Local trekking operator, Samarkand · Artuch and Kulikalon
You drive from Samarkand across the border to Artuch, hike three to four hours up to the Kulikalon lakes and sleep in a tent below Chimtarga, then cross the Chukurak Pass on day two. Pick it if the lakes from a car window aren't enough: this is the high Fanns on foot, with the tent, food and guide arranged.
Every Seven Lakes day trip keeps you near a road. The big peaks of the Fanns, Chimtarga at 5,489 m among them, only open up on foot. This listing gets you there from Samarkand in two days. Day one is mostly travel: hotel pickup, 1.5 to 2 hours to the Uzbek-Tajik border, the formalities, then about 3 hours with a Tajik driver to Artuch, where the trek starts. From there you hike 3 to 4 hours up to Kulikalon Lake and camp.
Kulikalon is a cluster of lakes on a plateau at about 2,850 m, below the north face of Chimtarga. Day two starts with breakfast by the water, then climbs to the Chukurak Pass, which the listing gives as 3,700 m, drops to Chukurak Lake and continues down to Artuch: 5 to 6 hours on your feet in total. Then the long drive back to the border and Samarkand, arriving late in the evening.
Two honest warnings. This is a new listing with no guest reviews yet, so you're trusting the operator's description. And the altitude is real: you sleep around 2,850 m and cross 3,700 m with no acclimatisation days. The listing asks for moderate fitness and some trekking experience, and rules it out for anyone with back problems or a history of altitude sickness. The usual trekking season in the Fanns runs from late June to mid-September, so check the dates on offer before you plan around it.
Hotel pickup and 1.5 to 2 hours to the Uzbek-Tajik border, then the formalities on both sides.
About 3 hours with a Tajik driver to Artuch, the trailhead.
3 to 4 hours up to Kulikalon Lake. Dinner and the night in tents.
Breakfast by the lake, then the climb to the pass at 3,700 m and down to Chukurak Lake.
The descent back to the trailhead, 5 to 6 hours of walking in all.
The drive to the border and on to Samarkand, late in the evening.
This listing is new and has no guest reviews yet. The route and inclusions above come from the operator's listing.
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The listing asks for moderate fitness and some trekking experience. Day one is 3 to 4 hours of hiking after about 5 hours of travel; day two is 5 to 6 hours over a 3,700 m pass. Our trekking guide compares it with longer routes.
Yes. The listing includes tents and a sleeping bag, plus dinner and breakfast at the campsite and a picnic lunch. You bring boots, warm night clothes, sunscreen, snacks and a bottle.
The listing doesn't give a season. Trekking in the Fann Mountains is usually done from late June to mid-September; see best time to visit and check the dates on the booking page.
Not yet. The listing is new, so what you read here comes from the operator's description, not from guests.
Ready to book
Two days on foot from Artuch to the Kulikalon lakes, a tent night below Chimtarga and a 3,700-metre pass.
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