If you travel to the Pamir Mountains in Tajikistan there is one side trip that should not be missed. The trek to the remote Jisev Valley combines beautiful scenery with a stay in a traditional Tajik village. With scenery ranging from arid mountains to aqua blue ponds, the trek to the rustic homes of Jisev turned out to be one of our favourite places in all of the Pamirs.
We had driven from Dushanbe to Rushan the day before on the first stage of our Pamir Highway road trip. You can read that post here.
From Rushan we still had to travel 28 kilometers up the Bartang Valley to the start of the trek. On the drive we stared in awe at the tall peaks of this beautiful valley. Flowing between them is the large Bartang River. The beautiful scenery was making us excited for what we would see on our trek.
Tip – There are other treks in the Bartang Valley that take you deeper into this pretty landscape.
The trek to Jizev begins where the clean waters of Jizeudarya River flows into the muddy Bartang River.
A suspension bridge crosses Bartang River and connects you to the start of the trek. From there a good hiking trail slowly climbs up the gently inclined valley. Jizev River (Jizeudarya) varies between a fast-running river in a tight valley and a slow body of water where it spreads out to form a small lake. At first the trail is mostly on scree, but as you get higher it changes to a dirt trail.
(Note it is also spelled Jizeu.)
After an hour of hiking we had gained most of the elevation and could see further down the valley. Tall barren mountains line the sides of the valley. We knew that hidden at their bases are three cute, traditional villages. We reached a small area with trees and gardens, a welcome addition of colour to the brown scenery. We had learned that this greenery was usually an indication of a village, and this time was no different. A short walk brought us to the first of three Jisev villages, called Chadik.
This first village is home to only 4 families. People in all three of the Jisev villages live in traditional stone homes covered in clay or mud with sod roofs. They exist mostly on what they grow themselves. Living under the arid mountains means that they had to figure out ways to water their gardens. Like other places in Tajikistan the people in Jizev Valley built intricate networks of irrigation canals. These canals funnel the water coming from surrounding peaks and spread it out to water their gardens.
We stayed in Lola Guesthouse in the first village. Given that it is a foot access only village with no electricity we thought we’d be roughing it for the night, but we were wrong. The warm hospitality of the family, delicious meals and a comfortable room to sleep were much better than we were expecting given their lack of modern amenities. Lola’s daughter speaks perfect English and is a gracious host.
In the surrounding gardens they grow barley, potatoes, carrots and other hearty vegetables. Their yard has apricot, walnut and mulberry trees. The garden immediately in front of their house though, was growing something else. We thought it was funny that this large garden was used to grow tobacco. I guess you have to do something to fill the long nights. Above the houses were small barns for their goats and pens for the chickens were to the side.
On the edge of town, the river slows down to form a small lake. A trail took us around the lake’s shore until we were opposite the small village. It is such a beautiful spot, we almost couldn’t believe that this tranquil scene was real.
Our favourite time was in the morning when the lake is flat and it beautifully reflects the high peaks above.
There are two more villages further up the valley. All three are collectively known as Jisev. Boghjingal Village is the largest of the three with five families. To reach it we followed a vague trail that took us beside the river. We enjoyed walking in the bucolic setting; watching goats climb up to higher pastures and locals working in their fields. The people who live in this remote location are incredibly friendly, waving a friendly hello as we passed by.
Higher up the valley is the village of Barukhtin whose population comes from only one family. The thirty minute walk between the villages takes you through very pretty scenery. We passed a few small ponds surrounded by large trees. In other areas the views opened up and we could see far down the valley. It was a great walk for us, but it must seem like a chore to have to do it just to speak to your neighbours.
Beyond the villages the trail continues to climb the valley. When we looked back we could see the difference between the dry mountains and the rich land beside the river. Green oases lined the river, but a barren land hovered above. The vegetation varied from large trees and wild flowers to scrub grass and thistles.
Tip – Wear long pants for this hike as the thistles and thorns have very long spikes that can easily penetrate your skin.
It was in Jisev Valley that we found one of the prettiest spots we’d see in the entire country. A calm lake nestled in a mountain basin was picture perfect. Making it even better, the lake’s surface gave us a mirror image of the mountains at the end of the valley.
Above the lake we hiked up to a point to get a good look at the Rushan Mountain Range at the end of the valley. At this point we decided to turn around and return to our guesthouse for dinner. On our way back we couldn’t resist stopping at the large lake for another look at the stunning scenery.
Our meals were served on a tapchan set under a large shade tree. It was at this table that we discovered our new favourite snack, apricot nuts! The nuts are very tasty, almost like sweet almonds. Or maybe not. After eating a few handfuls, we later learned that they are high in cyanide.
When we were eating dinner, all of sudden 5 or 6 chickens came running into the yard. They snuck out of their pen and raced toward the mulberries that had fallen on the ground. The chickens must have done this before because they knew exactly where to find them. They had to be quick though because they were quickly followed by Lola who herded them back into their pens.
We were so glad that we made this side trip to Jizev. It was humbling to see how gracious these people are while living in very basic conditions with no modern conveniences.
After our trek we returned to Rushan and continued our Pamir road trip. The next stage of our adventure was to explore the traditional villages and ancient ruins of the Wakhan Valley, from Ishkashim to Langar. Read our post Wakhan Valley – An Independent Travel Guide.
Trek Details
Elevation at first village – 2,460m (8,070 ft), Elevation at upper lake – 2,800m (9,185 ft)
Elevation gain to first village – 200m (650 ft); Time to first village – 1 ½ hours
It is quite an easy walk with only a small amount of elevation gain. There is a good trail to reach the first village. After that, route finding is a little trickier as it passes by gardens and through the villages. The elevation is not considered high altitude, but you may find it more difficult to breathe as you start to climb. Follow high elevation practices such as: drink plenty of water, give your body time to adjust and watch for symptoms of high altitude sickness. If you have symptoms you should go to a lower elevation.
Where to stay in Jisev – We highly recommend Lola Guesthouse. It is very basic, but is impeccably clean. The rooms are cozy; food is delicious; and the family is kind and generous. The price was $15 USD per person per night and included breakfast and dinner.
How to get to Jizev – You will need to get a ride from Rushan (or Khorog, 90 km) to the suspension bridge at the confluence of Bartang and Jizev Rivers (200 TJS/$18 USD from Rushan). People in Rushan know where it is. From there, the only way to reach the village is on foot. Make sure you arrange a time for the taxi to pick you up before you leave because there is no calling or internet in Jisev. We didn’t do this but we were eventuality able to catch a ride. There was very little traffic and we walked over 5 km before finally flagging down a passing car.
If you are travelling from Dushanbe you will need to spend the night in Rushan. There are two guesthouses listed on Google Maps. We stayed in Hostel Muborak. It wasn’t the cleanest place, but it was already 10 pm and we just needed a bed. It was $15 USD each for a bed and breakfast. Our guesthouse drove us to the trailhead the next morning. If that doesn’t work, you could also find a ride on main street Rushan.
Click on the link to read our Travel Tips For Tajikistan.
For more of our stories from Tajikistan click here.
Coming Next – Wakhan Valley – An Independent Travel Guide
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