Yagnob Valley

The Yagnob valley runs east from the Zarafshan road into high country, and the people living in its villages speak Yagnobi, the only surviving descendant of Sogdian, the language of the Silk Road cities that was otherwise lost more than a thousand years ago. The community was moved out in the 1970s and some families returned afterwards, so the villages are partly repopulated. Access is a rough track then a walk, and homestays take visitors.

Background

Hemmed in by the Zarafshan Range to the north and the Gissar Range to the south, the valley in north-west Tajikistan was carved by the Yaghnob River within the Zarafshan basin. It sits between 2,500 and 3,000 metres and is cut off for six months of the year. That isolation has let the Yaghnobi people keep their way of life and their language, close to ancient Sogdian, and pre-Islamic beliefs and customs survive here. Today about ten settlements remain, each home to three to eight families. The first scientific expedition reached the valley in the 1870s.

Source: Wikipedia, "Yaghnob Valley"

What's there

• The Yagnobi language - the only living descendant of Sogdian.
• The stone villages - settlements of flat-roofed houses along the valley.
• The returned families - the community that came back after the 1970s resettlement.
• The walking routes - the paths linking the villages up the valley.

When to go

June to September is the season; snow closes the valley for much of the year. The track and paths are best in high summer. Nights are cold at altitude.

Good to know

Access needs a four-wheel drive to the road end and then walking for hours. Homestays are very basic with no plumbing. The community is small and vulnerable and visits should be arranged rather than improvised.

Nearby

Ayni is west, and the Anzob tunnel is south.

Key facts