Getting there & Getting around

Getting there

Tajikistan International Airlines has weekly flights from Karachi, Delhi, Istanbul and Munich to Dushanbe. Turkish Airines flies from Istanbul to Dushanbe. Aeroflot flies between Moscow and Dushanbe a few times a week. There are also irregular charter connections from Dushanbe to Aleppo and Abu Dhabi. You'll probably find it easier to fly to another Central Asian republic and then take a regional flight. There's a railway route from Moscow through Kazakstan and Uzbekistan with a branch line from Tashkent to Dushanbe or Khojand.

Getting around

The only regular air services are between Dushanbe, Khojand and Khorog. There's no train between Dushanbe and Khojand; you have to take the bumpy bus. Other buses go south to Kurgan-Tyube and Kulyab, and as far down as Pyanj and Ayvadz, but get advice on how clever it would be to board these services. Buses to the east reach only around 100km (60mi), as far as Komsomolabad, though shared jeeps run as far as Khorog. Beyond this things become hit-and-miss; there's only the occasional weekly minibus. The scarcity of petrol and spare parts means many vehicles spend time off the road - be prepared for long, rough rides, missed connections and vomiting children. If this doesn't appeal, it's often possible to hire a car and driver: taxis and private citizens are often willing to take travellers between cities.

Visa information

Visas are not issued at the airport, nor at Tajikistan's border crossings. Border controls are rare but there are frequent internal checkpoints, and if you intend moving outside Dushanbe you must have impeccable documents. You can currently get visas at Tajik consulates in Moscow, Berlin, Brussels, Vienna, Beijing, Washington and the main Central Asian capitals, amongst others. At many of these you will need a letter of invitation from a travel agency in Tajikistan. You will need a special permit for the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast (the Pamir region). As a result of border tensions and smuggling, the army and militia do not appreciate the presence of foreigners in border areas.