Wednesday, September 14, 2011

The Pamirs highway?

Can you find the 2 vans?


Following the Panj River (nice bit of road)
The Pamirs highway could be best described as a series of pot holes on a corrugated gravel track that may or may not have some bitumen that has survived being gouged out by water running off the surrounding mountains or buried under mudslides or avalanches of stone. Our main drivers, Imondod and Sharif had to constantly use both sides of the road to avoid all of the above. As we climbed over Sagirdasht Pass, some 3200 metres above sea level, we descended into the Pamirs heading for Kalaikhum. It was regular to see the lead vehicle almost directly below us, so steep were the mountains in places. We drove all day along the Afghanistan border hugging the cliff edges along the Panj River. At times the road would be little more than a single lane width and I have to admit feeling a little nervous at times before we made camp in an apricot grove.

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