The Siyoma River runs through the upper reaches of the Varzob Gorge in the Tajikistan mountains

The Siyoma River Gorge is situated 54 kilometers along the Varzob highway, almost directly opposite the Varzob Climbing Camp. It is a popular destination for mountain hikers and on weekends, both local residents of Dushanbe and visitors from other cities and countries can often be found here. The Siyoma River starts at an elevation of 1782 meters above sea level, at its confluence with the Varzob River near the road, and rises to 3000-3200 meters in its upper reaches.

All ten bridges in the Odjuk Gorge, Varzob, located in the mountains of Tajikistan.

On the last day of my hike, I trekked through the Odjuk Gorge from the Kumkayakutal Pass to the village of Varzob. I took this opportunity to dedicate a photo review to the ten bridges that now span the gorge. Previously known as the "Gorge of the Seven Bridges" among tourists, the presence of these ten bridges is a welcome sight compared to the Semiganch Gorge, where no bridges exist, and I had to jump over stones to cross the river.

Mount Mushtepa, day 2 of the hike, is a ridge between the Varzob and Ramit gorges, in the mountains of Tajikistan.

The second day of my four-day hike was entirely dedicated to Mount Mushtepa. Mount Mushtepa is located on the watershed ridge between the Varzob and Ramit rivers, so on this day, I visited both of them. I began the ascent on the Varzob side in the Harangon River gorge, and by midday, I had reached the summit of Mushtepa before descending to the Ramit side in the Semiganch gorge.

The Harangoni Gorge and Ridge, a one-day trek in the Varzob area of the mountains of Tajikistan

So, I decided to go on a hike, during which I planned to visit places such as the Harangoni Ridge, climb Mount Mushtepa, descend from the mountain into the Semiganch Gorge, and hike through it to the Kumkayakutal Pass. After crossing the pass, I would end up in the Ojuk Gorge and hike through it all the way to the village of Varzob. I fully completed this route plan in four days. This is a photo overview of the first day of the hike.

Hiking to the peak of Gushor, Chilikak ridge, Varzob gorge, mountains of Tajikistan

The peak of Gushor is well visible from any point in Dushanbe. I have been planning to climb it for a long time, and finally I did it. The mountain, or rather the peak of Gushor, is one of the peaks that crown the Chilikak ridge. This ridge stretches from the Varzob River (approximately 16-21 kilometers from the Varzob highway) to the Luchob River in the area of the village of Shiratalo. The Gushor peak (2450 meters) is not the highest point of the Chilikak ridge; there is another peak with a weather station above it (2552 meters), another unnamed peak (2606 meters), and the highest point, the Chilokak peak (2702 meters), which is already closer to Shiratalo and cannot be seen from the city.

Hiking to the waterfalls in the Voru Gorge, Odzhuk Mountains, Varzob District, Tajikistan

The first hike of the year, I decided to go to the waterfalls in the Voru Gorge in Odjukskie Mountains, Varzob district, Tajikistan. Previously, I called it the Lost Waterfall. Of course, no one lost this waterfall, but it needed a name, so why not call it Lost? I had already seen it a couple of times before, once when we descended from the ridge that lies between Takob and Odjuk on this hike: Crossing from the Begar Gorge to Odjuk. At that time, I thought I should go to this waterfall, and the convenient moment finally arrived. I also thought it was the only one there, but there were other waterfalls, though smaller.

In Search of the Gusgarf Waterfall - Short story

Long before I set off on this journey, I was asked if I had been to the Gusgarf Waterfall. "No," I answered, "what waterfall is that?" Various descriptions followed, all of which essentially amounted to it being a large waterfall, about thirty meters high, also known as "Pioneer". I decided I should go, but I couldn't find anyone to go with me. It seemed like many people were hiking, but not specifically to that waterfall. I asked where exactly the waterfall was located, but the explanations were confusing. In the end, I decided to go by myself and find it. If it's such a big and famous waterfall, I'll surely find it, I thought. I'll ask the locals if I need to.

Hiking the Odzhuk circuit, across the Kichkine and Childukhtaroun passes, Varzob, mountains of Tajikistan

I completed a solo trek along the Odzhuk loop. The route, as the name suggests, passes through the Odzhuk gorge in Varzob, Tajikistan. To complete this route, one must hike through the entire Odzhuk gorge up to the Kichkine pass, then traverse the plateau to the Childukhtarun pass and descend back into Odzhuk. Ideally, this route can be completed in two days with one overnight stay, but since I was alone and taking my time, climbing and taking photos wherever I could, my trek took three days and two nights.

Hiking from Begar Gorge to Odjuk along the ridge between Takob and Odjuk, Varzob, mountains of Tajikistan

Spontaneous hike, when it was offered to me, I didn't really know where we would end up or how we would get there. Despite the uncertainty, the hike turned out to be very successful. There were a lot of impressions, first of all, intriguing old mine tunnels at the beginning of the hike. Secondly, it was very interesting to walk along the watershed ridge, looking down at the gorges that I had already walked through many times at the bottom.

The hike to the mine in the Beggar gorge, Varzob, mountains of Tajikistan

We decided to hike from the Beggar gorge to the Ojuk gorge and wander around the ridge separating them. During this hike, we stumbled upon abandoned mines in the Beggar gorge. These abandoned mines, where fluorite used to be extracted, seemed interesting to me, so I decided to dedicate a separate photo review to them. I have already come across old mines in the Varzob gorge. Just this year, I did a photo review of such a hike, which can be viewed here if anyone is interested.".

Spring hike to the waterfalls in Gusgarf, Varzob Gorge, mountains of Tajikistan

I can't say exactly how many waterfalls there are in Gusgarf, but the most famous ones are two waterfalls: "Pioneer" and "Eagle's Nests". Well, officially, these waterfalls are called the Big Gusgarf Waterfall and the Echo Waterfall, respectively. However, I have been to these waterfalls even three times, as I found another one, let's say, unnamed but quite decent waterfall. I visited these waterfalls at different times, and it was interesting to see how these waterfalls look in spring, when there is a lot of water. So, when spring came, I went to see the waterfalls in Gusgarf.

Hiking to Childukhtaron Pass, Odzhuk Gorge, Varzob, Mountains of Tajikistan

The elongated canyon along the Odzhuk River begins from the Varzob highway, or from the Varzob River if you will. The canyon has many branches that lead to Begar, Kharangon, and Chayka. The official end of the Odzhuk canyon is considered to be the Childukhtar, Kichkine, and Kumkayakutal passes. The first two passes lead to a high mountain plateau with Takoba tributaries, respectively, beyond which lies the Takob canyon. The Kumkayakutal pass leads to the mouth of the Semiganch River, a tributary of the Romit River, and thus to the Romit canyon.

Hiking to the mine in the Ojuk valley, Varzob, mountains of Tajikistan

I was always amazed at why there was such a good, wide path in Odzhuk that went almost all the way through the canyon. It turned out to be an old dirt road that led to an abandoned mine where they mined or searched for something like fluorite until 1947. There are many such abandoned mines in the vicinity. Apparently, they dug and searched, but didn't find anything significant and abandoned them. Industrial fluorite mining may still be taking place in the Takob and Magof valleys, not far from here. Locals also call these mines quartz, but quartz is just a accompanying mineral of fluorite and is not of interest for development and mining, at least not the local variety.

The hike to the Big Gusgarf Waterfall, in the Varzob Gorge of the Tajikistan Mountains

The Big Gusgarf Waterfall, also known as the Pioneer Waterfall, is located in the Varzob Gorge past the village of Gusgarf. The hike to this waterfall was quite an adventure. The first time, back in June, I went alone to Gusgarf without any idea of where it was located, relying only on oral descriptions. As it happens, I got lost but eventually stumbled upon some waterfall, apparently nameless.

Journey to the Eagle's Nest Waterfall in Gusgarf, Varzob Gorge, Tajikistan

The Eagle's Nest Waterfall is located behind the village of Gusgarf in the Varzob Gorge. Many people call this waterfall "Echo," but Echo is actually a pass that can be reached by following the trail through this gorge. Somehow, the name Echo has also become associated with the waterfall. However, the Eagle's Nest Waterfall was named for good reason - no matter what time of day you come here, eagles or other large birds are always circling above the waterfall. Of course, they are actually circling above the gorge, but it creates the impression that they are circling above the waterfall.

Hiking in Zimchurud Gorge, Varzob, Tajikistan

The trail to Zimchurud Gorge begins from the Varzob highway, near the village of Varzobkala, which is about 24 kilometers away from Dushanbe, a little before reaching the village of Varzob. After some time past this village, the next village, Zimchurud, appears. I think the name "Zimchurud Gorge" comes from the name of the village rather than the river, as is usually the case. This is because the river here is called Angoriso, which is a tributary of the Varzob River.

Hiking in the canyon at the 22nd kilometer of the Varzob road, in the mountains of Tajikistan.

The canyon at the 22nd kilometer of the Varzob road is sometimes called "Mulberry Canyon" or "Snake Canyon". At the beginning of the canyon, there are indeed many mulberry trees, but the season for them has already passed. However, there are many other berries, such as blackberries, apricots, and grapes, and they literally cover the ground deep inside the canyon. Fortunately, we did not encounter any snakes as the weather was cloudy and they usually do not come out of their burrows in such conditions since there is no sun to warm them up.

Hiking in the waterfall gorge in Odzhuk, Varzob, Tajikistan

In the Odzhuk gorge, if you don't cross the second bridge and go straight, you can reach a meadow called "Pensioners' Meadow". A funny name, by the way, apparently because it's not far to walk. Although, I know some pensioners who walk so well that not every young person can keep up with them, regardless of their level of fitness. The gorge that begins after this meadow is also called simply "The Waterfall Gorge".

Hiking from Takob to Odzhuk, Varzob Gorge, Mountains of Tajikistan

We decided to make a two-day hike with a crossing over the watershed ridge from the Takob gorge to the upper reaches of the Odzhuk gorge. The plan was to go through the Childukhtaron pass, but since no one knew the exact path, we asked the locals for directions. They confused us a little, and we initially went to the wrong couloir. As it turned out, locals don't use this pass to get to Odzhuk, as it is not very convenient for them. Moreover, the locals refer to the whole ridge as Childukhtaron, which does remotely resemble the famous mountain of the same name in Muminobod. And one can cross this ridge from Takob to Odzhuk in several places.

Hiking to the waterfalls in Begar, Varzob Gorge, Tajikistan

Not far from the village of Begar, which is located 27 kilometers from the Varzob highway, there is a small recreation area called "Gulobod". Beyond this recreation area is the Begar gorge, which is of interest to us. Often you can hear people talk about a place called "waterfall gorge", in my opinion, the real waterfall gorge is the Begar gorge, as there are many waterfalls here and they are very beautiful.