Go Gorno-Badakhshan. EUCAM Commentary No. 19, October 2011

Boonstra, Jos (2011) Go Gorno-Badakhshan. EUCAM Commentary No. 19, October 2011. [Policy Paper]

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Abstract

The autonomous region of Gorno-Badakhshan (GBAO) in Tajikistan offers one of the world’s most impressive landscapes. The Pamir Mountains with peaks of up to 7,500 meters is second only to the Himalayas. Culturally the region also has much to offer with a variety of well-preserved traditions and numerous languages. GBAO, which makes up 45 per cent of Tajikistan’s territory but only 3 per cent of its population, is however extremely isolated. From Dushanbe there are adventurous but irregular flights in late spring, summer and early autumn but most travellers will need to take a bumpy 17 hour car journey. Other options to reach GBAO are equally challenging, either mountain passes from China’s Xinjiang region and the city of Osh in Kyrgyzstan or crossing the Panj River from northeast Afghanistan where a few bridges have been built.

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