BBC Travel: Driving one of the world’s most remote highways in the Pamirs

The children often spoke an impressive range of languages, including Russian and English, in addition to their local Pamiri dialect.

The Aga Khan, the spiritual leader of the Ismaili Muslims, has invested heavily in local schools and has emphasised the importance of girls’ and foreign language education.

The traditional Pamiri house, called a huneuni chid, exhibits symbols of Shia Ismaili Islam, the sect followed by a majority of the Pamiri people.

From the outside, their homes appear as simple timbered stone and plaster structures, but inside, they are warm and welcoming

– Audrey Scott and Daniel Noll for BBC

Driving one of the world's most remote highways
A hillside Pamiri welcoming committee.
During our visit to the village of Vrang, a group of local children led us to a cluster of 4th-century Buddhist stupas at the village edge. Local legend claims that Pamiris with lighter skin and blue eyes are descended from Macedonian explorers who settled in the area throughout the campaigns of Alexander the Great in 300 BC.
The children often spoke an impressive range of languages, including Russian and English, in addition to their local Pamiri dialect. The Aga Khan, the spiritual leader of the Ismaili Muslims, has invested heavily in local schools and has emphasised the importance of girls’ and foreign language education. (Image: BBC/Daniel Noll)
Breakfast time in a Pamiri home There are no hotels in the tiny villages along the Wakhan Valley. Instead, travellers stay in local Pamiri homes, some of which can be found by consulting NGO-organized homestay networks such as Murghab Ecotourism Association or Pamirs Eco-Cultural Tourism Association. The traditional Pamiri house, called a huneuni chid, exhibits symbols of Shia Ismaili Islam, the sect followed by a majority of the Pamiri people. From the outside, their homes appear as simple timbered stone and plaster structures, but inside, they are warm and welcoming. At our homestay in Langar we were served a breakfast of homemade bread and milk tea. Known for their hospitality for centuries, several Pamiri families invited us into their homes as we passed through their villages. We were repeatedly humbled by their offers to drink tea, even though the families had very little themselves. (Audrey Scott)
Breakfast time in a Pamiri home
There are no hotels in the tiny villages along the Wakhan Valley. Instead, travellers stay in local Pamiri homes, some of which can be found by consulting NGO-organized homestay networks such as Murghab Ecotourism Association or Pamirs Eco-Cultural Tourism Association. The traditional Pamiri house, called a huneuni chid, exhibits symbols of Shia Ismaili Islam, the sect followed by a majority of the Pamiri people. From the outside, their homes appear as simple timbered stone and plaster structures, but inside, they are warm and welcoming. At our homestay in Langar we were served a breakfast of homemade bread and milk tea.
Known for their hospitality for centuries, several Pamiri families invited us into their homes as we passed through their villages. We were repeatedly humbled by their offers to drink tea, even though the families had very little themselves. (Image: BBC/Audrey Scott)

Click the link below to view more images and the slideshow feature of the Pamirs and Ismailis of the region.

http://www.bbc.com/travel/slideshow/20141211-driving-one-of-the-worlds-most-remote-highways

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