Soviet-era mountaineers knew the Fann Mountains by heart. Back in the USSR, tourist route No. 429 was laid through them — from Samarkand, past the lakes, all the way to Dushanbe. Today, travellers from all over the world walk the same trails, and each finds something different: some come for the passes, some for the lakes, some simply for the silence at five thousand metres above sea level.
The Fann Mountains lie in the south-western part of the Pamir-Alay system, at the junction of the Zeravshan and Hissar ranges. The massif stretches for 150 kilometres. The climate here is surprisingly dry — rain is rare and the sun is almost always out. This makes the Fanns one of the most comfortable high-altitude trekking destinations in all of Central Asia.
Sharp peaks, rocky passes, glacial cirques and lakes in every shade of turquoise — from milky white to near black. The Kulikalon Lakes, the Alaudin Lakes, the Mutnie Lakes, Big Allo — each one unlike any other. Routes here vary widely: some cross several passes over ten days, others lead on a leisurely day walk to the nearest lake. But the mountains do not forgive carelessness: dramatic elevation changes, scree slopes and sudden weather shifts demand solid fitness and experience.
Those who reach the summits all say the same thing: the Fanns change what you thought beauty was.
