Maykhura to Iskandarkul lake via Gaznok pass

Do you have those moments when you are in the car, look outside of your window and see far away places that freeze your attention for a moment. Then you are interrupted by the noise outside and wish you could gaze at the beauty far away and wonder/wished you could go there and explore.

In 2003, my oldest brother took me to Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, for the first time so I can get enrolled in the university there. Back then roads were bad and vehicles had to pass mountain passes. Back then roads were barely maintained and that meant passes were dangerous. Now, tunnels replaced them and I still have a photo of me from then. Behind me are mountains of Maykhura.

To me the mountains with its hanging glaciers looked so astonishing. They were majestic. I wished one day I was brave enough to go there and explore. Time passed, I grew up, roads were renovated, tunnels built, bought my own car and had many occasions where I would pass the Anzob tunnel and it would take me to my dream of exploring what’s out there.

Fast-forward 22 years and I am spending many hours on my Mac to explore maps and again I stumble upon Maykhura mountains. I am fascinated by the shape and terrains of the mountains, I take notes and prepare a plan to go there. The plan included one night of sleep in the valleys after the Gaznok (southern) mountain pass and end the trip in Iskandarkul. As I always do when I research about the new places, I started to put down the plan. Here is how it looked.

As I was drafting the Plans, I wrote to my brother Firuz to check with his schedule. He confirmed he is going and all we needed to watch was the weather. Forecast looked good, nothing serious. The route information is below:

I marked PLAN A and PLAN B on the map and shared all the details with my family and friends so they know where we were heading. Firuz and I shared a list of items we need to get with ourselves. My backpack weight came to 7kg without water and food (I carry around 1 liter with me) in it. Firuz had tent so his backpack was heavier.

4 AM, Friday, July 11, 2025. Firuz ordered a taxi that came near my house to pick me up. We drove around an hour and a half to get to our starting point. It was 5:21 AM and we took a photo and started our journey.

I love Maykhura because along the route there are many instances of refilling the water. At the summer time this is just as beautiful as it gets. We fast-hiked the first 18 km and the road is fairly wide and gradually increases. We met a local guy who was with his donkey to check his crops. His neighbors informed him that cows somehow managed to break the fence and ate some of his crops, primarily potatoes.

The mountains here is little softer than the ones in the Fann mountain range or Pamir. Both Fann Mountains and Pamirs from my experience are little drier and rougher.

It’s around 9:45 AM and we made around 19 km. We were approaching a steeper section of the incline so we decided to sit down and eat something. Firuz asked me to guess what food he got with him. I named few things but he smiled and took out a container of “osh” (Tajik name for “pilav” or “pilaf”). I was astonished how he can could take such food on our multiday trail which usually supposes to go lighter and further. At this point, I think I should stop getting surprised by Firuz because he can always find ways to surprise people with unexpected food.

We sat down. Enjoyed our food.

Continued our journey.

The total elevation gain for our trip was around 4000 meters and this one was the toughest part. We knew and we were ready to tackle it. The next 3 km had around 1 km of elevation gain.

Just before the top there was a glacier where we stopped and just immersed ourselves into it.

After the glacier part, there were some slippery rocky area. It’s not terrible but at times we had to crawl sharp edges of the rocks.

Just before reaching the top of the Gaqnok Southern mountain pass, there is a dangerous section, a sheer drop. It’s filled with small rocks and a very high angle of incline can easily get you down like 50-100 meters down, if not more. We had to be very careful to pass this narrow, slippery passage because the path is so tiny that you have to jump with all your weight on your back which makes me nervous. I have researched about this but wasn’t able to get clear picture how bad it is from satellite images and different map sources.

Finally, at 1:30 PM we made it to the top.

We took a break and knew we won’t be pushing for PLAN A. We rather decided to take it easy and without rushing, enjoy our time at the top more.

The other side of the pass had this huge glacier and we had our gaiters and spikes to help us get down safely. As we got down, we looked back from where we came and how beautiful it was there. Absolutely incredible view and complete peace.

We had to get to pass another smaller mountain pass called Rohib mountain pass which had 1 km distance to around 280 meters of elevation gain.

Two little kids happy they made the day, we sat for a while and looked at the sunset.

The beauty is unbelievable. From the top you can see the Rohib river and mountain ranges.

6 PM and we are ready to set our tent up and prepare some dinner.

We prepared our food and went to bed at around 7:30 PM. In the early hours of the morning the grass was covered with a light freeze.

Now, one of the special locations in our plan was to visit Rohib lake at 3900 meters above sea level. We had to head around 3km south before climbing rocky area. We tried to find a bridge to cross the river but could. We even tried to throw some big rocks to no vail. We thought we were spending more energy and time than just to cross it and accept wet feet. It was cold, just around freezing temperature and sun wasn’t up that’s why we refrained from getting wet. Since we had a long way to go and another mountain pass ahead of us, we really didn’t want to spend too much time figuring out not to get wet. But at the end, we pulled the trigger and crossed the river.

In order to reach Rohib lake you have to cover around 1 km with elevation gain of 300 meters over boulders. There is a beautiful waterfall before you reach the lake.

Actually, there are two lakes. One lower lake and the upper is Rohib lake. I think both are fantastic on their own.

9:05 AM and we reached Rohib lake. Waters from glaciers here make the lake chilly. We decided to dip ourselves into the water and as one of our dear friend - Amir Attar says: “We put our signature there” by swimming in the lake.

While swimming Firuz lost his eyeglasses and I jokingly said Rohib is now “Aynak” (eyeglasses) lake.

On our way to the last mountain pass Anpeshud (3788m above sea level), we stopped at one of the rare find. We found a lake that is not in any map. I called it “Kuli Benom” (Noname) lake. We were mesmerized by its clarity and beauty.

When going to Rohib lake they take the left side as trail there is little bit better. But for our exploration purpose we took the right side and found this hidden gem. The water in this lake is so clear that it resembled the clarity of Aloudin lakes to me.

We were getting close to the noon and we had another 12km with around 750 meters elevation gain ahead of us. We saw a shepherd’s summer camp built from stones which was empty.

Around 3:30 PM we got to the top of the Anpeshud mountain pass. It was another new location for us and we both were super happy to enjoy our journey there.

What began as nothing more than a spark of a thought has now taken shape before us, alive and undeniable. We didn’t just imagine it, we lived it, we felt it, and we proved that a simple idea can become something powerful when we dare to believe in it. This journey reminds me that every dream starts quietly, almost invisibly, yet with courage, effort, and heart, it grows into something that touches our lives and inspires us to keep reaching for more.

You can check out my Strava to download the GPX file from there or see other details.

I am glad I have written this memory as I believe one day I will come back to it and relive it. Or better go there again and again because every journey out in the mountains is unique.

-Night Runner