An unexpected place that stole my heart across my travels in Central Asia was the humble, unassuming town of Panjakent. It served as my introduction to Tajikistan, a country that quickly rose among the ranks as one of my favorite destinations in the world. Looking back, it is hard for me to fully encapsulate just what I loved about Panjakent without pointing to the spontaneous experiences and random interactions with the kind locals. We were invited to give English lessons at a school. A kind driver picked us up while hitchhiking then proceeded to buy us an entire watermelon and take us to a fancy dinner with his family. I never knew what Panjakent would throw at us on any given day, and I absolutely loved it.

But personal anecdotes aside, Panjakent is also an excellent hub for backpackers and travelers looking to experience the stunning nature, archaeological sites, and warm culture of Western Tajikistan. Many people make the mistake of only passing through on a day trip to the Seven Lakes or as a staging point for a trek in the Fann Mountains. Driving through, there isn’t much that would draw one to Panjakent as a travel destination in itself. It takes 10 minutes to drive through the city. A few Soviet murals, some towering statues, and a couple of impressive government buildings are all that would catch one’s eye on the drive.

However, give Panjakent a chance and I think it will surprise you. The tone was quickly set as dozens of children would come up and talk to us as we’d wander the labyrinthine back alleys around our hostel. Tajikistan is a special destination and Panjakent is an excellent starting point for your unforgettable adventures across the country. Here is everything to know before traveling to Panjakent.

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Table of Contents

• How To Get To Panjakent
• Where To Stay in Panjakent
• How To Get Around Panjakent
• The Best Things To Do in Panjakent
• Closing Thoughts on Panjakent
• More on Central Asia
• Buy Me A Beer!

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How To Get To Panjakent

There is no airport in Panjakent, so you’ll need to travel by land to reach Panjakent. From Dushanbe, it’s easy enough to take a shared taxi or to hop on the Asian Express bus. The bus leaves daily in the morning — usually between 7 and 8 AM — and costs 70 somoni. Don’t feel like waking up that early? Just head to the marshrutka or shared taxi stations and try to find a seat on a car headed in that direction. The price can be anywhere between 100 to 150 somoni.

The same goes if you are coming from elsewhere in Tajikistan. From Khujand, you can try to find a direct ride to Panjakent, or find one headed towards Dushanbe and get off at the intersection near Ayni. From there, wait for a car heading towards Panjakent.

Crossing the Border from Samarkand to Panjakent

From Uzbekistan, the border crossing into Tajikistan is straightforward and easy. This is the route that we took, and here’s how we did it.

We took a Yandex from Samarkand, paying a little over $10 for the hour-long ride to the border. As Americans, we didn’t need a visa for either Uzbekistan or Tajikistan, making the border crossing quick and hassle-free. We exchanged money upon crossing into Tajikistan and then paid 30 somoni for a shared car to Panjakent. The drive took around half an hour and the car dropped us off right at the hostel.

Registering With the Immigration Office

Although we didn’t need a visa, since we were staying for longer than 10 days, we did need to register with immigration. The office was a minute’s walk away from our hostel which made it easy. It took a few minutes to sort everything out. We didn’t have to do much, just answer a couple of questions here and there. Afterwards, we had to head to Amanat Bank to pay about 240 somoni (this included both our OVIR and our GBAO permit for the Pamir Highway), and then returned to the office with a passport-sized photo. I was able to do this at the office as there was a print shop as soon as you walk in. Homie didn’t even charge me for the photos.

We got two slips of paper and then we were good to go. Keep these with you as you’ll have to hand them to immigration upon exiting the country.

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Where To Stay in Panjakent

Salom Hostel is where we stayed for all three of our stints in Panjakent. As Tajikistan continues to grow in popularity, the two hostels in town (the other being Sim Sim Hostel near the bazaar), have very limited space. Zafar, the owner, finds it hard to turn people away, so some nights we were there, there were even tents set up in the garden and people sleeping on the tapchans in sleeping bags.

The atmosphere is a real backpacker vibe, which I loved. It was easy to meet people and find fellow travelers to embark on treks with, share taxis with, or just kick back with in the gazebo and chat about travels. It’s got a kitchen, dorms (with AC, privacy curtains, and lockers) and private rooms, and a good number of toilets and showers for its size. Zafar is very honest and will help you out with your itinerary without over-charging or taking commission. Anything you need, ask away and he’ll help you out.

Salom Hostel also rented out tents, sleeping bags, sleeping mats, stoves, and other camping gear. Again, as the influx of travelers to Tajikistan grows, availability can become a problem, so be sure to ask right away to see if the gear is available for your dates. You can contact Zafar via WhatsApp (+992 92 780 7716) if you need to arrange logistics before your stay.

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How to Get Around Panjakent

Panjakent is a relatively small city, and especially if you’re staying in the center it’s very walkable. However, if you’re looking to explore beyond the city center, you’ve got a few transportation options.

Taxi

Private taxis in Panjakent are cheap (~15 somoni for a 10 minute ride), but while we were there, we weren’t able to get any ride apps working. Your hotel should be able to call you a taxi as needed. Rakhsh Taxi is the main one that theoretically services Panjakent. Jura Taxi worked great when we were in Dushanbe, but seemed to be minimally functional in Panjakent.

Marshrutka

Marshrutkas (shared vans) abound in Panjakent, and you’ll see lots of mid-sized white vans with large number placards on them around the city. If you can figure out which number goes towards your destination and you’ve got a bit of patience, marshrutkas are an economical way to get around. They do get very full, especially during busy times, so it often might be worth it to just pay for a taxi or walk.

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Best Things To Do in Panjakent

Some people consider Panjakent boring and nothing more than a kickoff point for adventures in the nearby mountains. However, I found that there was enough to keep you busy in between stints in the Fann Mountains. Here are a few of the top things to do in Panjakent.

Before you head off on your Central Asian adventure, make sure you have a plan for staying connected. I use Saily eSIM to keep me online during my travels, ensuring that I have internet from the moment I land to the moment I leave. Navigating directions, coordinating travel plans with new hostel friends, booking a ride, and so on – having an eSIM makes life that much easier when you’re on the road. Data packages for Tajikistan start at just $7, and you can use my code “eli5” for an additional 10% off of your first Saily eSIM.

Sarazm Archaeological Site

Close to Tajikistan’s border with Uzbekistan, you will find one of Tajikistan’s few UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The ancient city of Sarazm is being actively excavated, but has already provided some fascinating finds. Unfortunately, much of its major archaeological treasures have been transferred to museums in Dushanbe. Regardless, it is still a fascinating and immersive historical site to wander around.

A roundtrip taxi should cost about 100 somoni from Panjakent, and maybe extra if you want them to wait for you while you explore the site and nearby museum.

Ancient Panjakent and the Archaeological Museum

A few kilometers away from the main hub of the city lies the ancient city of Panjakent. This Sogdian-era site dates back to the 5th century. Like Sarazm, it is being actively excavated and also has a neighboring museum that houses some of the artifacts and murals. It is a fascinating archaeological site due to the wide range of empires and civilizations that influenced it. The colorful murals are reminiscent of something one would find in a Greek temple on Crete. Buddha statues and Hindu deities tell the tale of the region’s pre-Islamic past. Of Tajikistan’s many archaeological sites, Ancient Panjakent easily ranks up there as one of the country’s most interesting and extensive.

Rudaki Museum

A small but interesting museum within the city is the Rudaki Museum, named after the legendary Persian poet. The museum has seven different rooms, each dedicated to a different time period of Panjakent and Tajikistan. The eras range from the Sogdians to the Soviets, giving you an all-encompassing glimpse of Panjakent’s history. The entrance fee to the Rudaki Museum was 30 somoni and the visit should take no more than an hour.

It also has one of the creepiest taxidermy displays I’ve ever seen.

Eat Tajik Food

I truly did not expect much from Tajik food, but it might be my favorite in Central Asia. Qurutob became a staple of my diet in Tajikistan, and the shashlik that I had in Panjakent is among the best I had in the region. A few of our favorite restaurants included Qurutobxona No 1 and Restoran Dusti for qurotob, Cafe Dusti (right next to Restoran Dusti) for late-night fast food, Cafe Bora Bora for a large menu of international food, and Siaa Bar for surprisingly good (and cheap) iced coffee and moxitos. We also tried two different chaikhonas near the Bazaar, and Chaikhona Abubakr was a favorite for classic Tajik plov — take a peek inside the kitchen to see the massive cooking pots.

While you’re in Panjakent, be sure not to miss out on their love of soft serve ice cream. You’ll see soft serve on practically every corner. Our favorite spot was a teapot-shaped ice cream window with fantastic chocolate sprinkles on the main road. The going rate was 3 somoni for a small cone or 5 somani for a larger dish, and it was a perfect treat to help us cool down in the heat.

Explore the Central Bazaar

Panjakent’s bazaar is a bustling hub that we frequented several times during our stay. It’s a great one-stop shop if you need to stock up on food for hiking. A few large pieces of non, a small bag of qurut, dried meats, and fruits and veggies, and you’re good to go for a few days in the Fann Mountains. There are also a couple of choyxonas (teahouses) here that make for good lunch spots. For a local experience, there’s no better place to stop than the Panjakent Bazaar.

Go On A Day Trip to the Seven Lakes

The most popular thing to do in Panjakent by far is a trip to the Seven Lakes. The drive from Panjakent takes about two hours to reach the first of the lakes. Another hour of winding up the mountain’s dirt roads will get you all the way to Haft-Kul, the seventh lake. Day trips from Panjakent are affordable, costing about $20 per person if you can fill up the entire car.

If you have the time, I recommend spending a night or two at the lakes. We booked a day trip, with four of us paying 170 somoni each for a car. Rather than head back to Panjakent, we asked to be dropped off at our accommodation near Nolfin Lake, the fourth lake. We spent two nights here, taking advantage of a full day to hike around the area, exploring villages like Nolfin and Padrud, and lounging along rivers and taking more time to soak in the views. The day trip is a cost-efficient and time-efficient way to see the region, but for the most part, you’ll be hopping in and out of the car to snap a few pics and nothing more.

During our adventure, we got invited to local homes for tea, spent hours dancing and playing with local children, and overall, got to take our time and relax at each lake. It made a run-of-the-mill day trip into something much more memorable. It was well worth the saga of having to hitchhike back to Panjakent.

Trekking in the Fann Mountains

Last but not least, the Fann Mountains. The undisputed highlight of our time in this region was a trek in the Fann Mountains, specifically the Kolikalon and Alauddin Lakes.

We hopped on a marshrutka from Panjakent to the village of Artuch, about a two-hour drive away. Get off at the final stop in a village called Yakhakhona. About five kilometers further up the hill is the Artuch Alplager, a guesthouse and restaurant that is often used as a home base for trekkers. It takes about two hours to walk there, or you can pay around 200 somoni for a car to take you up.

We skipped over the Alplager entirely as we had all our own gear, but did take the taxi up there to save us a few hours of walking. We then continued up to the Kolikalon Lakes and camped there for a night. The next day, a long 8-hour hike took us across the Loudon Pass to the Alauddin Lake. We camped at a chaikhana and treated ourselves to a hot meal. The next day, we crossed the Alauddin Pass back towards the Kolikalon lakes and camped at the lesser-known Dushakha Lake. We headed back towards Artuch on the fourth day and our local friend Maqsud picked us up in the afternoon and took us back to Panjakent.

Salom Hostel provided all of our gear at a cost of about 90 somoni per day. There were no entrance fees to this area and wild camping in most places was free. We packed all of our own food, but there are a handful of chaikhanas in the area that offer meals and snacks, so bringing all your own food for the entire time isn’t necessary.

I’ll go into more detail in a different blog post, but those are the basics.

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Closing Thoughts on Panjakent

Panjakent surprisingly started to feel like home. It was our first stop in Tajikistan, and the place we returned to after every hike and excursion. After days in the wild, Panjakent always felt like a bit of luxury in between those stints. Even if luxury for us meant an iced coffee in the park, a pizza from Cafe Bora Bora, or an air-conditioned room in Salom Hostel.

There was a warmth and intimacy to Panjakent that made it feel like home. Even something simple like stumbling into familiar faces day after day gave it a more welcoming atmosphere than a typical city. If you’ve got a few days to spare, lingering around Panjakent is not a bad way to spend them.

More on Central Asia

• The Backpacker’s Crash Course to Uzbekistan
• The Backpacker’s Travel Guide to Samarkand
• Two Week Kyrgyzstan Backpacking Itinerary

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