DRIVING the AFGHAN border! - TAJIKISTAN 🇹🇯 - Australia to Scotland by road - Episode 72

Following the Panj River down the valley, the days were becoming a little warmer and we were beginning to see more people around as we crossed over the halfway point of our time in the Wakhan.
Our next stop was Yamchun Fort, one of many fort ruins which can be found in the Wakhan and date back to the third century BC. Many of them, like Yamchun were built to service the silk route, and although appearing quite deteriorated, Yamchun Fort is actually the most well preserved in the region. We wandered around for an hour or so, taking it all in and tried to imagine what it would of been like centuries ago when it was being used.
Our plans for the rest of the day were to drive to Ishkashem, have a quick lunch stop and continue on looking for somewhere to camp for the night. We kept a lookout for tracks going off down towards the river and managed to find a great spot to set up which was hidden from the road and had incredible views up to the mountains in Afghanistan.
In Ishkashem, if you time your trip to be there on a Saturday you can cross the border to the market which is held on the Afghan side. Unfortunately our timing didn’t work out to go to the market though we’ve heard it’s a great experience!
From Ishkashem to Khorog, which is the end/start point of the Wakhan, the scenery is incredible as the valley walls come closer together and you pass through more small villages. There’s not a huge amount of places to camp so we just enjoyed the drive and continued on.
With no real need to stop in Khorog for anything, we stopped in for lunch and to get some groceries, and continued driving west towards Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan. Khorog is a beautiful town which sits at 2,200 metres and is actually home to the second highest botanical garden in the world at 2,320 metres.
We kept driving, working our way back up another mountain range and found a nice spot to set up for the night on a green hillside with views of the mountains surrounding us.
(Cheers Jerome for the spot!)
Thanks for watching and we hope you enjoyed following our journey through the Wakhan!
Jolie and Mark
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[@deklerkvanniekerk3092]

Excellent Scenery! Can you show us a bit of what you do for breakfast, lunch and dinner

[@HuubVlogs]

It's really great to see you guys back uploading again lately :)

[@TheWayOverland]

Cheers

[@mountainconstructions]

Wow, your editing, cinematography, drone footage music and voice to camera are so captivating now. That video emersed me so much, I totally forgot I was watching KZbin. Credit to both of you.... What a lifetime event your are creating.

[@TheWayOverland]

Wow, thanks. Quite the review! It's great making these eps and reliving our passage through that epic scenery so good to hear you're enjoying them too. Cheers

[@jcf6597]

Incredible scenery and excellent videography! Thanks for sharing, especially after your Iranian ordeal.

[@TheWayOverland]

Cheers, feels good to be putting some what positive videos out after that, and in this pretty turbulent world we're living in at the moment!

[@FieswurmHelen]

Very wonderful views! You have impressed me with this beautiful landscapes.

[@TheWayOverland]

Thanks

[@shamim1947]

Enjoyed your trip very much... beautiful landscape

[@amadsaleem8949]

Epic scenery.....

[@tanveerkhoso1]

Very beautiful indeed

[@lorenthealchemist3515]

Stunning! So beautiful!

[@TheWayOverland]

Thanks

[@rajarshichoudhury7657]

Its so nice....wonder our earth is so beautiful. Thanks for shareing the video....keep posting more ❤

[@AmjadAli-rh8kh]

I love your videos god blessed 🙌

[@overlandme]

That was a good dose of beauty to see in 1 video. Always enjoying your videos. You are true adventures with great spirit. Wish you all the best.

[@TheWayOverland]

Cheers, glad you're enjoying the episodes! 👍

[@usama9071]

Nice d beautiful scene d velley d beautiful river bellow d snow on the top of hills .good journey.❣️♥️💙👌

[@PhG1961]

Really awesome video. Excellent editing and even the background music (often under rated) is very good.

[@TheWayOverland]

Thanks Philip.

[@colinross6259]

Surprising how much friendlier a bit of grass makes places look. Those snowcaps in the background all the time, wow. Another enjoyable watch.

[@TheWayOverland]

Thanks Colin, indeed that lush green grass makes everything look incredible, especially contrasted with the snow. Amazing how quickly it changed too with the drop down in the valley!

[@SodiumOverland]

Absolutely beautiful country. Its good to see other countries with such freedom to bush camping. What an opportunity.

[@TheWayOverland]

It definitely makes life much easier to overland! A lot of people in these regions also live on the road as a way of life so camping here is not as unusual like other countries we have visited.

[@nadeemakram4211]

Nice information about wakhan corridor. Have a safe journey

[@shubham-fx7dc]

U guys are amazing, fav travel vlogger of mine so far

[@TheWayOverland]

Thanks!

[@stevestott3652]

Wow that was absolutely beautiful first camp spot . And the countryside around that arena is spectacular . Well done you two on another great adventure video . Cheers and may your new year to come be a great and fun filled adventure . Thanks again for sharing your awesome videos . From Steve Stott in Sutherlin U.S.A.

[@TheWayOverland]

Thanks again Steve, always appreciate your positive reviews!

[@pearsonhenry2]

Missed out on the hot spring by the fort! All along the Pamir highway are public hot springs and well worth visiting.

[@mark-]

wow spectacular scenery nice video thank you

[@TheWayOverland]

Thanks Mark

[@robkeith1776]

Hey Jolie and Mark. Greetings from sunny Oz. Fascinating video and some dodgy tracks with landslides. Dushanbe looked like an affluent town. Thank you for taking us along on your adventure.

[@TheWayOverland]

Hey Rob, Thankfully the locals had cut in the detour as we weren’t overly looking forward to climbing back up the mountain! Dushanbe was really surprising, similar to Bishkek being very green and clean with seemingly decent infrastructure. Everyone seems to be driving a Merc or Lexus too!

[@robkeith1776]

Hey Jolie and Mark. Greetings from sunny Oz. Another epic video of some stunning scenery. Enjoy

[@TheWayOverland]

Thanks Rob

[@Thakur87HP]

Beautiful video of beautiful country God bless you both

[@TheWayOverland]

Thanks!

[@Venture2Roam]

What an epic camp spot at the end!

[@TheWayOverland]

Sure was!

[@navgoraya3198]

Really beautiful camping spot at the end. This is in the middle of pure mother nature 👍👍👌👌⛰⛰

[@TheWayOverland]

It was a great camp spot! Wait till the next episode though, unfortunately mother nature has different ideas......

[@farazhassan6417]

Great stuff, Lovely. Cheers!

[@TheWayOverland]

Thanks Faraz!

[@kel8026]

The editing skills are getting pretty good there!

[@TheWayOverland]

Thanks Kel

[@happydach]

Excellent video.. I'm surprised river serves as border & no fenced border @ Yamchun .. saying because of security issues & tourism in Tajikistan

[@DirtSunrise]

So beautiful. You guys are making us change some plans on routes etc. Cheers

[@JohnHMoore]

Wait, what? Tim & Kelsey you two are planning a trip over there? From where to where?

[@DirtSunrise]

@@JohnHMoore We're always planning the next trip and the one after that. We'll see what opens up first and what makes sense to do next. In the stans/mongolia we'd like to do a lot.

[@TheWayOverland]

Thanks guys!

[@technicalafghan-8564]

Our world is so beautiful . I wish one day we will have peaceful Afghanistan 🇦🇫

[@drarkhan743]

In sha Allah, when it is peaceful, I will drive to Afghanistan.

[@technicalafghan-8564]

@@drarkhan743 Most welcome

[@TheWayOverland]

As do we, we would be happy to explore Afghanistan in a day when it is safe to do so. It looks like a beautiful country which makes us envious of earlier travellers who ventured through before the unrest.

[@technicalafghan-8564]

@@TheWayOverland Thank you so much I saw your new video a few days ago you share with people about Afghanistan Wakhan I saw that with My friends in my office . special thanks both of you. you are always show us beautiful place and world culture every country Your video make us happy when u r talk with children or shake hand with them . They dosnt understand your language like Afghan children but u r trying to talk with children. You have so kind ❤️ .. and I will wait for your new video THANKS :)

[@TheWayOverland]

Great to hear you and your friends are enjoying the videos! Thanks for the comments 🙂

[@Tararsupport]

I will follow your step after covid a beautiful valley

[@TheWayOverland]

Hopefully not too much longer!....

[@Tararsupport]

@@TheWayOverland Thanks for reply, I would like to meet you when you will be in Pakistan

[@alsalimbd2878]

Nice tajikistan

[@grycyprus7229]

love from Pakistan

[@GoingTheWholeHogg]

More amazing camp spots and scenery! Always enjoy reading your description first, it's great how much of a story you write alongside the video. How did you guys find the fuel situation here? We met other overlanders who skipped the Wakhan and went the M41 route because they were concerned they wouldn't get quality fuel between Murghab and Khorog.

[@TheWayOverland]

Thanks, good to know people read it! Thankfully we didn’t have that problem, we have long range tanks and had enough fuel to last from Kyrgyzstan to Dushanbe.

[@GoingTheWholeHogg]

@@TheWayOverland Nice. Didn't even know that was a thing!

[@asiftahir]

Hello Guys, I remember you because you guys came to Pakistan. Tajikstan, what a beautiful country. Love from Pakistan.

[@TheWayOverland]

Both beautiful countries! Cheers

[@Zacker72]

So proud to see WA plate number traveling all around the world. I'm hoping I can do the same.

[@TheWayOverland]

Hopefully this COVID mess is sorted soon then!

[@AshleyPearceImages]

@@TheWayOverland binge watching the last four episodes after being away for four weeks. Just loving the videos and editing is next level again.....hope you guys have settled into "normal" home life

[@TheWayOverland]

Thanks Ashley! Yeah, the new normal. Thankfully we live in a pretty special country, and we’ve got the videos in the meantime to take us somewhere ‘exotic’.

[@TripsandFeasts1]

I've travelled independently in 156 countries and there are only a handful of places that I would like to return to. The Wakhan valley is one of them. As a matter of interest, in what months was this video filmed?

[@TheWayOverland]

It's a pretty special place! This was filmed in late May.

[@EWOverland]

Beautiful footage. Can you share some of the routes and spots ?

[@TheWayOverland]

Thanks, the route was simply the Pamir HWY - M41, with the deviation through to the Wakhan via Khargush. We camped simply where we could, we used our Google maps method though this area is pretty heavily travelled by overlanders so iOverlander is also a good source of potential camp spots and info.

[@EWOverland]

@@TheWayOverland Thanks

[@JohnHMoore]

When you were pulling out of the sand dune at the beginning, your tires looked fairly inflated... just got me to wondering if this trip is constant airing down & back up or if you tend to just leave your tires pretty fully inflated?

[@TheWayOverland]

Hey John, Depending on the country, it's road conditions, and/or where we'll be heading. For example, The Stans and The Subcontinent etc. where there is a lot of off-road/or the roads are not well maintained the tyres were lower for the majority, on the other hand countries like Thailand/Malaysia/China were the roads are well maintained and getting off road is more difficult they generally stayed up. In this episode, we actually walked the dunes first to check the conditions and found the sand to be hard so we didn't need to drop them anymore.

[@blues-indianer8667]

Hi Jolie & Mark, thanx for this gorgeous video, it's like sitting on the top of the rover to take part of your journey. This area is a kind of "dreaming route" for me on my bike. The stony, scraggy area is a wonderful picture of a part of this world. Meanwhile in retirement, I hope I can do this trip from Germany to wakhan valley in 2021 or 22. Hope you are well and I will follow your trip from today on. Kind regards, Henry

[@TheWayOverland]

G'day Henry, We hope the world gets itself in order so you can take that trip to this special little pocket to experience yourself. Glad you enjoyed the video. Cheers

[@blues-indianer8667]

@@TheWayOverland Thanks Jolie& Mark, if possible, I will go to Iran this year and 2022 to Central Asia. I have no experiences with Middle East/Asia and want (mental) approach to that part of the world! Thanks for writing, kind regards from Henry

[@aletnortje8929]

Technical question: Mark, did you feel it was worth it/indispensable to carry a second spare wheel? We are planning to drive from South Africa to Israel and our cars a very similar. I have KO2's on and REALY do not want to schlep another tyre along if I don't have to.

[@TheWayOverland]

I guess it comes down to what style of driving you’ll be doing, how far from civilisation you’ll be, and the potential frequency of people passing that stretch of road. I can’t speak for parts of Africa as we haven’t traversed that yet though it used to be a good practice for remote outback travel in Aus. to carry two spares as people can be rare in those parts and the elements harsh. With todays tyres it could be questionable whether that principal is still necessary though I have seen people blow through two tyres on one stretch of road in the outback. We carry two as risk aversion in the unlikely event we did blow two, and also (and probably more so) as sourcing quality spares in our size can be difficult in some countries. Being able to rotate the 6 wheels through essentially elongates the life span of all tyres reducing the need to have to source spares on the road. We don’t regret carrying the second spare (thankfully we haven’t needed it) though if we were looking at if from a weight perspective we would probably carry additional water on that arm of the wheel carrier so it would cancel out. If weight is of concern you could just carry the tyre and not the rim? Throw it on the roof?

[@aletnortje8929]

@@TheWayOverland Thank you for your reply! Makes sense to rather have one than be stuck in the middle of nowhere. Throwing it on the roof will be a good idea, as we only have the solar panel up there. We are two old cronies, so no surf boards ;) Yours do look very cool on the roof though!

[@TheWayOverland]

Ha yeah, perhaps skis would be better suited for this part of the world though!

[@Muhammadbilal-kd1xu]

Is it possible to cross border through wakhan and enter pakista

[@yasirsohail6575]

Beautiful nice video. salam from pakistan

[@TheWayOverland]

Salam and thanks!

[@anthonychan7877]

How do you buy gas in the middle of nowhere

[@TheWayOverland]

We didn't, we carry enough fuel to last between cities.

[@shahnawazhanjra6531]

🇵🇰👍♥️

[@amir11290]

border areas between pakistan afghanistan tajikstan china and kryghistan is one of the most beautiful areas of the world

[@TheWayOverland]

Would have to agree with you there.

[@saam8972]

Otherside of the revier is AFGHANISTAN

[@jamesellis2784]

Congress az Yavapia county pobox 689 . USA

[@MrKuhistani]

oh how I wish you guys get closer to the people as well and see different cultures through your lenses rather than you summarising the experience ....

[@mohammadazeemahmadzai8199]

Wakhan afghanistan 🇦🇫 no Tajikistan

[@Brauny05]

Really?🤦🏻😂 No its Tajikistan with big T🇹🇯