Dushanbe
Tajikistan's capital, a planned twentieth-century city of wide avenues, parks and monumental building.
Saved in this browser only - no account, nothing sent anywhere. See your map
Dushanbe was a village with a Monday market, which is what its name means, until it was made the capital in the 1920s and laid out on a grid of wide tree-lined avenues that still shapes it. Rudaki Avenue runs the length of the centre past parks, ministries and the opera house. The city has been rebuilt heavily since the 2000s with very large public buildings, a national flagpole among the tallest anywhere, and a new mosque and library on a monumental scale.
What you actually see
- Rudaki Avenue - the tree-lined spine of the city past parks and public buildings.
- The Rudaki monument - the memorial to the Persian poet in the central park.
- The Ismaili Centre - the modern building on the western side of the centre.
- Victory Park - the hillside park above the city, reached by cable car.
When to go
April to June and September to October are the most comfortable. Summer is very hot in the valley. Navruz in late March fills the city.
Honest expectations
Much of the old city has been demolished for the rebuilding and little pre-Soviet fabric survives. Photography of government buildings is restricted and challenged. Summer heat regularly exceeds forty degrees.
Nearby
Varzob Gorge is north, and Hisor Fortress is west.
What to pack for Dushanbe
Chosen from what this place is for. Tap a kit for the full checklist.
Opening times, ticket prices and seasonal closures change - check the official source before you go: official site.