One of the oldest countries in the world, colorful, warm and mysterious Tajikistan rapidly otvoovyvaet ever greater flow of tourists from the CIS countries . The reasons are obvious: here there are plenty of ancient sites - which are at least monuments Zoroastrian civilization Sogdiana and the fabulous cities of the Great Silk Road, the richest opportunities for climbing - the mountainous Pamir, the famous Peak of Communism and a mass of secondary, but no less interesting peaks, curative thermal springs, finally, a diverse and local delicious food (pilaf pilaf pilaf!!!) and cute heart Colorful cotton robes and skullcaps . lack of visas and only 4 hours on the road - and you're in the heart of ancient Asia .

Capital - Dushanbe @@. @ Major cities -. Khujand, Kulyab, Kurgan-Tube, Khorog

How to get to Tajikistan

From Moscow in Dushanbe daily flights of "Tajikistan Airlines" and UTair. The journey takes 4 hours and 20 minutes. On Thursdays and Sundays "Tajikistan Airlines" fly to Dushanbe from St. Petersburg, the road will take 5 hours. Tajik national air carrier offers direct flights from Moscow to Khujand (daily) and Kurgan-Tube (on Fridays).

Citizens of Ukraine and Belarus will have to fly to Tajikistan with a connection in Moscow.

in Tajikistan is also possible to arrive by train ( 5 days in transit) or by car, and the route will pass through the territories of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.

Visa to Tajikistan

Citizens of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus do not need a visa to visit Tajikistan. Entry into the country is possible by an internal passport

Customs

Amounts over 500 USD or their equivalents in another currency must be declared upon arrival. The maximum amount allowed to import is 5000 USD. Import and export of national currency is prohibited. Also prohibited are the import of drugs, weapons and ammunition, poisonous and explosive substances, pornography and any printed products, photo and video materials that are contrary to the norms of Islamic morality. Precious metals and stones can be taken out only in the presence of a document confirming their purchase in a store Tajikistan.

Money and exchange

can exchange currency at the airport, banks and official exchange offices and in hotels . US Dollars , EUR and Russian ruble are accepted equally willingly . Change currency with the hands is not recommended: in two cases out of three you will become a victim of fraud on credit cards . better not count - ATMs can be found only in major cities and far-Tajik ie at every step . Similarly, pay "credit card" can not at all hotels and restaurants, even in the capital . Travelers Checks cashed in Tajikistan fail .

Useful phone numbers

Embassy of Tajikistan in Moscow: Granatny per., 13; tel .: (495) 690-38-46, 690-41-86; website

Consular Section of the Embassy of Tajikistan in Moscow: Skatertny per., 19; tel .: (495) 690-57-36

Embassy of Russia in Dushanbe: st. Abuali ibn Sino, 29/31; tel .: (37) 235-98-27, 235-70-65; website

Consulate General of the Russian Federation in Khujand: st. Syr-Darya, 21; tel .: (3422) 646-73, 604-11; website

Codes of some cities: Dushanbe - 372 Khujand - 3422, Kulyab - 3322, Kurgan-Tube - 3222, Khorog - 35220

Supplemental Tourist Office of Tajikistan in Dushanbe: (372) 351-025

Fire service - 01, police - 02, first aid - 03, reference - 09.

Safety of tourists

In general, Tajikistan is a fairly safe country, under certain conditions . With the onset darkness is not recommended to go out alone, especially outside Dushanbe . At any time of the day, do not carry large amounts of money and wear a drag values ​​. You can drink only bottled or boiled water, as the tap water purification system is far from perfect, and the country has a high incidence of cholera disease . For the same reason, washing fruit and brushing teeth is water from the bottle, and in bars and restaurants ask for drinks without ice .

• Is it possible to walk in shorts in Tajikistan

Transportation

In Tajikistan it is most convenient to travel by bus and minibus (usual "passenger cars" for 4 passengers and minibuses for 12). The first run on schedule between the main cities of the country (mainly in the area of ​​Dushanbe and southern Tajikistan), the second - on all other directions, where people need somewhere to go. Marshrutki go to the road, only when all the seats are filled. If you do not want to wait, you can pay for free places and start off immediately.

The train can be reached from Dushanbe to Khujand and from Kurgan-Tube to Khujand, in both cases by transit through Uzbek Termez.

"Tajikistan Airlines" and Somoni Air operate several flights per day on the route Dushanbe - Khujand (about an hour in the air) and Dushanbe - Khorog, but air traffic is extremely meteodependent and frequent flight cancellations, particularly in winter

Rental car

The car rental system in Tajikistan is not developed, but almost always you can find a taxi driver or " ", Consonant to take the traveler to an arbitrarily distant settlement of the country, of course, at a contractual price . On average, a car with a driver will cost $ 50 per day . It is recommended that you carefully inspect the vehicle before you start off and clearly identify route and price . Deviations from the declared plan may cost an additional amount . For safety reasons it is better to look for a "private trader" with the help of hotel staff or at bus stations and stations of minibuses .

Tajikistan's climate

In Tajikistan sharply -continental, arid climate, with a pronounced altitudinal . In the low valleys subtropical climate reigns in the middle tier of the mountains it is replaced by a moderately warm, and in the highlands - the cold . The average July temperature in the valleys 23 . 30 ° C, January - 0 . +2 ° C . In the high areas of the mountains frosts up to -27 ° C (in the Pamirs up to -50 ° C) are not uncommon in winter, it is not hot here and in summer - from +4 up to +15 ° C, depending on the altitude . From October to May in the mountains storms raging; summer and early autumn sandstorms occur on the plains, which can last up to a week or more. .

The most successful time for visiting the southern regions of the country is March-April, when the valleys turn into a large and bright floral carpet. For mountain ascents to the Pamirs, the period from July to September is favorable; it's also worthwhile to go on foot tours around the country in September

Before the trip, do not forget to take a look at the current weather forecast in Tajikistan

Panorama of Lake Iskanderkul

Fan Mountains

Picturesque nature of Lake Kulikalon

Hotels

In the capital and popular tourist cities eats high-end hotels, with a wide range of services. As for the hinterland, here the primacy for family-run boarding houses and hotels of the "Soviet type."

Shopping

Weaving and embroidery - this is what Tajikistan is most famous for first time . Souvenir number one - national clothes: famous cotton dressing gowns (by the way, they are not hot in summer due to a thick "buffer"), embroidered belts and skullcaps, dresses, and sharovary . It is worth paying attention to traditional leather shoes: boots, boots and sandals - they literally do not demolish . From Tajikistan can bring the Wall "Suzane" carpets, embroidered with silk or thread-sewing bedspreads "ruidjo" tablecloth "dastarkhan" . very nice pottery - by lap or hired by manually . Women stacked like silver necklaces, uvestistye bracelets and earrings with national motives . Please pay attention to home and very cozy mats, as well as traditional figurines .

Cuisine and restaurants

Tajikistan is equal to the pilaf . Here there are more than four hundred recipes for its preparation: each village . Instead of rice in pilaf, noodles from fresh dough, fried in the oven and crushed to the size of rice grains . By the way, in Tajikistan like and hearty porridge with meat, often based on rice . Unlike pilaf this dish is obtained "wet" . From meat Tajiks prefer mutton and goat, there are many dishes of horse meat . Beef is served less often, and pigs and for obvious reasons there is absolutely no . Meat or vegetable kebabs with fatty fat and all kinds of "kabobs" - all-Asian kebabs, sausages from chopped meat are extremely popular . All dishes are abundantly seasoned with spices, onions, herbs and aromatic herbs . Meal it is customary to wash it with ayran - sour milk .By the way, there are a lot of varieties of sour-milk products . There are a lot of varieties of sour-milk products from the soups. From soups it is possible to distinguish a vegetable "shurbo" with lamb or goat, seasoned with garlic and basil, rich "threats" from noodles with meat, rice "shawlah", "khash" from mutton, pelmeni "Tushbera" and "naryn" - soup from horse meat .

At sweet it is worth to try puff pastry "samboos", baked in tandyra or "pilita" - analogue of "brushwood". Of course, you must absolutely finish the dinner with fragrant Tajik green tea

Entertainment, excursions and attractions of Tajikistan

One of the most ancient states of the world, Tajikistan offers an abundance of historical, cultural and natural attractions, and see all it is unlikely that it will be possible for a dozen trips to the country. The capital of Dushanbe, the ancient cities of Khujand, Penjikent, Istaravshan, Isfara, the majestic landscapes, lakes and rivers of the Fan Mountains, the highlands of Badakhshan, the Pamir - the roof of the world, the Karakul and Sarez lakes, the Obigarm thermal springs - this is an incomplete list of the riches of Tajikistan.

In Dushanbe it is worth to visit the Hissar fortress, once serving as the Bek residence, with two madrassas, a 16th mausoleum and an extensive square. You can learn more about the Tajik history at the Museum of Antiquities, the Museum of Archeology and the Museum of Ethnography. The most valuable manuscripts of the great Firdausi, Saadi and Ibn Sino are kept in the Republican library.

In Khujand interesting ruins of the Khujand fortress (5 in BC), in the Middle Ages considered the most fortified in all Central Asia, Masjidi Jami Mosque (16th c). Among other things, Khujand is a place of attraction for mountaineers: the city is the starting point for climbing the Ak-Su massif.

Penjikent, once one of the most prosperous cities of the Great Silk Road, numbering more than 5 thousand years of history, is interesting with monuments of the ancient Zoroastrian civilization of Sogdiana , as well as unique excavations of the Stone Age. There are a lot of places for veneration of great people and saints: the mausoleum of the founder of the classical Tajik poetry Abu-Abdollo Rudaki (10th c), the place of rest of the religious figure and expert of the hadith Muhammad Bashoro, mausoleum of St. Hazrati-Bobo.

2500-year-old Istaravshan is famous for the most beautiful mosques Khavzi-Sangin and Savriston, the mausoleum and the mosque Hazrati-Shokh, the blue dome of the Kok-Gumbaz madrasah. Among the archaeological sites are excavations of the ancient settlement of Mugtepp and the medieval fortress of Kakh-Kakha.

Popular trips along the Pamir highway, a high-altitude asphalt road more than 700 km long: from the city of Khorog, the center of Ismailism, along the border with Afghanistan and China to the Kyrgyz Osh. In the region of Lake Karakul there are plenty of opportunities for climbing.

Photo of Tajikistan (67)