Khorog

Khorog

Khorog

The city of Khorog (Khoroq or Xoroq) is the administrative centre of the Kuhistoni Badakhshon Autonomous region of Tajikistan. It is located in the south-western part of the region, some 2,000m (6,560 ft) above sea level.
One of the oldest settlements in the Pamirs, Khorog was originally a complex of two villages, which in 1925 became the centre of the region. Rapidly growing, by 1932, Khorog had gained enough prestige to be given city status. At the present, the city has a population of 22,000.
South of Khorog you can find the hot springs, mountain lakes and the ruins of pre-Islamic fortress.
South-east from Khorog, the 4WD road heads up the Shakhrdara valley and over to Turuntai-kul, offering fantastic views of Pick Karl Marx (6,723m).
The very attractive and friendly Gunt valley is along road from Khorog to Jelandy. Lush poplars amid arid mountains shelter traditional Pamiri villages with very friendly and curious people. There are countless spectacular views along the Gunt valley.
The mountainous region of the Pamirs is known in Tajikistan as Bam-i-Jahon (the Roof of the World). The region is the node from which some of the world’s highest mountain ranges radiate. To the south lie the Karakoram and Himalaya. In the west is the Hindu Kush and along the Kyrgyz-Chinese border is the Tian Shan. Many peaks in Pamirs rise well over 7,000 m (23,000 feet) and large part of the region is too high for human settlement, but Marco Polo sheep and snow leopard live there.
Kuhistoni Badakhshon Autonomous region offers some of the best mountaineering and trekking opportunities in the world. The remoteness, varieties of mountains, colourful and friendly local communities, relative ease of access and stable weather make this one of the most highly exciting destinations.
The highest mountains of Central Asia: the peak of Lenin (7,134m), Ismoil Somoni [former Communism] (7,495), Pobeda (7,439), the glacier of Fedchenko, Medveji, Fortambek and others are situated here.

The 500m-deep Lake Sarez (Sareskoye) in the heart of the Pamirs, was formed in 1911 when the side of a mountain was dislodged by an earthquake and fell into the path of a mountain river. In the north of the Pamirs, Lake Kara-Kul, formed by a meteor ten million years ago, is 3,915m (12,844 ft) above sea-level and hence too high for any aquatic life.