"Rock Elephant " a little way before Murgab.


Strong tearing blows of wind make my bike bed just like an old sail ship. Really cold. I decided to put my rain coat on, in addition to several layers already. It turned to be tricky – the wind was tearing the coat in pieces so I could not put my arms and legs into the sleeves. So I turned from road and hid behind the slope. Then I heard ia sharp sound. My bike got carried away with the wind! I left it steady on earth, but now those 160 kgs of metal were lying right before me. Pamir, generally, is one big wind. Wins when you stand, sit, wind and , wind and juice…..
Alichur Valley is a most beautiful place. There one will see big Yak herds. In a Alichur roadhouse one could have some yummy fried fish from a local river. Things look closer as they are when you drive, an interesting optical illusion. Mountains, Yaks are all close and you drive and drive and they won’t disappear.
Traffic there is like this – no cars I saw on the road.

Mountains here are not as high as Fun Mountains or Gissar Giants. But the road grade lies on the level of not less than 3700 above sea.



I could not wait to see Murgab. And finally I saw it. As if it never left my life. During the three years of isolation here, I learned every house, every cliff and every stone there. 20 years passed, nothing changed. And the two most characteristic local colors were in place, too – bright blue sky and ginger-red-yellowish surface, like on Mars.

Murgab kishlak on the horizon.


River Murgab.



I saw local kids and took my toy bags. Trust me, I did not ask them kids to pose, they just like to be onphotos.


House where I lived.



Had lunch in a good village café and took off for Rangkol Lake


Murgab kishlak with Mount Zerkalky in the backgrounds



Road to Rangkol


Pamir sky is dark blue – for high altitude and tenuous air.







Rongkol Lake



Was very strongly surprised to run ton camels there. They seemed to feel in the same way. Never saw them camels in this places. And weather all time varies.






I did not care much about Lake. I wanted to see that сave with a mysterious fire. I really saw it once. There is even a local legend about that fire.
Long time ago, a gold caravan was passing thru this country. Caravan merchants learned that robbers would attack them at night. They saw a cave with the entrance located on a high altitude. They decided to hide there. They killed camels and made some kind of an embankment from their dead bodies. They hid in the cave with their gold and wolves ate all dead camels. Robbers found out where the gold was but they could not make it upwards. They surrounded the cliff hoping the merchants would capitulate and give gold for water and food. Time passed and no answer from caravan. Angry, robbers killed their camels and ascended in the cave same way the caravan merchants did. Inside, they found no men and no gold. So, the fire began to light there since those events. Like waving to others to tell about what got left after the caravan.
IN some time, I found the cliff and of course saw the cave. Disappointment was there was no fire.

Fire Cave Cliff.


No fire inside the cave.


….and an alien space vessel))



Disappointed I decided to proceed to take a tour towards the border with China.