Private Seven Lakes Tajikistan 4x4 Jeep Expedition from Samarkand
Description
Just across the border from Samarkand, you can find a hidden gem - the Seven Lakes. Set among the Fann Mountains, the lakes are known for their striking colors, ranging from deep blue to bright turquoise. Visit a chain of stunning mountain lakes, drive through picturesque villages, enjoy a traditional lunch, and learn about local culture and traditions along the way - just you and your company, professional local guide and private transport.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Pick up from Samarkand hotel, drive to Boarder with Uzbek driver, meet your Tajik guide/driver at other side of boarder, drive to lowest lake – Nezhigon – is at an elevation of 1,640 metres. Its name comes from the Tajik word for eyelashes, although the reasoning behind this name is not clear. It is distinguished by its range of vibrant colours: depending on the lighting and season, the water can be turquoise, blue, or even purple.
Soya Lake is named after the Tajik word for “shadow” – as this lake is situated between high cliffs, it is in shade almost all day. Like Nezhigon, the water in Soya Lake changes colour depending on the weather and time of day.
The third lake, Gushor, is 400 metres from Soya and as you approach it you’ll see a turbulent stream connecting the two. All these names mean “watchful”. Gushor Lake is surrounded by steep cliffs and was once the home of poisonous snakes, which explains the origin of the lake’s name.
Nofin, the fourth of the seven lakes, is very elongated – it is more than 2.5 kilometres long but only about 200 metres wide. The lake’s name means “umbilical cord”, due to Nofin being the central one of seven lakes and very long, like an umbilical cord. Locals tell various legends and say that the lake has secrets., lunch break
Khurdak - this lake, the name of which means “baby”, is the smallest of the Seven Lakes. The distance from Nofin Lake to Khurdak Lake is 1.5 km, and along the way you can see the village of Padrut.
This is the largest and, to many people, the most beautiful of the Seven Lakes. The expanse of blue water and the majestic mountains in the background create a magnificent landscape. Petroglyphs of primitive people have been found on the shore of Marguzor and, in the Middle Ages, semiprecious stones were mined near the lake. Today, at the southern end of the lake is a small village whose houses are scattered on the surrounding slopes. Locals tell legends and fairytales about Lake Marguzor.
Hazorchashma - the seventh and highest of the Seven Lakes is located at around 2,400 metres above sea level. The name Hazorchashma (or Azorchashma) means “thousand springs” – the lake is fed by the waters of two rivers and many streams and springs. Hazorchashma is the last lake in the gorge of the Shing River. The road ends here and beyond this there are no further settlements and you find only the wildlife of the Fan Mountains.
Drive to boarder with Tajik guide/driver, pass Tajik boarder
pass Uzbek boarder drive back to your starting point
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
- Not recommended for pregnant travelers
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
- A multiple entry Uzbekistan visa or visa waiver is required to re-enter Uzbekistan with this tour
- Tajik online visa should be applied for at least 7 days in advance
- Depending on border crossing and road condition visits to all 7 lakes can be curtailed to ensure timely return to starting point, no refunds will be offered for this.
- Mountain not asphalted road
- not recommended for children below 6 years old
Reviews(12)
The tour went really well. We really enjoyed it. The lakes and the landscape are really beautiful. We'd love to explore Tajikistan more thoroughly. The guide, the driver, and the agency's service were all excellent.
Thanks Ricard, Tajikistan is a beautiful country & the Pamir highway is once in a life time experience if you have the time, will be happy to help you if you decide to do it.
Overall very nice excursion with exciting border crossings and great landscapes. Due to time constraints we could not visit the 7th lake, the gravel road along the lakes is very bumpy.
Dear David, Thank you very much for leaving your review on our website. We truly value and appreciate your feedback and support. For future tours, we will carefully consider your suggestion to start the tour earlier in order to improve the experience for our guests. Thank you once again for choosing us. Kind regards, Silk Tour Team
This tour is a deathtrap. We were sent up the mountain in a weak, unsuitable people carrier. Minor rainfall led to several mudpatches, which the guide and driver refused to drive through in case the vehicle got stuck and they got into trouble. We were stranded on a remote mountain for four hours, running out of water. When I asked the guide if we would be stuck overnight, he said "I really hope not". The staff watched us shovelling mud ourselves out of the road, declining to call for help, despite nightfall approaching. Eventually, when we insisted they call a rescue vehicle, they finally did it. We then had to hike for an hour along an unsafe pebble stone river bank, with storming rapids a few inches to the left. One of us almost fell into the rapids. He was bleeding after the fall. Shoes, shorts and bags were lost or ruined, causing over £300 of property damage. Eventually, the rescue vehicle arrived, but we'd have been stuck up the mountain after dark if I hadn't insisted on it being called. When I complained and asked for my money back, the organiser claimed dishonestly that we were sent up in a 4by4 and that we were prevented from travelling due to other cars being stuck. This is untrue, it was a people carrier, and the road was cleared several times of smaller cars, but our staff wouldn't risk the mud patch because they knew the people carrier wasn't up to it. We were given a £50 per person refund from the £200 per person trip. Under the circumstances, we should have had an apology and a full refund. Of note is that we didn't actually do around a third of the itinerary due to the crisis. But far more significant was the property damage, risk to life and distress caused. I tried to explain this to the operator in an extended account with evidence, but he ignored the full account and eventually stopped engaging. Don't risk this dangerous, badly organised trip.
Craig you used 2 different account to tell same lies about this trip and mislead other readers which shows what a great person you are.
Awesome tour, amazing nature, amazing mountains scenery and the guide and driver so nice. Thank you!
u r welcome nothing is more rewarding to us than happy customers & this is our endeavour.
Very happy we managed to visit ALL seven lakes as we were also lucky with wonderful weather for such trip! First of all, as the trip took place in November, sunset that time of the year is at 5:20 PM already, so I requested early departure at 7:00 AM instead of listed 8:00 AM to catch all the daytime. The day before the organizer Mr. Amir kindly confirmed that weather is great and we are good to go, agreed on early departure at 7:00 AM and provided with Excel file with a schedule visiting every lake. Very convenient, flexible and fast responsive tour operator! First, local driver picked us up at our home in Samarkand. It takes less than 1 hour to get to the border. At 8 AM the border crossing takes around 20-25 minutes, very smooth process there. At the Tajikistan side at 8:15 AM we met our guide Mr. Umar with driver Mr. Mansur and headed to Panjakent city for supermarket shopping to get snacks and drinks (not included in a tour price). After another hour of driving gravel road, we reached the first lake. Take note that there is no reception/internet in the area. Our guide Mr. Umar is very knowledgeable, explained A LOT about every lake, about local people and culture and many, many more. We had a lot of questions and we got very detailed and interesting answers on all of them, appreciate it, learnt a lot! Along the way we had a photo stops at every lake, without any rush. All relaxing and smooth. To get to the seventh lake you need to hike for around 30 minutes. By the lake we had a lunch with snacks we bought in Panjakent. I would suggest bringing proper food, as there is no shops/cafes at all in the area and tour operator doesn't provide lunch, as well. So be advised and prepared. We departed back to Panjakent at around 4 o'clock and reached Panjakent at around 5:15 PM, just by the sunset. I asked to drop us in Panjakent by our hotel, as we wanted to stay for a day to explore city itself, so we haven't had a ride back to Samarkand with the tour operator. Thanks a lot to Mr. Amir for organizing and adjusting the schedule, Mr. Umar for such an interesting stories and precious information, and Mr. Mansur for driving us safely around!
I had an amazing day exploring the Fann mountains and the seven lakes. The guide Dawood and driver Masoor were so helpful and shared amazing history and background of Tajikistan. I would highly recommend this trip.
The trip to the 7 lakes in the Fan Mountains is a worthwhile experience. Technically, it went excellently. We were picked up on time at our hotel in Samarkand and dropped off at the Uzbek-Tajik border after about an hour's drive. With the necessary papers, crossing the border is no problem. Drivers and tour guides were waiting for us on the Tajik side. After a short stop at a hotel in Penjikent, we drove on to the valley of the Shing River. We drove up a dusty road to the 7 lakes. The landscape is breathtakingly beautiful. Steep mountains and a rushing river accompanied us. By now, our friendly tour guide, who spoke good English, had already told us a lot about the history of Tajikistan. Now we could concentrate on the beauty of nature and scenes of rural life in the mountains. At lunchtime we had a small meal on a mountain farmer's farm. That was decent and relaxing. We continued along the lakes. At each lake we found one or two places where it was worth getting out for a photo stop or just to admire the natural beauty. Our driver continued on the dirt road after the 6th lake, so the small mountain hike was relatively short and not so strenuous. We reached the 7th lake at an altitude of 2400 meters. After a short ice-cold footbath in the lake, we went back to the car and downhill until we reached Penjikent again. In accordance with our wishes, we visited the ruins of old Penjikent, from which we had a beautiful view of the Serafshan River and the Turkestan mountain range. We were then dropped off at the border again, crossed it and were already awaited by our Uzbek driver, who took us back to the hotel. In summary, we can say that this trip was a wonderful experience, which we also owe to the perfect organization, the reliable drivers and the knowledgeable and friendly, open-minded tour guide.
This tour was fantastic. Good communication with the tour company, punctual drivers, and a truly wonderful guide. The Seven Lakes are very remote but are absolutely stunning. Lunch was great, and the stops in Panjikent were also interesting. Tajikistan is an intriguing and beautiful place -- I highly recommend this tour.
This tour company is an absolute scam. They completely lie about the time and itinerary to make you think it’s achievable … but it’s not. For example. They say it will take 45 mins from the boarder to the 1st lake, it doesn’t. It takes 2.5 hours. Which means it’s logistically impossible to accomplish this itinerary in a day. The tour company knows that. They are based in UZ and the Taj guides were wonderful and clear that the times allocated are only if you take a helicopter. Additionally, the road to the lakes is nothing more than a goat path. For miles. So gear up for 3.5 hours (ONE WAY) on this bumpy road. We’ve traveled to dozens of countries and this tour was by far my greatest error. Additionally, I asked for a 50% refund since we could only accomplish 25% of the promised itinerary and they refused. Spare yourself the regret.
Elizabeth, I think u made your point since this is your 3rd review, yes we r based in Samarkand where the tour starts and end, yes we use Tajik guides once we cross boarder since it is logical to use a local guide who knows her/his country better. Pls do not tell 1/2 trurth, it took u a long time since road was partialy closed due to unforseen mud slides which is a force major condition that does not qualify a customer for a refund anywhere in the world. We & our agent acted in good faith and went beyond call of duty to make your trip as pleasant as possibel under previaling condition, as a world traveler you should have more understanding when you do extreme tours, If you check our reviews you will see only posative experinece so I am sorry that you were unsatisfied but no one can control weather conditions.
Great adventure crossing border another country beautiful lake everything in one day. Easy to go if you have visa for Tallis than
