Sunday 9th June, 2019 – KHOVALING ( 40 km north of Kulob)
Arrived in Khovaling around midday and asked the way to ” the 40 Virgins Rocks” as we had read there was a nice hike there. As he turned out the guide book was incorrect and the access for the hike was from another valley ( parrallel to the Khovaling one). Nevertheless, there was a road going north from which you could see the site . The road was unpaved and quite bad but we did see the Rocks from a distance.
The 40 Virgin Rocks ( just visible) 
The legend is that 40 young girls prayed for deliverance from the approaching Mongol troups and were turned into stone so that their bodies would stay pure forever.
As we had gone that far into the valley and further north the road rejoined the M41 which leads to the Pamir Highway,(where we were heading to), we decided to carry on . The road was really quite bad.
Around 6pm we had to ask for directions and told the route ahead was under re- construction so we would need to ask our way as we went along. ( the existing road had been washed away ). The family asked us for tea.
We were lead to the guest living room, where the Eid table ( tablecloth on the floor) was still led with bread, sweets, pastries, chocolates etc ( Eid celebrations last 3 days and people go and visit their family members).
We spoke with the elder son who spoke russian. He had recently married after finishing his studies and his wife had come to live with his family. There is not much work around and he stayed at home to help his father on their small holding. After a while he told us we could stay the night so as there was not much day light left by then, we accepted.
There were 7 families living in this small settlement which was a previous gold excavation site dating from soviet times. A huge excavating machine was still there, dominating the houses and rusting away.
Monday 10th June, 2019 – TAVILDARA
A DAY FROM HELL….
We left early. It was raining and had been raining for most of the night. One kilometer or so away, we hit the first hurdle. The region is exploited for gold and there are huge quarries on the side of the mountains. We came to a barrier and the guard told us we could go but would have to ask our way ahead as the road keeps changing places… The rain was quite heavy but men were around and we asked for directions. This led us to the bank of the river Yakhsu which had swelled overnight and was now pretty fast flowing with banks of stones in the middle, creating several channels. We could see the “road” on the other side which was quite steep and at an angle from where we were on the other bank. We surveyed the area to try and find the best approach but were not sure we could do the crossing. We waited for a while and then a car turned up with 3 men . Two of them stripped down and went into the freezing river to remove some big stones and find the best channel. The third man then drove into the water, guided by the other two…. and we followed. We made it to the other side! Little did we know that there was worse to come…
Second hurdle:
We carried on but took a wrong turn at one stage and had to go back. Then we came to a second river crossing, even wider than the first one! Once again we were really unsure about crossing. We looked at various options to cross but some involved crossing the river perpendicularly to the flow and we feared the water would push us against the rocks. The river again had several channels and was around 200m across. We waited for a while, pondering what ro do when a man turned up on foot. He was travelling to Tavildara, where we were heading too. He volunteered to go into the water and helped us to go across. We offered him a lift ( and the chicken he was carrying in a pouch around his neck).
Third hurdle:
We were making slow progress as the so called “road” or rather track, was full of potholes and boulders. Half an hour later, you guessed it, we hit the river again! This time we were further upstream and it was not as wide, may be 30m across but it was even faster flowing and had large boulders under the water. There was a small wooden bridge but not strong enough for cars. We were stuck! Some men saw us from a distance and came down to see us. They were security guards on a former excavation site a couple of km away. The opinion was divided as to whether we could attempt the crossing. One of them stripped down and went thigh level into the freezing water to try and remove the bigger boulders but despite his best efforts, he could not get it to roll away with the flow of the river. He got very cold and was shivering but one of his mates offered him a swig of vodka from a bottle he had in his bag! We waited and pondered what to do. Our passenger with the chicken decided to carry on on foot, there were still around 15kms to reach Tavildara. Eventually, Zafar, the man who went into the water told us he knew someone with a tractor who could pull us through but at a cost ( TJ 500 – around 50 dollars!). We did not have the choice so we agreed and the man came about an hour and a half later. In the meantime, we had a bit of a walk and when we came back noticed that we had a flat tyre! The truck was not in the best position but Paul managed to change it just in time before the tractor arrived. Once the tractor was there, it was over in 15mn, a cable was attached to the car, Paul was in the car with the engine running and although we had some concerns with that big boulder still in the water we made it to the other side. The only damage was the reversing light at the back which got broken and loosing the registration number in the front…. That was not the end though as we had been told there was another difficult crossing ahead!
4th hurdle:
A couple of km further, we had to be pulled by the tractor again as the bank of the river were quite steep and we could not get through. We had 2 extra passengers in the car, one who came with the tractor man and another one who was working at the excavation site and returning to Tavildara. They assured us that the road was ok from there on and it was not too bad, all things considered.
When we got to Tavildara, it was after7pm by then, both men wanted to have us stay with them as guests. Akbar won (both men were related) and he even took us to the tyre repair shop so that the tyre would be ready the next morning. That day we only managed to do 32 km in 7hours (+ 4 hours waiting and pondering !)
Akbar was very proud of his house. He had worked in Russia for 15 years and saved money so that he could build that house and now also had a flat in Dushambe and a couple plots of land, one in Dushambe and one local were he grew potatoes to generate some income. He was very interested in knowing the cost of living, housing and salaries in England and gave us the average salaries for teachers ( 150 dollars a month etc…). He had three young sons and a 13 year old daughter who was away at the time. We were guest of honors and were shown to the guest receiving room ( once again the Eid table was still led). We only had a glimpse of his wife who did not speak russian and did not come to the room. The bathroom was in a cement built shed in the garden where the water was heated in large pans on a stove , making the room really warm, more like a russian banya. The waste water was simply going away through a hole at the base of one of the walls. The toilet, in a separate shed at the back of the garden was very rudimentary ( hole in the ground). Nevertheless, we were very grateful for having a warm place to sleep and good company.
Tuesday 12th June, 2019 – QALAI KHUMB
After breakfast we went to pick up the tyre and took the road again. This time we had been told by Akbar that it was”OK”. There were 2 options and he recommended to stay on the M41 ( Pamir Highway), at a fork some 15km away. We followed his advice but , having gone through a very muddy and slippery patch we came to a halt as a landslide was blocking the road . We had no option but to turn back. Before taking the other road we went back to a village we had passed through to make sure the road was passable. We were given the all clear and so we took the road going through Sagirdasht. The weather was still overcast but the scenery was great. We went through small villages lost in the mountains and up a pass ( 3252 m) where snow had fallen not so long ago. On the way down in the valley, the sun was breaking out and there were lots of wild flowers by the side of the road. We arrived at Qalai Khum mid-afternoon, small town with a couple of hostels and even a 5* Palace hotel and took the rest of the day off.
Frequent encounter… 
Road up the pass 
Top of the pass 
