bike-pamir.blogspot.com just look for the entry gemeinsam durch die Flut, Bartang bei Hochwasser.
We met your group in Ishkashim 3 weeks ago

Regards

Christian

well looks like they made it through ... looking fwd to the pics on this one...

Just did it two days ago from west to east. Definitely not for heavy bikes or inexperienced off road riders... :mchappy:

Will upload a few pics etc later today or tomorrow, once I sorted them out. :D
Did it in once day, but you need to count two (three would even be better).

Patrik/Muztoo already got a live report from me about the track two hours ago since I'm in Osh right now... bier

This is what I just wrote for my blog, so it's a copy/paste:

First of all I need to explain that I had zero knowledge of this valley, other than that it looked as there should be a track going all the way through the Pamir mountains back to the North East of Tajikistan to Lake Kara-Kul and the Pamir Highway where I was a few days before. I also only found one report of a guy on a motorbike who did it and who had a lot of problems. I met two Austrian guys on bicycles and at least one of them said it would be impossible on a motorbike and the other said that only a really skilled rider could maybe make it. So this sounded like something I could do or at least try! I looked on the map and saw a few ‘points’ that should be villages, so I thought it would be ok and that I could find some food and water. I would learn that this was not the case…

Right from the beginning it is clear that this would be a special and magnificent ride:

http://www.wanderingsouls.be/wp-cont...8/IMG_3363.jpg

http://www.wanderingsouls.be/wp-cont...8/IMG_3398.jpg

The whole way consists of a track that is mostly hard gravel with rocks and stones, but there will also be river crossings, sand, bigger stones, washed out track, bigger rivers etc. you get the point: it’s definitely not for beginners or anyone on these beautiful heavy bikes that are advertised as being the “ultimate adventure bikes”. They’re not. But anyway it’s not about that, it’s all about riding in the Bartang valley.

http://www.wanderingsouls.be/wp-cont...8/IMG_3370.jpg

I slept the first night on a ‘beach’ near the river only 30km inside the Valley and had some company of the moon:

http://www.wanderingsouls.be/wp-cont...8/IMG_3377.jpg

http://www.wanderingsouls.be/wp-cont...8/IMG_3391.jpg

All along the valley there are bridges in all kind of forms, for people or for vehicles:

http://www.wanderingsouls.be/wp-cont...8/IMG_3396.jpg

http://www.wanderingsouls.be/wp-cont...8/IMG_3430.jpg

The track is not always in good condition, and the water has washed away some parts of the track but these parts were not a problem actually:

http://www.wanderingsouls.be/wp-cont...8/IMG_3400.jpg

http://www.wanderingsouls.be/wp-cont...8/IMG_3407.jpg

http://www.wanderingsouls.be/wp-cont...8/IMG_3408.jpg

http://www.wanderingsouls.be/wp-cont...8/IMG_3413.jpg

http://www.wanderingsouls.be/wp-cont...8/IMG_3414.jpg

After that there are some sandy sections but it’s also perfectly doable as it is river sand and not desert sand. I was also happy to see that someone past there a few days ago or so:

http://www.wanderingsouls.be/wp-cont...8/IMG_3415.jpg

The track is also in some places really ‘rocky’ so I started to slow down a bit as I didn’t want to end up in the river.

http://www.wanderingsouls.be/wp-cont...8/IMG_3418.jpg

Actually I’m glad I slowed down as a few turns later I had to brake hard for this:

http://www.wanderingsouls.be/wp-cont...8/IMG_3419.jpg

http://www.wanderingsouls.be/wp-cont...8/IMG_3422.jpg

The road was completely blocked as a part of the mountain came down on the track; no way to pass it but I really did not want to turn around so I started to work… and remove as much as I could to make a small passageway to try to pass with the bike:

http://www.wanderingsouls.be/wp-cont...8/IMG_3424.jpg

http://www.wanderingsouls.be/wp-cont...8/IMG_3426.jpg

It took me some time but I managed to get through!

Next part again lot of rocks and water, but nothing I couldn’t handle on the DRZ:

http://www.wanderingsouls.be/wp-cont...8/IMG_3434.jpg

But the views are stunning and worth it all:

http://www.wanderingsouls.be/wp-cont...8/IMG_3437.jpg

http://www.wanderingsouls.be/wp-cont...8/IMG_3447.jpg

http://www.wanderingsouls.be/wp-cont...8/IMG_3448.jpg

The next part is more tricky. The river washed the road away completely. You know where you need to go, but it was a pain in the ass to get through. You just don’t know how deep the water is and I was too lazy to walk it all first so I just went for it…

http://www.wanderingsouls.be/wp-cont...8/IMG_3450.jpg

The first part was ok, 30cm deep and sand and small rocks to ride on until I came to a little island for a break.

http://www.wanderingsouls.be/wp-cont...8/IMG_3453.jpg

http://www.wanderingsouls.be/wp-cont...8/IMG_3454.jpg

The next part though, was only like 35 meters or so but it took me almost an hour to do that. I started from the little island trying to stay as close to the left as possible (mountain side) but after like 10 meters I hit a big rock hard, the bike stalled and I had to use all my strength to keep the bike from falling over and going completely under. Because the rock made me stop abruptly my chest hit the GPS on my steering bar and the GPS went over the bike, into the river… nothing I could do about it! So when I finally stabilized the bike (and hurt my arm with this) I could get of and push it a bit further to be able to put it on it’s side stand as the bike wouldn’t start again. Time for a picture:

http://www.wanderingsouls.be/wp-cont...8/IMG_3456.jpg

So I’m there, no help, haven’t seen anybody for the whole day (except some locals in their farm) with a GPS that is somewhere in the river and a bike in the river that won’t start anymore… Time to sit down for a minute and overlook the situation. Tried to push the bike out of the river, but as said, the riverbed is made of sand and small and larger stones and I was pushing uphill. After making a passage with my hands in the water (removing stones etc) I finally got the bike out! But still no GPS. So I went back into the river and started to look for it on hands and knees. After what looked like an eternity there it was! A few meters away from where it fell down into the water. And it was still working! Thank good for a real waterproof GPS, it was for 15minutes completely submerged into this ice cold river at 3000m altitude and still works!

So after some eureka moment I continued my way to find out that a few km further there was just absolutely no way to get through so the locals pointed me in the right direction of going up the mountain and around the river to rejoin the track a few km further.

http://www.wanderingsouls.be/wp-cont...8/IMG_3460.jpg

I was certainly not disappointed, as the scenery was once again breathtaking:

http://www.wanderingsouls.be/wp-cont...8/IMG_3464.jpg

In the next village the track was once again not driveable as locals were restoring the only little bridge, so I had to go around. They all stopped working and were looking at me if I came from Mars or something, but really friendly people, they all tried to invite me for some tea, so in the end I just said yes and stayed for an hour with these three guys:

http://www.wanderingsouls.be/wp-cont...8/IMG_3466.jpg

http://www.wanderingsouls.be/wp-cont...8/IMG_3467.jpg

After the tea and some bread (that I wasn’t allowed to pay for!) I continued my journey since there are absolutely no shops whatsoever in the whole valley and I had nothing anymore with me (no water and no food) so I was hoping to make it back to Kara-Kul where I knew there was a homestay. Locals told me I would never make it. Again, breathtaking arid scenery:

http://www.wanderingsouls.be/wp-cont...8/IMG_3475.jpg

http://www.wanderingsouls.be/wp-cont...8/IMG_3478.jpg

Then a lot of bad sections came, stones, water, water and stones, but I was in the mood for it and the sky was the limit. The bike did everything I wanted it to do and I was really glad I was on a light enduro bike.

http://www.wanderingsouls.be/wp-cont...8/IMG_3479.jpg

http://www.wanderingsouls.be/wp-cont...8/IMG_3484.jpg

http://www.wanderingsouls.be/wp-cont...8/IMG_3490.jpg

http://www.wanderingsouls.be/wp-cont...8/IMG_3499.jpg

Again the scenery is superb, for me the Bartang Valley and the Wakhan Valley are the two highlights of the Pamir. Pamir Highway is good, but you can do it on any vehicle or bike and this beats it by far! Reason why to travel on a light (enduro) bike!

http://www.wanderingsouls.be/wp-cont...8/IMG_3500.jpg

I’ll try to give you an impression of what it is, the first picture is looking straight forward, the second down to the left. The difference in altitude is at least 300m or more. There’s no way you survive if you make a (riding)mistake here.

http://www.wanderingsouls.be/wp-cont...8/IMG_3508.jpg

http://www.wanderingsouls.be/wp-cont...8/IMG_3510.jpg

Offroad hairpins with an inclination of 12 to 20%, a dream (or nightmare?):

http://www.wanderingsouls.be/wp-cont...8/IMG_3512.jpg

By the end I reached a plateau, again let the pictures speak for themselves:

http://www.wanderingsouls.be/wp-cont...8/IMG_3518.jpg

http://www.wanderingsouls.be/wp-cont...8/IMG_3523.jpg

And the last part was something I hate when being on a bike, wet marshland. Zero grip, mud and lots of small water crossings. But I made it without dropping the bike even once and when there is a bridge it is in doubtful conditions:

http://www.wanderingsouls.be/wp-cont...8/IMG_3524.jpg

I made it back to Kara-Kul 12 minutes before sunset. This was my biggest victory of this trip (along maybe with Yana’s track in the Altay) as I did the "impossible" according to some, doing the Bartang Valley on a motorbike in one day all alone.

In my opinion it would be almost impossible to do the track on a (let’s say) GS. At least not if you are alone like me. I will also confess that the track would make more sense for at least two riders, 3 would be even better. I was not comfortable being here all alone, as there’s no cell phone reception and if something happens, you just know it will take days before somebody will find or be able to help you.

The track is best ridden in two days, three would be better and safer so you really have time to take it easy, certainly if you are not comfortable riding at higher speeds on these kind of tracks. The difference between ascending and descending on this track was more or less 9400m on a 280km stretch. It was a blast!!!

Wow stunning views!
I will add this to my list of things to do :) :scooter:

Great Stuff Seb ... think you just documented a soon to be popular new route ! :funmeteryes::funmeteryes::funmeteryes:

I hope so, it's worth it.

Just curious to know if Steffen ('survivor' of Yana's track) is going to do it alone on his XChallenge and if Muztoo will do it next week... Would be nice to also have feedback of some other on this as well.

I think the Bartang can be great fun (as I experienced it) but also a nightmare depending on conditions (bike-rider-weather).

Just realised Adam Lewis (JediMaster) did it earlier this year too ...

Chapter 32 – Silk Roads to Siberia Pt II – ‘The Roof of the World’ | Short Way Round

So a great new track to ride.. Awesome !

I knew he did it, so that's why I also went since I was in the area... :D

He's the one I was referring to in the text... :innocent:

the DRZ mafia .... you, Adam, Wesley ...

Well done Seb, looks a good route and I bet the locals you met don't see many tourist is this area also so pretty cool!

I ride alone and it is all fun and games until you get the bike stuck and if you are miles from anywhere then it gets more interesting, I read your blog and when the bike was stuck for awhile must of been interesting, great report

I saw you on the *pamir (had a quick go on your bike) and a Dutch guy who rented a XT from Osh Was not far behind me but he turned up in Osh Aday later as he told me he took another pass in Kara-kul which was to the lake and very bad tracks so maybe you passed him also?

He did not ride the whole route just towards the lake and then got invited to a ongoing wedding and headed back the next day to Osh

He went from Holland to Bishkek in 6 days on his bike, real crazy guy

Also around the same time you was in the Pamirs did you pass that guy who is on the Ducati 951, ever one I passed has met him, not sure how he will get on with his off road tyres there ?!?

I was alone also for this stretch, as you met my wife in Osh... thanx again on her behalf btw for the Iphone cable!

Yeah I met him on the highway. I don't think he is crazy, I have another word for it but that's my opinion, which I clearly told him. There's no achievement in riding 1100km a day on a highway on a comfortable bike from EU to Kyrgyzstan. It's just boring and not interesting, other than to be able to brag that you did it. Ten years ago I also did stupid things like that. Did not see anything from a place except the highway and the highway fuel stations and the highway restaurants. What's the point...?! But that's my opinion.

It was a Duc 996 and I saw the bike in Osh with the TKC's on it. (I have a pic of it btw as it was my first bike many years ago) As you know, you don't need them (offroad tyres) if you stay on the M41. I unfortunately did not meet the guy as I wanted to ask him if he went for Wakhan or other places than the M41, as that would have been interesting to know/see.

Still contemplating this. Just talked to the girl at the Khorog Info. She said a car made it through this week. So, they must have cleared the rockfall. She was also very nonchalant about it and after I mentioned that she should probably give more realistic info to riders, she said, "Oh, but they all love it." Hmm?

Talked to some knowledgeable local drivers and they say they do make it through a few times a year.

I also ran into the two Austrian cyclist you talked to. We talked quite a while about the track and they claim they never said it shouldn't be done on a bike :-)

There is definitely something funny about the water levels here. Water is pretty high right now, even here in Khorog. Something you'd expect in spring and early summer elsewhere. I guess it makes sense that snow melts very late in the summer in the very high mountains.

Pamir is awesome and I plan to make best use of my visa :-) Everything I expected and much more.

Cheers,
Steffen

Very strange, as I clearly remember the tall one saying it could be possible if you are an experienced rider and the shorter one saying he didn't think it would be possible. They talked about it amongst themselves before we met. Anyway, I did not say they said it shouldn't be done, they told me they had doubts if it could be done, as I mentioned. Big difference between should or could huh...? :helpsmilie:
But in the end, who cares? I did it, Adam did it, so it has been proven that one can do it on a bike. What is impossible for one is easy for another and vice-versa...

Amen to that!!! I don't understand why everybody wants to go to Mongolia, Pamir is way more interesting than Mongolia in my opinion... :thumbup1:

I just hope the area will get some more attention, it deserves it. And at least for that track it makes sense of having offroad tyres... :scooter:

They are really great guys and I had fun talking with them over breakfast. They do think cyclists should be doing it East to West.

Unless you get a track from Walter, get hit by a Lada, arrested, put in quarantine and make some friends along the way :mchappy:

The landscapes in the Pamir are like a different planet and the people in the Wahkan valley are just so exceptionally friendly. Interestingly, quite a few of the older people speak passable German. They had it in school. Can't get my head around that one. What were the Soviets thinking when they came up with that plan? German, of all languages?:confused1:


Cheers,
Steffen

Hi SEB i think you have judge this guy to fast, he used to travel a lot taking his time but his boss at work has limited his yearly time off too only 3 weeks.

When the weather is good at weekends he spends his time mostly riding his bikes (i think he has 3) in holland.

Now he has to pick his routes/trips carefully due to his limited time off and this year it was Tajikistan. He could of caught a flight there and rented a bike but he would rather spend any free time riding his bike as petrol runs through his veins. He planned his trip out carefully beforehand so to him the ride to Bishkek was just to get to his destination just like someone takes a plan i guess but he would rather crunch out a lot of KMs a day on his bike than rather take a flight to maximize all his time off riding.

Once he got to Osh he rented a sensible bike (XT600) from Muztoo and made his way to Tajikistan taking his time as this was his plan.

I met him near Khorog and again on the Pamir highway.

On my last night in Osh i caught up with him for a beer where he explained all this to me and also told me about all his other past trips which are very interesting and mainly unknown due to him keeping no blog ect ect

Some people choose to do things like these and are not as lucky as yourself taking alot of time out or also like me riding my bike and ditching it to head back to work offshore from time to time.

On my travels i have met many people some who only ride 150km aday maximum and some who crunch out a lot of KMs so what works for them and makes them happy may not be the same for others so i feel it is wrong to judge anyone on this but we are all entitled to our own opinion i guess

As for the dude on the 996 it will be interesting to see how he gets on with the low quality fuel in remote areas (homestays ect act) and even the rough small pass between the krgy & tajik border which is off course nothing on a DRZ but to a Ducati 996 with the very low ground clearance it will interesting to say the least

We love Peter and his DUCATI. Pizza forever. He made it back in one peace. Broken luggage carrier was all. :eek3: his TCK 80 180/70 17 !!!
I keep it as a souvenir, or until the next DUCATI needs a tire like it.

HA! GREAT!
:thumbup1:

I am still waiting to see your pics from after Tsengel ! When will you be home?

Shame on me! Life on the road: so much to see, so little time. I'll have a few rest days in Osh after I get out of Tajikistan. I put it on my to do list.

Was great to see Seb minutes after he got out of the Batang Valley track. Talk about first hand account. Life is full of coincidences and "Yana Track" survivors seem to have a special cosmic connection. :thumbup1:

:d

true!

Just when I thought I'd passed the 'difficult' bit...
 

Or get ripped of your bike...:eek3:

tut tut tut Adam, it's time to go to the oculist my friend...
:rofl:

It is really a nice valley, but I doubt if motorbikers rushing through is the kind of attention the Bartang deserves. Interestingly we met different guys, that did it by foot this year.

Any tourism Tajikistan receives im sure will be welcome be it on bicycle or motorbike but as Seb mentioned this route will not be for all motorbikes as it is clearly only possible on smaller type enduro bikes so i dont it is going to be nuremberg ring road anytime soon

At least in the bigger cities, in USSR schools you could usually choose between learning English or German, sometimes even French and Spanish. But I'm quite sure in rural areas it all came down to the teachers available. As there were a lot of German speakers relocated to Kazakhstan, that probably explains your observation.

What a legend, characters like this are what's going to save the "Adventure motorcycling" trend from just becoming another generic form of tourism, whereby everyone follows a pre-set plan/itinery, does the same things, and generally go and ruin otherwise lovely unspoilt parts of the world.


I think the natural tendancy for the world to become 'smaller' is fast at work, and in 10 years time the idea that you could explore Mongolia or Tajikistan on a trailbike pretty much as you saw fit (or as the landscape saw fit!) will seem hard to believe. And harder still to understand would be the idea that locals would treat you as honoured guests rather than loathed tourists (thinking back twice in Tajikistan lone boys threw a stone at me as I passed on the main Pamir highway). I'm sure Mr Colebatch will recall going for a ride in the hills around UB in Mongolia, and in-inadvertently ending up the wrong side of security walls and gates for private villas/estates.

I'm insanely jealous of you all. I did about a third or so of that Bartang valley road four years ago as a day trip from Horag, and also some of that Roshtkala valley road as well. The latter was abandoned because I seemed to have found a dead end, which doesn't really make sense when you're following a road that follows a river... If any of you have tackled that one I'd love to see a few photos because if I think about it, I'm still bugged to this day that I couldn't work out where the hell the road had gone, plus whether the dodgy part on the other end I'd had a look at was actually part of that road.

Well, the family I stayed with in Savnob clued me in. Germans from the western parts of the USSR were relocated to Tajikistan, among other soviet republics, because they were deemed a security threat during WW 2.

Bartang Valley was amazing. Conditions pretty much same as Seb described, minus the rock fall. Water maybe a little higher, judging from the size of the "island".

Saw Patrick and his group. They didn't see me though, as I was up a hill to the side of the track.

Typed on my phone with my thumbs and gloves on

cool cool cool, you did it and Muztoo also then!
That's good news!

I was rather early at the 'island', started riding at 0600 that morning... ;-)
Guess the earlier at the river, the better!

I met some people in Tajikistan who served in the USSR army in East Germany, Whilst staying in the same small Pamir village for a total of 2 weeks various family's would show me old photos and many where of older family members in East Germany

Yes, this is very common, but trust me, this was not an opportunity for the conscripts to learn the language. I grew up next to a huge soviet military airport. The only people that got out of the base with any regularity where the higher officer's wifes. Living conditions were appalling and quite often people from very remote parts of the Soviet Union were shipped of to East Germany for 2 years. However, when talking to people in the ex soviet republics, they quite often proudly mention their time in East Germany. I always ask how often they got out of the base and the answer is between 0 and 1.

That being said, whenever we did have contact, these guys were always friendly. Hitched many (illegal) rides on soviet military trucks back then and there were always cigarettes and vodka going around, which was great as a teenager :-) As kids we always tried to make the soldiers guarding the fence smile. Most of the time it worked.

Typed on my phone with my thumbs and gloves on

MuzToo has done it too, including a truck
 

Hi Seb. We agree on Bartang (how sweet is it on your tongue...). We took 3 days just out of joy and fun.
We also agree on: the less weight, the more fun. As you see our bikes it was a lot of fun.

CHeers

PERRRRRR-FECT!

I'm glad you did and obviously enjoyed it.
I like the first pic, saw a few of them but being alone it was nearly impossible to get a shot like that.

So, I think we can officially 'open' the Bartang Valley for adventure riding!

:D :scooter: :D :scooter: :D :scooter:

I just did the Bartang valley track again, this time going east to west. Much, much dryer than last September. The flooded bit of road where Seb lost his GPS was now 1/2 m above the water level and it was easy getting out of Savnob. Locals say there was very little snow last winter.

Just a couple of dodgy bits. One, a bit of snow and ice in a rocky gully, coming around the 90 deg bend, 1/3 to Gudara. Had to engage in a bit of track building as I had to line up the bike perfectly along the only feasible path through the rocks/water. Problem was the ramp up to this bit was a block of ice with no grip. No room for mistakes. Made it through.

Between Gudara and Savnob there was a bit of a rock slide on a steep slope. Left just enough room to get through with a bike. You don't want to mess this up, would be a deep fall. A bunch of guys were manually restoring that bit by shifting rocks from the high side to the low side. They wanted to get through on an old Russian truck.

I spent a couple of nights with the lovely Alivbekov family again in Savnob (GPS 38.31697,72.41417). A nice new Pamir style house. The kids speak passable English and I spend my evenings playing board games and watching "Snakes on a Plane" on Afghan TV. Highly recommended. Savnob is a peaceful oasis with friendly and curious locals. You pay what you feel like paying. Don't be cheap.

Steffen, pictures!!

Steffen, this is great news!

I'm suddenly feeling "old" traveling now on 4wheels around the world... :helpsmilie:

I will bookmark it

Hello to everyone!
A few of you interestingly answered about the shortcut Karakul-Rushan; much inspiring!
I'll try to do it in September!

But how about "Bulunkul near Alinchur to Savnob (norht west)"?
Where's this road? It's really not clear.
Would someone explain, please?
Also, really there's no driveable road to lake Sarez?

Thank you!!

Hi.

But how about "Bulunkul near Alinchur to Savnob (norht west)"? If you find a road, we will be interested, but no one has tried it.

Also, really there's no driveable road to lake Sarez?
There is a check point that will not let you pass trough.

CHeers

Ok Muztoo, thanks!

I did the Bartang valley two weeks ago and it has been a great riding experience. One of the best things I've ever done. This thread inspired me to do it but in the end I was not going to. I was aiming at quantity and wanted to do the Wakhan valley. One day in the Pamirs I met two young German cyclists on the M41 near Rushan. They were going to do the Bartang and I thought I had already past the turnoff point. I did not. Considered it again since the name of that valley had been resonating through my mind throughout my journey. No. Left the guys and wished them good luck. 4km Out of Rushan I get to the intersection and I stand there 10 minutes contemplating. Supposedly this route was not right for my bike (240kg) but I wanted to do it really bad. The cyclist caught up with me and started laughing. I laughed and said **** it. The rest is History, best decision of my life.

Did it in three days, one day only 30km for many reasons (hospitality, quest for water etc). You can do it in two, recommend three days, take it all in. If you come in from Rushan you get a steep climb up to 3.800m after around 160km (enjoy your carburetor) with narrow dirt and rock hairpins. Coming from the east you get that going down. I can’t imagine a massive fully customized 1200GS going through that. Rivers were very manageable (conditions may vary). Coming from Rushan there will be no more villages after halfway point, so no more petrol, food etc.. You can drink the water from the beautiful blue sparkling rivers (skip the gray stuff though).

Meet fat Alp (we go way back)
http://i.imgur.com/k75M56g.jpg

Love these sandy patches and dunes in the Pamirs
http://i.imgur.com/vwXUdju.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/KhqWhaD.jpg

Alp and one of the many unsung heroes of the Bartang
http://i.imgur.com/rCcEYlO.jpg

Relax after a messy hour. Routine backing up, drop bike, too heavy to pick up due to slope, everything has to come off. No breakfast, had no more water, hot sun and not a human being in sight
http://i.imgur.com/9tHGJaV.jpg

Fancy a game?
http://i.imgur.com/qQEOn8W.jpg

Words, none needed
http://i.imgur.com/HsmBFzs.jpg

Fairly long bits of riverbed in the valley, enjoy
http://i.imgur.com/q6jAPOC.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/TDb3nWX.jpg

The bowl to Barcadev
http://i.imgur.com/OXCvN7s.jpg

Screenshot from the new FarCry game
http://i.imgur.com/j04Rnwa.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/0woFQgh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/CW2gwxV.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/6N8jR7k.jpg

Fairly deep but narrow
http://i.imgur.com/1IV000y.jpg

The ascension to 3.800 meters, don't fall
http://i.imgur.com/znGVCLr.jpg

High on life and lack of oxygen
http://i.imgur.com/9vQ7pgW.jpg

Sent a friend I met in Kyrgyzstan on a XT that way (don't die Liam). Would have gone back with him if it wasn't for Russian visa.

One day I'll come back on a lighter bike earlier in the season when things are a bit more hectic and melty. I cannot imagine the Pamirs without the Bartang. Still the highlight of my journey and it altered the way I look at riding. I want more of this.

Mr. Mota, great! And great pictures!
Thanks for sharing!
Hey, a couple of things about Bartang:
1 is there any homestay/accommodation between Ghudara and Karakul?
2 did you find fuel on the way? I mean...locals were having fuel to sell?

Thank you and congrats!!

Inviato dal mio ZP980 utilizzando Tapatalk

Hi guys

we've just returned from Tajikistan. We did Bartang valley as well.
7 bikes (1 gs 800, 1 gs 650, 1 660 tenere, 1 990 adv, 3 690). The waters were low. No problems at all.

Between Gudara and Karakol we saw a sheepfold, in the upper part of the valley, between the steep descent.

We stayed also at that family in Savnov, very nice people.

In the villages in the lowest part of the valley, somebody invited us in their house and they gave us fruits and some food they had cooked in that day. Very nice people there.

In Gudara you have to pay (if I remember well) 8$ for pers + bike for visiting the national park.

Some pictures will follow.
Regards,
Cristian / Bob

Good to hear. I am heading there this Saturday. Where are you?

Now, I'm home (back in Romania)

Cristian / Bob

3 of us did the bartang last week, a cg125, a BMW r80 and a transalp 600

No real problems with the road

Was a real highlight of Tajikistan for me! Way better then the wakhan!

Hi all, I am proud I have done the Bartang!
Did it alone with a rented Honda NX 650 Dominator, this valley is really marvellous, and yes, much more scenic than Wakhan.
But even with the Zorkul permit from PECTA in Khorog militars didn't let me cross from Khargush to Zorkul, so I had to go up to Khargush pass and further Alichur southbound to reach Jarty Gumbez (on September 9 the hunting camp was closed, so I stayed in some people's house - much more typical).
Cheers!

This summer (end of July) we had this problem at Kargush. After one hour of negociation they let us go (we had the permit from Pecta, but they said that that permit is for Zorkul only, not further, where is border zone).

Cristian / Bob

Happy for you!
Now we need pictures!

Just a question: where did you rented the Dominator?

Myself and my mate did the Bartang Valley in late June on KTM 690's over the course of 2 days.

We'd really been blown away by the Wakkan Corridor and didn't think it could get any better until we did the Bartang. Best 2 days riding I've ever done.

I think looking at the pictures we were luckier with the weather and the water levels.

A real highlight of the trip.

How to pick the road from Karakul
 

Hey guys,

Definitely, the bartang is a top highlight of the trip. Quite challenging, as already said. (i did with a DRZ, first week of October).

I just wanted to share some details on where to get the road from Karakul.

From what i gathered there are 2 tracks from karakul lake:

Road Number 2 is the main road shown on main maps. However, when i got to karakul village, everyone said it was totally flooded, and also on the forum people said it was sometime flooded. I didn't try it.

I got intel that i should take another road (shown also on the most detailled pamir hiking map). road number 1 on my diagram.
its lots of small tracks exiting pamir highways, 10-15k from karakul village, they merge into a bigger one that's easy to follow, it goes along the lake. The track is very fine until it gets to the river crossing. Here the water flows from the lake into a river, so the river is madeup of 20 small streams that get bigger afterwards.
The tracks seems to be quite very very muddy when temperatures are higher. As for me the mud was frozen, so quite ok to pass.
After you crossed all the small streams (took me an hour) you have to find the small track that goes left, (you need to exit the main tracks that goes right otherwise). After 10k along the river you get to the "main" bartang valley track. (you passed the river, so river on your left, mountain on the right)

sorry i had no GPS so i can't give you the dots. Don't hesitate if i can help, it would be sad to miss the bartang valley.

Based on comments i quite hesitated to take it, so here are my comments for those who hesitate:
About me (very important to weight what i say, often tricky on HUB because there are some super good drivers and some uneperienced, so what they say about being "easy" or "hard" is just totally different).

Im french 28yo, 80kg,1m96. good health, but not strong arms (to lift up the bike!), DRZ400S, no motorcycling experience prior to starting my trip, but i build up a lot in mongolia (sands, rocks, 3000k) during 1 month), very very light package: 1 top bag 50Liters, 10kg(?), cautious way of driving. tires: shinko 700.
i passed in October, so it was 0/5 degrees celcius during the day and moderately windy.

-it has been described in some posts as a super hero trailblazing path, I mean it has been in the lonely planet for years guys, come on don't exagerate ;)
-when taken easy and slowly i found it challenging but ok to pass. The first 150k from karakul are the most challenging, lonely and daunting (high altitude, windy). The hairpins with many many rocks on the narrow road were where i felt it was a bit dangerous (as im not super experienced driver). If I had had a heavier bike (say DR650, or africa twin) with lots of luggage, i think my driving skills would have been too low and put me in danger (too heavy for my body build / skills).
- at 4000m altitude, you feel that weather could blow you away, really. It is super important to check weather i think. I mean if it gets windy, or snowy when you are on the cliff stretches with rocky hairpins, it is really dangerous. weather change quickly in the mountain.
- its cold and windy there (in October at least), you need proper gear, and frequent breaks, otherwise your driving gets lower. you need to be clear-minded for the technical stretches.
- i felt extreme lonelyness, and nature felt strong and daunting there, this is what i enjoyed most.

hope this can help :)

all the best, dont rush, take care, enjoy :)

Thanks for the info.

Bartang track update
 

I rode from Rushan to Kara Kul on June 2 and the track was in decent shape. I believe i may have been a bit early, as the water crossing were a little high, the mud a little deep and very little track to follow on the approach to the switchbacks (I rode from the bottom up).

The rocky cobble crossings' before the switchbacks were quite broken up with several washout sections to pick through and no established route yet. Switchbacks were in good shape, but once to the top, the gullies still had a bit of snow and were a tad sketchy.

The rest of the track was in good shape. I rode the route solo on my KTM 1190 with long range travel gear. It was challenging on the big bike, but good to go.

Thanks for posting these stunning photos guys. I thought I rode the extreme of all the extremes when riding through the Wakhan valley between Langar and Alichur...No! Bartang Valley seems more like the real deal. Gotta come back here..soon..