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Yaghnob Valley Tourism

Name: Yaghnob Valley Tourism
Address: Kashi, Dushanbe, 734, TJ
Telephone: +992927974006
Rating: 1

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Yaghnob Valley Tourism

We are developing a homestay and tourism network in the Yaghnob valley.

06/02/2020

One really impressive thing about the Yaghnob valley is the number of waterfalls. They are everywhere!

17/01/2020

Small "guesthouses" like this one exist throughout the valley because locals walk from settlement to settlement and need places to stay. This network of simple places to stay lends itself well to hosting tourists!

06/01/2020

In Dahana, the gates to Pskon Settlement there are petroglyphs dating back to ancient times.

03/01/2020

The Yaghnobi settlements are often perched high on the mountains above the river. Most settlements, or Kishlaks as they are called, are made up of 3-5 families and are connected to one another by walking paths.

31/12/2019

С наступающим Новым Годом! Happy New Years!

30/12/2019

If you heading up to the Yaghnob valley, Islom is your main contact person. He speaks some English as well as Russian, Tajik, and Yaghnobi. He is the only school teacher in the valley and is excited to host tourists. He can be reached through the page contact phone number.

30/12/2019

Many of the Yaghnobi homes are still built using traditional materials gathered from the mountains around them. This is one of several guesthouses that are open for travelers to stay in.

30/12/2019

Welcome to the Yaghnob valley. Home to the last living Sogdians who have preserved their language and culture. This stunning valley is not only worth visiting, it's worth taking the time to learn about the unique history of it's people.

Address

Kashi
Dushanbe
734

Telephone

+992927974006

Website

facebook.com

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The Yaghnobi

To understand the history of the Yaghnobi you have to go back to the ancient Sogdian kingdom. On the eastern edges of the Persian empire, this ancient people group were great city builders. Founding the cities of Samarkand, Bukhara, and Panjekent to name a few, they developed a thriving civilization built on trade. They weathered the invasion of Alexander the Great and the establishment of the Greco-Bactrian kingdom. In the early 700s Samarkand and the other Sogdian strongholds fell to the Muslim armies. The majority of Sogdians were Zoroastrian with minority groups of Nestorian Christian, Buddhist, and Manichean. Many of the Zoroastrian majority fled into the mountains of the heartland that is now the Sugd oblast of Tajikistan. Most were found, but those living on the Yaghnob river high in the valley were not. Over time they converted to Islam, but continued to live on the river and in the valley.

In the 1900s the Soviet Union came, but had little control until at least the 1950s. In 1970 the 3000 some Yaghnobi living in the valley were removed at gunpoint by helicopter to work in the cotton fields. This lead to a time of disruption as they tried to return and their homes were destroyed by the army. During perestroika they were allowed to return, but only a handful have, with most opting to remain in a couple of enclaves in the cities of Dushanbe and Zafarabad.

Today the valley population numbers in the low 400s. Life is hard, but they are a proud people with thousands of years of history. They work hard, grow potatoes, and have even built mini-hydroelectric generators to power their villages. A visit to this incredible place and people involves a 150km drive from Dushanbe (the last 50km is rough gravel) during the 4-6 months that the road is passable. After reaching the school house you can walk to some of the surrounding settlements and spend the night either at the school or in one of the more primitive homestays. It’s worth it to hear their stories first hand!