In the village of Sezhd (Km71), a tough, easily missed 4WD track spirals up and over a dusty ridge finally petering out after 6km in the green, very disparate hamlet of Durum (population 12). From here a 40-minute walk from the road's end (crossing a tree-trunk bridge almost immediately) leads to a fine viewpoint overlooking the vivid aquamarine lake of Durum-Kul. On the return route, there are some grand views of 6000m peaks on the southern horizon.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
20.99 MILES
This 12th-century fort is the most impressive of the Wakhan Valley's many tumbledown castle ruins, complete with multiple walls and round watchtowers. The…
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21.95 MILES
Some 500m off the main road in Yamg (Ямг) is the reconstructed house museum of Sufi mystic, astronomer and musician Mubarak Kadam Wakhani (1843–1903). One…
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25.38 MILES
Set within a traditional walled enclosure and now protected within an octagonal cover added in the 1990s, this is one of several authentic ancient Ismaili…
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17.74 MILES
As the road doubles back beside a small mountain stream there are brief but impressive glimpses of two iconic peaks. At over 6000m a piece, Engels (6510m)…
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7.09 MILES
This impressive canyon can be glimpsed from the roadside but it's best getting out of the vehicle to appreciate it properly. A 30-second walk from the…
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14.74 MILES
The minimal ruins of this old 'red fort' has lent its name to the valley's main town. The town has a small bazaar and a fine location at the base of a…
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22.66 MILES
Close to Yamchun, on an obvious salt-bleached patch of mountainside directly behind the hamlet of Vrang (Вранг), is a five-level stone monument claimed to…
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13.08 MILES
This 8th-century Shashbuvad Fort is easily missed as it resembles an unfinished local house but it makes a necessary leg-stretch on this long and rough…
Nearby attractions
7.09 MILES
This impressive canyon can be glimpsed from the roadside but it's best getting out of the vehicle to appreciate it properly. A 30-second walk from the…
13.08 MILES
This 8th-century Shashbuvad Fort is easily missed as it resembles an unfinished local house but it makes a necessary leg-stretch on this long and rough…
14.74 MILES
The minimal ruins of this old 'red fort' has lent its name to the valley's main town. The town has a small bazaar and a fine location at the base of a…
17.74 MILES
As the road doubles back beside a small mountain stream there are brief but impressive glimpses of two iconic peaks. At over 6000m a piece, Engels (6510m)…
20.99 MILES
This 12th-century fort is the most impressive of the Wakhan Valley's many tumbledown castle ruins, complete with multiple walls and round watchtowers. The…
21.95 MILES
Some 500m off the main road in Yamg (Ямг) is the reconstructed house museum of Sufi mystic, astronomer and musician Mubarak Kadam Wakhani (1843–1903). One…
22.66 MILES
Close to Yamchun, on an obvious salt-bleached patch of mountainside directly behind the hamlet of Vrang (Вранг), is a five-level stone monument claimed to…
25.38 MILES
Set within a traditional walled enclosure and now protected within an octagonal cover added in the 1990s, this is one of several authentic ancient Ismaili…