The plain is called Pamier, and you ride across it for twelve days together, finding nothing but a desert without habitations or any green thing, so that travellers are obliged to carry with them whatever they have need of. The region is so lofty and cold that you can not even see any birds flying. And I must notice also that because of this great cold, fire does not burn so bright, nor give out so much heat as usual.
Marco Polo, Description of the World
Locals refer to this areas as the Roof of the World. Pamirs feel like a land a little bit closer to Mars, a series of inter- connected ranges separated by high-altitude valleys. The Chinese called the mountains the Congling Shan, or ‘Onion Mountains.
I back-tracked the Osh-Sary Tash section of the Pamir Highway with my carshare pool mates (one mother Sue and son Thomas from New Zealand and one Germany lady Francis) and our driver who does not speak much English. Fortunately, Thomas is multi-lingual and speaks Russian. We had a few photo stops and reached a beautiful lake with the view of the Niebu Peak (7000 ft).
Most of the Pamir Highway is paved, except for the mountain passes. Secondary roads are mostly unpaved and are in very bad condition. The supply with fresh vegetables and fruits in the villages on the road is bad, so I brought tametos, grapes, and carrots with me.
This was the 1st I slept in a yart and heard animal sounds during the night so close to me. The hurts suddenly racing twice during the night for some unknown reasons which sounded a bit scary for me. Quite interesting experience.
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