Trekking in the Pamirs!

Photo below: Pik Engels Meadows, southern Pamirs, Tajikistan

14 days to go and I'll be heading for one of the least explored mountain ranges in the world: the Pamirs. Tucked between its more famous neighbouring chains of the Hindu Kush, Karakoram and Tien Shan, the Pamirs are not very well known. It's still a mystery to me why. The Pamir Mountains (literally “Roof of the World” in Persian) is one of the highest mountain ranges in the world. Its wild and snow capped peaks cover the entire eastern part of Tajikistan, southern Kyrgyzstan and the north east of Afghanistan. With three peaks well over 7000 metres, the longest glacier on earth outside the North and South Pole, and harbouring endangered animals like the elusive snow leopard and Marco Polo sheep, this mountain range has an incredible potential for mountain tourism. If done in a sustainable way.

A trek up to the base of Pik Engels in October 2009 was the inspiration to write a trekking guidebook about this magnificent mountain range. From the end of May until the end of September I'll be doing the first stage of the research. The first trek is in the south Kyrgyzstan, starting from the ancient city of Osh up to the base camp of Pik Lenin. Keep you posted!