Thermal springs of Tajikistan.

“This is the beginning of a strip of deserts and steppes that stretches across all of Asia. But the wasteland is interrupted by fertile landscapes, where rich villages lie among groves and vineyards. If we pass this belt of oases, we will definitely come across some of the mighty mountains of Asia: the Tien Shan, the Himalayas, the Hindu Kush or the Alai.”

Willie Rickmer Rickmers, Alai-Pamir expedition 1928.

Trip to hot springs of Dzharty Gumbez from village of Khargush.

Sulfur, hot springs of Dzharty Gumbez (“Half Dome” in translation from Tajik) are located at an altitude of 4157 meters above sea level, located 20 – 35 meters from right bank of Ystyk River, which originates on northern slope of Wakhan ridge, 42 kilometers on east and slightly north of Lake Zorkul, in eastern spurs of South Alichur ridge in Murgab region in south of Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region. 
Currently, in the immediate vicinity of the right bank of the Ystyk River there are several houses that provide all the necessary sanatorium conditions, with rooms for living, a dining room and pools for taking sulfur baths. The temperature of water saturated with carbon dioxide at the outlet of the source is 65 degrees Celsius.
You can get to these sources by helicopter and by car. The nearest settlement is Khargush, located in the west 120 kilometers from the Dzharty Gumbez spring. The best time to visit the hot spring is during the summer months. The source is located at an altitude of more than 4000 meters, so it is necessary to take care of proper acclimatization.
There are harsh climatic conditions here against the backdrop of a high-mountain desert climate, summers are short and cold. Winter is long and frosty.
Geographic coordinates of source Dzharty Gumbez: N37°33'53 E74°09'30

Authority and photos:
Alexander Petrov.