A fine sunset from my campsite at 3,100m - photo James Barlow

Introduction

In May 2023 I had the opportunity to be in Uzbekistan for a work-related trip and opted to spend a few extra days in the area hiking up peaks.  Based on the weekly satellite views from the Peakbagger app, the snow was melting nicely enough for clear hiking, but enough still left for water sources. 

After a warm-up hike on a Ribu in Uzbekistan with a trail to the summit, I planned to head across to Tajikistan for something a bit more unexplored, at least on any Google search I conducted.  Tajikistan is usually known for its massive Pamir mountains and "Snow Leopard" 7000m peaks.  My objective in Tajikistan would be a mere 3,770m ultra-prominent peak in the far northern corner of the country, tucked up near the Uzbek border, not all that far from Khujand and Tashkent: Gora Boboiob 3770m, P1502m.  It has no recorded ascents on Peakbagger – see here, but on Google maps a few locals have posted summit photos, so I knew that people make it up there somehow.

Since I was visiting from Uzbekistan, I requested a "two-entry" visa to Uzbekistan for my initial entry to Tashkent airport for the work portion of my trip, and then again a re-entry after Tajikistan to return to Tashkent for my flight home to The Netherlands.  My Canadian and Bulgarian work colleagues did not require a visa for entry, and no other EU countries require a visa either.  Just us Americans, sigh... !  It was only €30 for a two-entry visa and work paid for it anyhow.  Tajikistan was even easier - American citizens can enter visa-free for up to 30 days for tourism.

Here is the important information for future peak-baggers:

Please follow the procedure correctly and ensure that the government of Tajikistan continues to see peak-baggers in a positive light.  I believe that I set a very good example on this trip for us, and won over some goodwill on the behalf of future hikers.  Please have that mindset if you visit this beautiful area and wonderful people.  Tajikistan may be my new favorite country for the incredible helpfulness and hospitality exhibited by the people I encountered.  

For information on how to get there, see my Peakbagger ascent report here.

My hike up the mountain

I parked my car on the Uzbekistan side of the border right near the crossing for 10,000 som (€1) per day.  I then walked through the various passport stamping and customs stations and found myself in Tajikistan.  Naturally, there were two guys there waiting to have you hire their car as a taxi.  After using Google Translate (tip: definitely download Tajik for off-line) to communicate my desire, I was off with Bahrom.  He lives in the nearby town of Paldorak (палдорак).  We first stopped at his house, where he graciously offered me breakfast with him and his family. We also picked up his 14 year-old son, Nekruz, who was interested in going somewhere he had never been and practicing his English that he has been learning in school.

After a delicious breakfast and warm hospitality, we were on our way, after fuelling up the vehicle.  The road between the border and Khujand is great.  The road from Khujand to Shaydon is bad. That above Shaydon is all brand new pavement, in excellent shape.  We made a quick stop at a shop for some snacks for Nekruz.

We encountered our first bit of red tape at the border station, which is located 1.5 to 2 km after the end of the pavement.  Farhod, the head of this station, explained that I needed permission from the police to continue further into the border zone.  However, unlike every other place in the world I have ever been that has some kind of red tape rule, Farhod went into action, trying to help.  Based on my experience in dozens of other countries, I expected to be turned away, unsuccessful.  It is usually much easier to say 'no' and go away, than to actually try to help.  Farhod was exceptional and I cannot thank him enough.  All of the interactions were done over Google Translate as none of them spoke English, and I do not speak Tajik or Russian.  We were on ‘yes’ over the phone and then another call came in and he was told ‘no’.  After he had been told ‘yes’, I immediately threw my pack on so that I could walk immediately, figuring I could deal with putting on sunscreen and things like that after hiking for a few minutes out of view.  Before I even stepped away from the car, the next call came in from somebody else telling him ‘no’.

Farhod called a number of people, and eventually his wonderful boss, Delir, came up to the border station in his car to help out.  It was a Saturday, so this was his day off. I cannot express how much gratitude I feel at Delir’s willingness to help and make things happen.  Delir speaks fluent English, and is in a position of authority for the border guards in this area.  He made everything happen after this point.  He made a few more phone calls, and then we were told to come down to the police station, but thankfully not all the way back in Khujand.  We just had to go back down the road about 15 minutes to Shaydon.  After a few minutes at the police station with photocopies of my passport made and pictures of my passport taken, we were on our way back to the border station.

The agreement was that Farhod would hold my passport while I was hiking and return it to me the following day upon completion of my hike.  I think that if I had gone through the normal permission channel, they would not hold onto the passport.  I had no reservations about this because Farhod and Delir were absolutely wonderful.

The most striking thing that Delir said was the fact that the President of Tajikistan had directed the police and border guards to be very welcoming to foreign visitors. He wanted to make sure that the word gets out that Tajikistan is a good place for tourism, and that you will be taken care of by the officials.  At no point did any of the police or border guards start talking like they were expecting some kind of bribe.  My entire interaction was done without ever mentioning money.  I think it is fantastic that the people of Tajikistan are so open and honest.

Delir mentioned that they would absolutely love to have more hikers.  He also wanted me to share how to properly get the permission above so that if people read this report, they know exactly what to do ahead of time.  Additionally, the police in Khujand have a tourist police section which will make it much easier to get the permission there, as the tourist police will speak other languages, most likely Russian and English.

After everything was sorted in Shaydon, we headed back up past the border guard station to the end of the passenger vehicle accessible road where I began my hike.  I was on a trail that led to a jeep road, which then ended and became a good trail.

 
The very good trail ends around 2400m, but above here you can piece together cow trails and use paths, especially from 2800m on the climber’s right-hand side to avoid the cliffy area by the waterfall. 

Eventually, I started to lose daylight, certainly owing to my 15:00 start.  There is a good flat spot at 3100m where some of the locals have likely camped before with their livestock. I made my camp there for the evening. I was up just before sunrise, and got ready for the day, enjoying some food and water, getting dressed, and warming up.  It was a relatively cold night, but I was comfortable in my sleeping bag.  I left my camping gear inside one of the stone bivvy sites near where I slept on the ground.  I made my way up the slope, which is a mix of good solid ground plus mostly solid talus. There were only a few short sections that had rocks that moved.  I didn’t really stop for more than just photos between camp and the south-east ridge.  It was cold, and I only had my thinner gloves. As I reached the ridge at 3620m, I was greeted with the warm sun and opted to take a break to poop, drink, eat, and enjoy the views.

After this break, it was actually a very short and quick ascent, about twenty minutes to the summit.  The summit must be exceptionally popular.  It looks like there was some kind of large toppled metal device on the summit - perhaps a former trig point. It was covered in scraps of fabric.  I thought it must be some kind of Tajik good luck thing to leave this fabric tied to the post on the summit.  There was also a massive cairn, a little bit taller than me.  I took the usual photos, had a snack, and just sat up there taking it all in.  I did not have a spare scrap of fabric to tie to the metal unlike everybody else.

The next peak to the north is right on the Tajikistan – Uzbekistan border.  It is about 20m lower and, from this vantage point, appears to be lower.  I also took a photo from exactly the highest natural ground in case there is ever a desire for pixel analysis.  It would not be legally possible to go over to this peak anyhow. It has about 400 m of prominence.

From my starting point to the summit was 11.5km and 2020m of height gain.  I had guessed 12km and 2000m of gain before starting, so I think I guessed pretty well.  After an enjoyable time on the summit, it was time to head back down to camp to pack up.

The return to camp was quick and I started packing as soon as I arrived.  After a snack and enjoying the views, I made my descent, topping off water bottles where the stream emerged from underground at around 2800m.  The hiking in the canyon was pleasant with a slight breeze. I stopped at my same break spot under a tree at about 2400m. 

Just below here I encountered a local guy and his son herding one of their cows up the valley.  We ended up walking together for a while and I shared some of my snacks with them.  The son, I would guess, was about ten years old. He showed me a few leaves that I could eat as well as some wild rhubarb.  We parted ways where I marked a path on my gps track that would take me to the roads back to my trailhead.  A little while after we parted ways I took a break in the shade of a tree, as the day was heating up.

The return to my starting point was uneventful, but hot.  Below here along the road I caught up with the father and son again.  Clearly there was a quicker path than I took, though I did stop for a break in the shade.  We walked together again for the rest of the way to the border guard station.  They lived in the first place past the border guard hut as you go uphill.

Upon return to the border guard hut I learned that my driver’s son had been feeling sick and they had left to go home.  I had only paid him for half the journey so I wasn’t out of any money.  Luckily, my driver had let Farhod know and he had already planned to call me a different taxi from the local village when I arrived.  I arrived there at about 15:00 and was on my way in a new cheaper taxi within an hour.  This driver only took me to Khujand, and then somehow linked up with my driver from yesterday who insisted I stop at his house for dinner and apologized profusely for leaving me with another driver.  After a delicious lamb dinner, Bahrom gave me a ride to the border.

A final note: this is the perfect time of year to do this peak.  The stream was flowing as a water source, though I would only pull water above where I saw the cows pooping.  I did the entire hike in trail runners, even though I hauled my boots, crampons, and ice axe up to camp.  Better to have it and not need it, than arrive at the bottom of a steep snow slope in only sneakers.  From camp I could see that the ascent to the summit was snow-free, so I made that short 700m ascent with a feather light pack of jacket, snacks, and water. This mountain could be a pretty good spring ski ascent if you haul the gear to Tajikistan, although it’s a little flat below 2600m.