Khorugh City

Khorugh is 600km (373 miles) from Dushanbe and 730km (454 miles) from Osh at an altitude of 2,042 metres (6,700 feet) in west central Gono-Badakhshan. It is widely regarded as the gateway to the Pamir Mountains.

Khorugh is the Capital of the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region which constitutes almost half of Tajikistan’s land area.

Up until the 19th century when it was incorporated in the Bukhara Khanate, Khorugh was an independent city state.

In 1896 the Anglo-Russian-Afghan Border Treaty was signed, and this triggered a rapid expansion of the town as the Tsarist Russian army established a garrison in the city.

It became the areas regional capital in 1925 and was given city status in 1928.

Gorno-Badakhshan is ethnically and linguistically distinct from the rest of Tajikistan and saw a 5-year civil war shortly after Tajikistan gained its independence in 1991. The region continues to suffer from political and social unrest as it seeks to gain greater autonomy from the central government in Dushanbe.

Source: Kazakhstan (Bradt Travel Guides) Editor: Paul Brummell (ISBN: 978-1-78477-092-1)