Traveling in mountains of Ishkashim Range.

“All paths are the same: they lead nowhere. Does this path have a heart? If there is, then this is a good way; if not, then it is no use. Both paths lead nowhere, but one has a heart and the other does not. One way makes the journey along it joyful: no matter how you wander, you and your path are inseparable. Another way will make you curse your life. One way gives you strength, the other destroys you.”

Carlos Castaneda.

Sights of Ishkashim Range.

The Ishkashim Range is located in the Western Pamirs in the Ishkashim and Murgab districts of the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region of Tajikistan. The western part of the Shakhdara Range extends 100 kilometers from the mouth of the Shahdar River to the latitudinal section of the Pyanj River.
Most of the peaks reach a height of 4000 - 5000 meters above sea level, two - 6000 meters above sea level, including Mayakovsky peak at a height of 6096 meters above sea level. The bottoms of adjacent valleys are located at an altitude of 2200 - 2500 meters above sea level.
The most significant spurs are: in the north-west - the Khoz-Guni mountains (about 30 kilometers long) and Bijunt mountains (about 24 kilometers long), in the north of Mount Vez (about 30 kilometers long).On the slope - mountain wormwood-fescue steppes and deserts, on the bottoms of valleys - wormwood deserts with oases and gardens near the villages.
Above 4000 - 4200 meters above sea level - the nival zone. The snow line ranges from 4500 - 4800 meters above sea level, in the west to 4600 - 4950 meters above sea level, in the east. In the ridge and its spurs, there are several passes up to 4000 meters above sea level, over 10 passes 4000 to 5000 meters above sea level and over 20 passes above 5000 meters above sea level.
The simplest crossing paths: Zimbarzer Pass 3,500 meters above sea level, Ten 5000 Pass above sea level, Abkharv-1 5050 meters above sea level). The main approaches: from the west and from the south from the valley of the Pyanj River, from the east from the valley of the Shahdara River, along which roads pass. In the valley of the Garmchashma River, 50 kilometers from the town of Khorog, the eponymous balneological resort area with outlets of mineral thermal and cold waters is a popular tourist and leisure destination for residents of Khorog.

Authority:
"Glaciers." L.D. Dolgushin, G.B. Osipova. Series "Nature of the world." Moscow, the publishing house "Thought". 1989.

Photos
Alexander Petrov.