We started the day with a visit to the town of Murgab (Mughab?, Mugharb?) just 20 km down the road from last nights camping spot. This is another of those names that is famous along the Pamir Highway but about which it seems difficult to get good information. So it was with some relief that we discovered we could change US Dollars to the local Somanis and buy fuel at one of three gas stations (only diesel and 80 octane petrol).

We read in one of our guide books that the Pamir Highway (which officially goes from Osh in Kyrgyzstan to Khorog in Tajikistan) was built between 1931 and 1934 by the Soviets to support troops stationed in the region. Apparently Murgab was one of those outposts. Even today the place feels like it is in the middle of no-where so what it must have been like in 1934 is hard to even imagine.

The town sits in the valley of the river of the same name. It is surrounded by stark, desolate mountains, there are only modest patches of green in the river bed, and it seems to be permenantly wind swept. The buildings are predominately mud-brick but painted white with the inevitabe blue window surrounds. We stopped here for about an hour. Talked to a number of backpackers trying to organize minibus rides either to Osh or Khorog, bought some bread and a few other provisions. The market or bazzar is a series of "streets" that run between a collection of "shops" made from either steel shipping containers or van bodies that have had the chassis removed and the openings covered with steel sheet. very basic.

Murgab also seems to be where cargo trucks to and from China join the Pamir Highway. We saw no large cargo trucks before Murgab but at, and after, Murgab we saw a number semi-trailers.

On the western edge of the town we passed through an army checkpoint. No problems, the officers just recorded our details in a note book. I cannot believe the data is ever used but that's not my problem.

For the remainder of the day we traveled along the rough paved road, at around 4000 meters alititude, towards the junction of the Pamir Highway and the road down into the Wakhan Valley. We met a couple of groups of cyclists. The ones going east were in good spirits as the strong wind was generally behind them. The couple we met who were traveling west were having a much harder time trying to make headway into the wind and when we met them they were walking with their bikes. We also passed a number of Mongol Rally vehicles during the day.

At the town of Alichur we noticed what appeared to be a truck stop with a number of semis parked and soon after came upon the turn off to the Wakhan.


Rather than start the descent into the Wakhan today we decided to drive a gravel road out towards Lake Yashil'kul. We found a camp site along that road in a small dry lake bed.