Langar village, Pamir Highway

Langar is a picturesque village in the upper part of the Wakhan corridor. The settlement is located at the junction of Pamir and Wakhandarya rivers that form the Panj River. This is in Langar where Tajik part of the Wakhan corridor ends and ascent to the mountain plateau of Pamir begins. There you can enjoy soft mountain climate, as it will be only severe mountainous desert further towards Murghab.

The name “Langar” is very popular in Central Asia and can be met not only in Tajikistan but also in neighboring Uzbekistan. The word “langar” origins from Persian, that was earlier borrowed from Greek and meant “anchor”. Greek anchor transformed into angor, then to langor and finally became langar. The gist of such name is connected with the naval term “harbor” forming an expression that meant places on land where caravans halted. Thus, places of frequent stops on trade routes were called “Langar” in Central Asia.

Today Tajik Langar on the Pamir Highway is a colorful village at the foot of snow-white mountains where you can stay for an overnight in several guesthouses before a 230 km long road to Murghab. There is also a unique sight in Langar – the gallery of ancient petroglyphs on a huge granite cliff right above the settlement.

You need to go 3000 meters up the cliff from the village to see petroglyphs of Langar. There are about 6000 of them. Most part of the rock paintings are on the inclined cliff. There are images of goats, eagles and other animals, hunters with bows, riders, various symbols and patterns. Unfortunately, many parts of stone paintings are damaged by barbarian remakes. However, scales of ancient art are still visible and definitely worth seeing.