12 Day Fann Mountains Expedition

In the morning, meet your guide and fellow trekkers and head out on a city tour of Dushanbe, Tajikistan’s unimposing capital city. You’ll have a chance to see many of Dushanbe’s highlights including the Somoni Monument, the world’s second-tallest flag pole, Rudaki Park, the parliament buildings, the historic Hissar Fort, and the Navruz Hall. Later that evening, we will have dinner at a luxury Tajik restaurant with live music and a dance show.

Accommodation: Atlas Hotel

Starting early after a lovely breakfast, we will hop in a 4WD van with all of our gear bound for the Fanns. After a stop for lunch near Sarvoda we will continue our way to the largest lake of the Fann Mountains, Iskanderkul. We should arrive in the early afternoon, giving us plenty of time to explore the shores of this dazzling turquoise lake. Later in the afternoon, we will head to the nearby village of Sarytag, from which we will begin our trekking expedition into the Fann Mountains. 

Accommodation: Guesthouse
Drive time: 4 hours by car
Altitude: 2200 meters 

After breakfast, we begin our Fann Mountains trek. The path begins from our guesthouse in Sarytag, following the beautiful blue Sarytag River for a few kilometers through an enchanting forest before we begin our uphill incline toward Dukdon Pass. In the late afternoon, we'll reach our camp in a verdant pasture at the foot of Dukdon Pass.

Altitude: 2380m
Distance: 11km | 7 hours | +950m/-30m
Accommodation: Tent

Gradually, we begin our ascent up our first pass on the Fann Mountains expedition to cross Dukdon Pass (3800m) today. The path we'll follow to the top is rocky and features patches of scree but is straightforward eventually bringing us to the top of the pass. 

We will break for lunch at the top of Dukdon Pass before taking on the descent alongside a glacier covering the pass partially. 

In the late afternoon, we will arrive at our camp in the Sugarkhona Meadows. In the Tajik language, sugharkhona means “Marmot house", so keep an eye out for marmots here. There are many other small mammals, birds, and medicinal herbs and plants to be seen along the way today too.

Altitude: 3300m
Distance: 7 km | 7 hours | +520m/-840m
Accommodation: Tent

Today, we will continue trekking, surrounded by the spectacular mountains and glaciers enveloping Sarykhodan Gorge in the distance, heading toward Archamaidon Valley. We will stop to take a small detour on the way to visit the beautifully tucked away Pushtikul Lake (2500m).

Tonight we will set up camp alongside the Archamaidon River.

Altitude: 2980m
Distance: 13km | 7-8 hours | +140m/-830m
Accommodation: Tent

After breakfast, we continue along the Archamaidon River to eventually reach the narrow Archamaidon Gorge. By afternoon we will reach the confluence where the Archamaidon and Amshut meet. From here, we leave the Archamaidon Valley to begin our ascent along the Zindon River. We will camp near the shores of Maloye Allo Lake or nearby.

Altitude: 2290m
Distance: 13km | 8 hours | +1230m/-1140m
Accommodation: Tent

Today, we begin a challenging day hike towards the Bolshoi Allo Lake (3150m), well worth the effort to witness one of the most beautiful lakes in the Fann Mountains, surrounded by an amphitheater of jagged peaks. On the way, we will pass through the beguiling natural scenery of the Zindon Gorge. The gorge is surrounded by soaring mountains on either side.

We will plan to begin out return to our camp in the Zindon Gorge in the late afternoon, arriving back at camp this evening.

Those that want to rest today are free to relax at camp and enjoy free time around Maloye Allo.

Altitude: 3150m
Distance: 17km | 9-10 hours | +790m/-790m
Accommodation: Tent

Today, we will make our descent from Maloye Allo. back to the Amshut River, and finally to the Archamaidon Valley. We'll follow the course of the river along a rough dirt road for most of the journey today to arrive in the stunning village of Vin in the early evening where we will have a lovely dinner in a homestay. Alternatively, we may stay in a homestay in nearby Zimtut.

Altitude: 2380m
Distance: 17km | 6-7 hours | +20/-860m
Accommodation: Homestay

We descend from Vin this morning and begin our trek that will take us past the village of Zimtut from where we begin our way up and over Guitan Pass (3000m) and back down again to Chukurak Lakes (2450m). We will reach Artuch village in the afternoon where we will have a night at the lovely Artuch Base Camp.

Altitude: 1900m
Distance: 17km | 8 hrs | +1600/-1000m
Accommodation: Artuch Alp Camp

After a leisurely breakfast, we will start our trek up to the Kulikalon Bowl. Following a tumbling river, we should reach our camp in the early afternoon and with time for exploration around the beautiful Kulikalon Bowl Lakes. 

Altitude: 2200m
Distance: 12 km | ~4 hrs | +600/- 60 m
Accommodation: Tent

We begin our day with an ascent up the spectacular Alovaddin Pass. From the top of the pass (3860m), we will be rewarded with mindblowing panoramic views of the surrounding peaks and lakes spread out below. From the top of the pass, we will make our way to our campsite located beside the impossibly blue Alovaddin Lake.

Altitude: 2800m
Distance: 12 km | ~6-7 hrs | +1060/ - 1100 m
Accommodation: Tent

We'll catch a gorgeous sunrise today over Alovaddin Lake before we pack up our camp and say our goodbyes to the Fann Mountains. It's not much of a trek today with only a 1.5 km hike down from Alovaddin Lakes to the base camp where our van will be waiting to pick us up.

We will arrive back in Dushanbe in the afternoon, where we'll have a bit of time to do some last-minute shopping before we have our goodbye dinner in the heart of the Tajik capital. 

Altitude: 2750m
Distance: 1.5 km
Drive time: 5 hours
Accommodation: Atlas Hotel