After driving up a few hairpins and marvelling at the snow-covered Turkestan Range in front of us, we drove through a tunnel with its name in Chinese and a length of 2,622 metres, emerging on the southern side of the Range. We were confronted by a most spectacular view: the snowy peaks of the Zerafshan Range in front of us, towering vertical cliffs to the left and an increasingly deep gorge to the right as we serpentined down the mountainside. The road was excellent, although there were only mounds of earth at the side of the road to stop motorists plunging literally thousands of feet into the gorge. Lunatics overtaking on blind corners didn’t help to steady the nerves, but eventually we got to the bottom at the village of Hushakat where the river in the gorge empties into the Zerafshan River.
At the village of Ayni, we were delighted to see a road sign and totally misread it. After travelling 37 miles down the road to Panjakent, I asked a man weeding in a field and was sent back to Ayni. We then climbed up dozens of hairpins to the 3,372 metres Anzob Pass across the Zerafshan Range and passed through a tunnel, only to be confronted by a herd of cattle sheltering in the tunnel from the heat. The scenery was utterly spectacular with stone of every conceivable colour. At one point the mountain consisted of deep red sandstone while, on the other side of the road, it was light grey. One mountain was of light green stone.
The road down into Dushanbe was lined by expensive-looking restaurants and hotels, and the town of Varzob was evidently a tourist centre for Dushanbe. A very helpful lady who spoke perfect English (we think she was Indian) approached us in Dushanbe while I was reading the map and directed us to an ATM which didnt work so a young man offered to travel with us to a supermarket with an ATM.
We drove out of Dushanbe towards Nurek and spent the night at the side of a side-road.
