The Pamir Highway, spanning from Kyrgyzstan to Tajikistan in Central Asia, is, quite possibly, the most picturesque area of the world we’ve ever been. Towering snow-capped mountains, windy high altitude roads, friendly local people and lush valleys and rivers are the scenery one can expect along the way. Each village, each ancient site and each lake that we saw was stunning, but for some reason, the little village of Langar in the Wakhan Valley stood out for us. There was just something special about that place.
Enough talk, enjoy these 21 outstanding photos 🙂
The fertile Wakhan Valley as seen from above Langar Village
Harvest season in Langar
The colourful autumn season in the village
Man’s best friend
Bright flowers with a mountainous backdrop
A rushing river surrounded by trees
A warm welcome in Tajikistan
Donkeys threshing the wheat, not as easy as using a machine, but it works!
Making friends in the village
A mud home in the mountains
A tree in bloom
Petroglyph carving from the Bronze Age, 500m above Langar
Elders of Langar wearing traditional clothing
Winnowing the wheat by hand, this separates the grain from its inedible casing
Hanging out with the locals
An inquisitive young girl
A woman takes a quick break from working in the fields
View from the Abrashim Qala Fort overlooking the Wakhan Valley
A young girl gets her hands dirty, everyone helps with the work
A scenic village road
A girl with a fuzzy white hat
Of all of the villages we visited along the Pamir Highway, we think Langar was the best in terms of people, scenery and things to do. Which picture is your favourite? Tell us below!
For more information, check out:
Travelling On The Pamir Highway: Bulunkul to Langar
The Ultimate Guide to Backpacking Tajikistan
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Gorgeous pictures! Langar looks like such a great place to explore. My favourites are the ones with the children in them.
Magnificent !
Such exquisite photographs !
You certainly portrayed many aspects of Beautiful Langar.
The turquoise doors really stood out amongst the earthy tones. And the picture of the two women, turquoise door open showing the daily wash … priceless !
Thank You for sharing such a rare glimpse of an off-the-beaten-path area and it’s people ! 🙂
It’s one unusual destination, but all this looks great. From people to valleys and rivers. I bet that you had a very good time there, as we see on the pictures.
This is one of my favourite places in the world, and that’s after 18 years of travels! The people are so friendly and the scenery out of this world. And not many other travellers, so is quite unspoilt. I was actually going to do a post soon about how I got stuck for 2 weeks in Dushanbe by the foreign police for over-staying my visa due to staying down in the Wakhan Valley too long!
This made me very happy seeing these photos.
If only more backpackers knew about these amazing places they could be seeing instead of getting wasted on islands in places like Thailand. But then part of me is happy that some of them don’t…
We had a bunch of goofy kids take us up as ‘guides’ to those petroglyphs, abd probably had more fun hanging out with them than in seeing the carvings themselves. That we valley is such a cool place; it’s too bad the government has locked down GBAO for the moment.
We had a bunch of goofy kids take us up as ‘guides’ to those petroglyphs, abd probably had more fun hanging out with them than in seeing the carvings themselves. That wee valley is such a cool place; it’s too bad the government has locked down GBAO for the moment.
Thanks Christine 🙂 The kids in Langar were so sweet – and curious!
Cheers.
Thank you!! I really like the one with the turquoise door too 🙂 Such a great little village – everything was so photogenic!
Thank you for commenting Felipe! Yes, we had a great time there 🙂
Cheers
Wow, that’s definitely saying something, isn’t it?! We too loved the fact that it’s unspoilt by tourism and westernization – it’s hard to find many places like that these days. Too funny about overstaying your visa…what was the end result? A fine?
Cheers!
What a cool experience!
Can you tell me more about the GBAO status? I hadn’t heard about it…
thanks!
Wow, Langar looks like an incredible place! Your photos are so beautiful- I particularly love the little girl in black and white. Such a great expression!
Thanks Katie! She is one of my favourites too 🙂
Cheers.
That river looks so beautiful! Can one swim in it? Or it’s too cold/dangerous to do so?
I think the river would be quite cold! The Panj River borders with Afghanistan in some parts, so I’m not sure what the rules are on swimming there! Also, you wouldn’t be able to wear a bathing suit in this part of the world, you’d have to go in your clothing. Regardless, the rivers are beautiful to look at 🙂
Thank you for commenting!
What a trip! This is a part of the world I’ve been dreaming of exploring, but I’m waiting to find the perfect travel buddy to go with! I love donkeys, so the pic of the kid with the donkey is my fave 🙂
Sparking! That’s for sure, the beauty changes with the change of season in Langar Village in it’s own way.
Wow! The pictures are so beautiful, specially the last one of the little girl. I believe pictures of nature are beautiful from any angle, but pictures with real human expressions are priceless! And you have mangled to capture them beautifully. Kudos to you!
Thanks for the comment, I hope you get to Central Asia one day, it’s beautiful!! Cheers.
Yes !! Thanks for commenting
Thank you so much! We do love photographing people for sure, sometimes it can be awkward to ask them, but more often than not, people like having their photo taken 🙂
This place is quite similar to Ladakh in India..
We haven’t been there..but soooo want to go!
Is that Afghanistan on the other side of the river? I remember visiting a project on the Afghan side of the lower Wakhan in early 2001. We had snow in May. The drive from Ishkashem was like driving along the border of the first and third worlds. On our side, dirt roads that were difficult for a 4×4 and very little development. On the Tajik side, tarmac roads, electricity, all kinds of modern conveniences. Hoping to visit Tajikistan this summer. It’s just a short hop (1hr) from where we now live in Kabul.