Most visitors enter the Zeravshan valley from Samarkand, which is just accross the border to Uzbekistan. You will need a valid Tajik visa to enter and a double/multi-entry Uzbek visa if you intend to return the same way you came. There is no public transport crossing the border and unless you have arranged your trip through a tour agent, you will have to switch taxis at the border.
Additional entry routes are from Khujand or Dushanbe. Both are spectacular but also tiresome trips in shared taxi over passes as high as 3600m. In 2009 the price for a seat was about 140TJS for the Dushanbe-Panjakent bit. The roads range from virtually absent to first league, depending on whether you travel on the original road or one of the bits already repaired.
If you are entering from Dushanbe, you will have to cross the infamous Anzob tunnel, a shocking example of what all can go wrong when attempting to build a tunnel. The ride through the unventilated, non-asphalted and partly flooded tunnel (6km) is an experience not to be missed by those not suffering from claustrophobia. Except the tunnel, the road Dushanbe-Ajny is in good conditions (Dec 2010).
Panjakent and Aini have airports from which small planes occasionally fly to Dushanbe. There is no schedule. Normally, if the passes are closed and enough potential travelers have assembled, Tajik air runs a trip or two.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Zeravshan
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in Zeravshan - updated May 2024
SAVE up to 75% on Last Minute deals! Search for discount Zeravshan hotels, motels, apartments, hostels, guest accommodations and vacation resorts. Book now and pay at the hotel. Instant email confirmation!
Zeravshan Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.
