The Great Silk Run

Yup, just like with GNR the schedule doesn't include actually getting there (or back), so you'll need to get yourself to Dushanbe, Tajikistan first. You can arrive whenever you like before the event starts, but there's a hotel waiting for you up to 2 days before the event start. 

Getting to the Bartang Valley is no small feat. On Day 2 we start our two-day bus journey to the valley entrance. En route we pass stunning scenery and have time to stop and explore. We'll stay in a small homestay in the village of Qalai Khumb.

Today we'll get to the Tajik-Afgan border town of Rushan and the start of the Bartang Valley. It's nothing but a tiny turning off a tiny road. Don't go the wrong way - you know who I'm talking to.

Staying in local village homestays we'll wend our way along the Bartang river. Expect to see no more than one car per day and always locals. Tourists don't go down this way. We're heading for the tiny village of Siponj. Don't bother Googling it. 

Off to the equally small village of Basid today, through spectacular canyons and over beautiful passes. Iceland eat your heart out. Glad it's all being filmed!  Picnic lunch on route. 

Run/walk to Roshorv village, where we will see Lapnazar Peak (5990m), it's the only mountain in Tajikistan that you can see from top to bottom. Check out the Juniper trees and local way of life. Up till now we've been staying in homestays, now we break out the tents (better ones).

Today we will enter Ghudara valley where the landscape opens out onto wide breathtaking plains. We'll pass an ancient fortress in the village of Savnob and a cave where beautiful girls used to hide from foreign invaders. Watch out for sand storms...and beautiful girls.

Today we will have a rest day and chill out. Explore the village, eat everything in sight, do nothing, or have an impromptu marriage proposal (Hi Anna!). 

Today we'll run through Tanimas valley and pass by Kok Jar (no sniggering), one of the most stunning and mind-blowing parts of the trail. This will be one Kok of a day as we gain height steadily.

Very wild camping (but with many home comforts) for a couple of nights as we leave even the smallest villages behind. We might see Marco Polo sheep herds en-route and will pass next to a large meteorite crater. 

Wild running in the middle of freakin' nowhere leads us to Karakul on the border of Kyrgystan and China. Here we'll leave the Bartang valley behind and join the legendary M41 Pamir Highway.

Out of Karakul and heading towards the high pass into Kyrgystan at 4,280m (14,042 ft. for those in the US). Our bodies will have acclimatised to the high altitude, but we'll still be working hard today.

Today we'll tread the M41 Pamir Highway, running next to clapped out cars, vans, trucks and bikes. World-class scenery as always, just with a slightly more surreal vibe.

It is our final day of the run and also the shortest. We'll reach the border of Kyrgyzstan. If the pass has reopened we will cross over and be met by a local team on the Kyrgyzstan side who will take us to Osh by bus. Party and shenanigans in Osh.

Head home. If the pass has reopened this will be via the capital Bishkek. If the pass has not reopened, we will take a private bus along the Pamir highway and exit back through Dushanbe. To make the most of this trip we might travel by night and sightsee by day. It could add an extra day or so to the itinerary, though.