Nicole Smoot
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Nicole is an adventure traveler sharing tips & tricks to help you explore the world.
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Which Direction Tajik Visa & GBAO Permit Optional Permits How to travel the Wakhan Valley Khorog to Ishkashim Namadgut to Yamchun Yamchun to Langar Langar to Khargush Pass Optional: Zorkul Trekking Budget Packing List Adding the Wakhan to your Pamir adventure? In 1873 and 1893 agreements between Britain & Russia and Britain & Afghanistan were made (see Great Game) to use the Panj & Pamir Rivers as a border and to form the Durand Line as a border for British India, thus resulting in the split of the historic Wakhan region into the Russian Empire (Tajikistan) and the Wakhan Corridor (Afghanistan), with the Afghan Wakhan Corridor acting as a buffer between the two empires. The Tajik portion of the Wakhan Valley sits in southeastern Tajikistan along the border with Afghanistan with the main section of the Wakhan sitting between Ishkashim and Langar. Most who visit the Wakhan Valley do so by private 4×4 hire with other travelers as a detour from the Pamir Highway between Khorog and Osh, or as a loop from Khorog to Khorog combining either the Pamir Highway and Wakhan Valley or the Shokhdara Valley and Wakhan Valley.
Qolma Pass Between Tajikistan & China was originally written in July 2018 Qolma Pass, the sole border crossing connecting Tajikistan and China. And trust me, this is a really obscure one, after returning to China after having crossed both the Qolma/Kalasu as well as the Khunjerab Pass between China and Pakistan any time we showed our passports it caused quite a flurry of interest for police and military officers. On the way from China into Tajikistan we ended up having groups of two hitch rides over in Kamaz trucks, and the final group of two ended up hitching a ride in the Chinese military van that was taking officers to the Chinese customs building at the Tajik port to change out shifts. The Tajik side of Qolma Pass is open Monday through Friday from 10 am to 4 pm Dushanbe time* and closed for lunch from 1 pm to 2 pm, however, these hours can vary a bit from day to day (welcome to Tajikistan).
Our first stop on arrival at the Tarim Souq was a fouta shop where the other three deliberated between different fouta (the man-skirt you see most Yemeni males donning) to purchase for gifts, and I snuck photos out the door of the man across this particularly wide souq alley, chatting with his neighbor (who I can only assume is his competitor) selling dried fish. Click here to read more about traveling in Yemen’s Al Mahrah Region Al Muhdhar Mosque is a beautiful, blinding-white historic mosque, located right in the heart of Tarim. The school focuses on Sufi teachings of Hadith (sayings of the Prophet Mohammed that offer guidance to Muslims), Adab (Sufi spiritual Islamic etiquette), Fiq (Islamic jurisprudence), and Tasawwuf (Sufi sciences of the heart). Al Jameh Mosque features the impressive Al Kaf library that features over 5,000 manuscripts from various fields of knowledge including, Sufism, medicine, Islamic law, mathematics, history, agriculture, about 400 of which are believed to be unique to the Islamic world.
The consulate in Khorog is actually the closest consulate to the Afghan Wakhan and nearby Ishkashim will likely be your entry point into Afghanistan and onto the Wakhan. Since the summer of 2018 its been reported that the consulate in Khorog will tell you that you can only use the visa to enter into the Afghan Wakhan, but there is nothing marking this information on your passport. The Khorog Consulate usually issues 30 days single entry visas that are valid beginning the day they issue it to you. I actually used some of these to help plan (recklessly) my own visit: Trekking in the Pamirs by Jan Bakker: Jan’s new book covers many of Tajikistan’s popular treks as well as a 12-dayer in the Afghan Wakhan.
A beautiful winter day in Kachemak Bay, staying at @betweenbeachesalaska for the last few days over on MacDonald Spit. #alaska #travelalaska #thealaskalife #kachemakbay #macdonaldspit
Happy New Year 🎉
With summer plans foiled (because 2020 😂), we decided to make a road trip up the Dalton Highway since that looked like the most feasible way to get the furthest from home with getting on a plane and leaving Alaska. Naturally I got a copy of a map and started making trekking plans into the least visited national park in the US. We hiked for an entire day along the Dietrich River, making a slight detour from my original route (my sense of direction is a bit poor, but not due to a bad internal compass, but more because of distraction and oh, what if we explore just a little further that way.... oh look something shiny...). We ended up hiking up a steep mountain pass, which surely had no name since many things out there in the Brooks Range have no names, knowing that the Kuyuktavuk Creek was in the next valley over (see, I told you I knew where I was going). What we were rewarded with were these epic views in Gates of the Arctic as we made out first steps into the park (not pictured: 7,456,890,314 mosquitos violently attacking). This was one of the more arduous treks I’ve taken on, tripping over tussocks, crisscrossing creek after creek, and wearing a rain jack, rain pants, gaiters, and at many times a head net, despite it being sunny and hot to keep the mutant mosquitos of the Arctic from eating me alive... but I’ll totally do it all over again (don’t worry, I’ll eventually get around to writing about this trip). I was supposed to take a group out to the Arrigetch Peaks (which is an area of Gates of the Arctic much further east than pictured here) with @backpackalaska this summer, but that trip was deferred to 2021, so this was my plan b to make up for it. #gatesofthearctic #gatesofthearcticnationalpark #arctic #alaska #thealaskalife #travelalaska
I know I went a little M.I.A. this summer (more on that later)... but I’m back with an exciting announcement- I’m joining up with @soviet_tours to offer a wild journey into the mountainous autonomous republics of the Northwest Caucasus: Karachay- Cherkessia, Adygea, and Kabardino-Balkaria in 2021. This tour will take place in late spring/early summer 2021, starting in the city of Krasnodar. Trip highlights will include trekking in Kabardia with epic views of Mt. Elbrus (the highest mountain in Europe), exploring the mountain meadows of Lago Naki Plateau, visiting beautiful Circassian hamlets that dot the landscape of this region, trekking in the deep valleys and high peaks of Balkaria, and of course, visiting unique Soviet-era monuments and architectural sites along the way. Final dates and itinerary details will be coming soon on both @soviet_tours and my own websites (soviettours.com and adventuresoflilnicki.com). For right now, if this is something that interest you, you can drop us an email at info@soviettours.com or adventuresoflilnicki.com for more information. I’m also linking in @soviet_tours website in my stories today, so swipe up to head over and check it out. Photo provided by @gianluca_pardelli #karachaycherkessia #kabardinobalkaria #adygea #circassia #lagonaki #elbrus #karachay #cherkessia #kabardino #balkaria #krasnodar #caucasus #russia
Enough is enough. Unlearn bias. Get educated. Racism isn’t political. Listen, learn, and do better. . If you’re looking to help, consider donating to @reclaimtheblock @mnfreedomfund @colorofchange @blklivesmatter
Catching sunset over the Kaluts last year with @mahani599 #iran #kaluts #dashtelut #kerman #traveliran #iranissafe #exploreiran #irantravel #iranify #persia #middleeast #mustseeiran #beautifuliran #everydayiran #دشتلوت #کرمان #ایران
On top of the Backdoor Gap a couple years ago when we did the Mint-Bomber Traverse in Hatcher Pass. #alaska #hatcherpass #thealaskalife #travelalaska
Details inside Tila-Qori Mosque in Samarkand. #samarkand #registan #uzbekistan #centralasia #travelcentralasia #uzbtravel #Самарканд #узбекистан
This mudbrick palace built atop a massive precipice rising from the floor of Wadi Daw’an, looming over Qarn Majid is Husn Fort. The fort, teetering on a crumbling rock was constructed in the 19th century for Sheikh Abdullah bin Muhammad Quhum Al Amudi who was originally from the nearby village of Budah. After damages sustained by flooding in the Hadhramaut region, Husn Fort underwent extensive rehabilitation to repair and restore it from its impending demise. We weren’t able to go inside the fort, but if you look up ‘emergency repair of Husn Fort’ on YouTube you can see a video showing the processes underwent, and what the restored interior looks like. In my stories today I’ve included a link to donate to a fundraiser set up by a group of amazing Yemeni women for Humanity for Relief and Development who works to put together projects such as the @mercybakery in Sana’a to help to improve the lives of people affected by the war in Yemen. #husnfort #qarnmajid #wadidoan #wadidawan #yemen #arabia #arabiafelix #middleeast #وَادِيدَوْعَن #حضرموت #اليمن
Views along Afghanistan’s Panjshir (Five Lions) Valley last winter. #afghanistan #centralasia #afghanistanyouneversee #panjshir #panjshirvalley #everydayafghanistan #پنجشیر #افغانستان
Silent and still very much alive sits the ancient fortified mud brick city of Shibam in Central Yemen’s Hadhramaut region. Nicknamed the ‘Manhattan of the desert’, owing to the cluster of multi-story high-rise homes made of mud brick in traditional Hadhrami fashion. The city of Shibam dates back to at least the 4th century, however, much of the architecture for which it’s famed wasn’t built until the 16th century. Shibam has seen the frankincense caravans traveling from Dhofar to the Mediterranean, and devastating flooding wash through the Wadi Hadhramaut over the centuries. Shibam was a main stop for travelers over the years until attacks made Shibam too dangerous for most to consider. Now the city sits sun-dried and crumbling, silent but still living. Wandering down the quiet alleys with little more than the crunch of the sand on the bottom of our shoes against the cobblestone streets was a highlight with the occasional chatter of a pod of children playing, wandering past goats and sheep, a welcoming salaam, and the voice of a muezzin echoing the adhan down the alleys signaling the prayer time. At one point we heard music playing from a window and a head popped out of the frame at the sound of our echoed whispers. We had thought it was a recording, but it was actually a young man playing an oud, who invited us in to watch him play. Back out in the alleys a young woman heard us whispering amongst each other in English on the way to visit the museum and promptly grabbed my arm to welcome me to her city and tell me she was so happy to hear foreigners voices again after so many years, before bidding a goodbye as she had to get to a class. And finally just watching the life carry on from the main square on the edge of the Shibam souq with a cluster of men playing dominos sat on a mauve cloth sipping shai. Our final hours spent in Shibam were magic, sat on the slope of Jabal Khidba watching the sun cast rose-gold light on the city as it dropped below the horizon. Men and boys were playing football frantically under the changing light. At the moment the sun finally disappeared behind canyon walls, the maghrib call rang out filling the wide wadi