Ishkashim district (population approx. 27,000) is a very attractive destination in Gorno-Badakhshan for its wealth of archaeological sites (castles, petroglyphs and more than sixty shrines and holy places) and spectacular scenery, with views across the Wakhan to the snow-covered Hindu Kush in Pakistan.
The road from Khorugh to Ishkashim town follows the Panj south and at Anderob (‘two rivers’) there is a road leading up a side valley to the hot spring of Garm-Chashma (literally ‘hot spring’). From Garm-Chashma trekking routes go to the Shokhdara valley (Vezdara, Badomdara) and the Wakhan (Darshay), with views of Peak Mayakovsky (6,095m).
South of Andarob the main road passes the ruby mine Kuh-i Lal (‘ruby mountain’). The mine was famous in antiquity and was visited by Marco Polo. The Lale-Badakhshan or ‘Balas’ ruby – in gemmology ‘spinel’ – is still mined there today. In the nearby village of Sist is a shrine Masar Khojai Lola.
In the village of Shanbedeh there is a shrine, Ostoni Shohburhon. A little further on, in Kosideh, a road leads up a side valley to Bagush, where there are petroglyphs and a large graveyard dating back to the 13th century CE. Further south, in the village of Oudj, near Yakhshvol, there is a sanatorium with a hot spring bath.
Close to Ishkashim town, the district centre, in a place called Nut, there are the ruins of a caravanserai dating from the 6th-7th century. In Ryn, just beyond the district centre, there is a shrine Ostoni Zanjiri Kaba and a stone sun calendar. Some ten kilometres further east, near the village of Namadgut, are the ruins of a vast fortress known as Kakhkaha, the oldest parts of which date probably from the second century BCE (Kushan Empire). Kakhkaha is believed to have been the leader of a fire-worshipping tribe, the Siah-Posh (black-robed), that ruled in the Wakhan and was defeated around the time of the conversion of the region to Islam. The descendants of the Siah-Posh now live in present-day Nuristan in Afghanistan. The fortress is occupied by the Tajik border guards and it is advisable to seek permission before exploring the interior of the ruins.
Almost opposite the fortress is the shrine Ostoni Shohi Mardon (‘Holy site of the Prince of Men’, one of the names attributed to Ali). There are petroglyphs in Namadgut.
In Darshay – some twenty kilometres beyond Namadgut – there are the ruins of a fortress (6th – 9thcentury CE), the shrine Ostoni Piri Fokhmamad and some petroglyphs. Up the side valley here (Darshaydara), close to the ruins of the Topkhana (‘watchtower’) there are a number of rocks with Arabic inscriptions (and one in the ancient Kharoshti script – also known as the Gāndhārī script – dated 4th-3rd century BCE according to the Soviet scholar Bernshtam).
In Shitkharv, ten kilometres beyond Darshay, is the shrine Ostoni Bobo Khoki. In Zumudg, the next village, there is a roadside shrine and a stone calendar. In Ptup, some five kilometres from Zumudg, there is a shrine to Shoh Isomuddin (also known as Shoh Samiddi or Shoh Hasan Medina) with an amazing garden filled with old twisted sacred trees.
Probably the most spectacular site in the Wakhan is the village of Yamchun, above Ptup, with the imposing Zulkhomor fortress and nearby hot spring Ostoni Bibi Fotimai Zakhro (literally ‘holy site of the sleeves of Bibi Fatima’). The ruins of the fortress supposedly built by Kakhkaha for another sister, Zulhasham, can be seen on the Afghan side of the Wakhan between Namadgut and Ptup. The Bibi Fotima hot spring is believed to improve female fertility.
A few kilometres beyond Ptup, in the village of Yamg, is the museum of the astronomer and scholar Sufi Muboraki Vakhoni, who lived from the late 18th to the early 19th century. His manuscripts, tools, musical instruments and other exhibits are shown in the museum, including his solar calendar. In Vnukut, the next village, there is a roadside shrine, Chil Murid (‘the forty faithful’).
A little further along the Wakhan, in the village of Vrang, there is a Buddhist stupa, surrounded by caves that served as cells for the monks (and, much later, as refuge for the local people from marauding Afghans and Kyrgyz). In the early 7th century CE, the famous Chinese traveller, Xuanzang, noted the existence of Buddhist monasteries in the Wakhan. Below the stupa is a shrine and museum, Osorkhonai Abdullo Ansori, dedicated to the famous mystic and Sufi poet Abdullo Ansori, who lived in the 11th century CE. Above Vrang are the ruins of Vishimkala (‘Silk Fortress’ in the Wakhi language) – also known by its Tajik name of Abreshimkala – dating from the mediaeval period.
A trekking route goes from Vrang to Rubot in the Shokhdara valley. Another goes from Langar along the Pamir river and across the Mats pass to Djavshangoz. (See separate information sheet on Shokhdara.)
In Zugvand, the next village, there is a shrine Ostoni Panjai Shoh and, a little further on, in Zong, there are the following shrines and holy places: Mazori Shasti Murtuzo Ali, Osorkhonai Pir Saidkaramalishoh (museum), Mazori Pir Saidkaramalishoh, Mazori Khoja Behzod, Ostoni Khonai Khudo, Ostoni Murodgokhi Murodoson and Ostoni Gesuv. The latter is also known as Gesui balogrdon, literally ‘Gesu, who prevents harm’. Opposite Zugvand, the ruins of the Kala-e-Panjafortress can be seen on the Afghan side. This fortress, dating back also to the Siah-Posh, once controlled the entrance to the Wakhan from the east.
In Hisor, the next village, there is a shrine Ostoni Nuri Muhammad and the ruins of a castle (Zangibar). In Langar, where the Pamir river joins the Panj, there is an important shrine, Mazori Shohkambari Oftob, meaning literally ‘Master of the Sun and Moon’, The garden also has old sacred trees. There are a large number of petroglyphs near Langar, many from the bronze age.
From Langar, the road leaves the Wakhan to follow the Pamir river to Zorkul and the Pamir Highway (see separate information sheet on Murghab district). There is a fortress in Ratm, above Langar, overlooking a deep gorge down to the Pamir river, and offering superb views of the Wakhan. The route along the Pamir river from Langar to Khargush – the turn-off for lake Zorkul – is very beautiful. Just as the river leaves its deep gorge, there is a small domed caravanserai on the Afghan side that is thought to have been there since Buddhist times – we may speculate that perhaps Marco Polo stayed there on his way across the Pamirs.