Travel Guide: 48 Hours In Dushanbe, Tajikstan

Many travellers arrive in Dushanbe, the capital and gateway of Tajikistan, and dash off for an adventure, perhaps hiking in the Fann Mountains or driving along the famously dramatic Pamir Highway.

Yet this vibrant city along the Varzob (Dushanbinka) River in the Gissar valley, in the southwest of the republic offers plenty to see in just 48 hours.

Whether you are a hobbyist strolling a new city, a travel blogger looking to share spectacular sights with your readers, or a professional photographer looking for a new niche, the architecture around us all the time is exciting and varied subject.

Take A Walk In A Park

Small bells hang on the wall perhaps in homage to the Abbey bells, behind a white reception while the rest of the room has funky artworks, as does most of the hotel. Sometimes it’s Regency-style, sometimes faces obscured by a primary colour and bizarrely even animals dressed in military costumes. In much of the communal area, carpets are decorated with butterflies; sometimes there are prints and maps. A lot is going on.

Look out in particular for the red and white parliament building and the iconic Rokhat Teahouse, which is a good spot to stop for a cuppa whilst you admire the intricately painted interior.  

Sure, there have always been tourists behaving badly ever since the first tourist existed. But, in an age where travel has become so easy and ubiquitous for so many for the first time, those problems have amplified a thousandfold. Destinations didn’t have the necessary infrastructure to handle the flood of tourists cheap travel brought.

All rooms come with comfy Hypnos beds with luxury Egyptian cotton linen, spacious bathrooms, Nespresso coffee machines, highspeed Wi-Fi and several channels on a 40” flat-screen TV.  The mini-bar comes stocked with some drinks that are included in the room rate.

Discover The Past

• World Nomads (for everyone below 70)
• Insure My Trip (for those over 70)
• Medjet (for additional repatriation coverage)

As we yearn to reconnect with friends, family, and the world at large, I think that what we’ve gone through has also given many of us a chance to reflect on all the things we took for granted: the outdoors, community, neighborhood restaurants, and the arts.

From flouting rules and refusing to wear a mask to hosting parties, coughing on others, and just generally being selfish, the pandemic has shown us that the world is filled with more assholes than we thought. But, despite all of that, when it comes to the future of travel, I think the pandemic is going to make it better.