Chances are your next holiday’s coming up. If you haven’t decided where to go yet, let author Huw Thomas convince you to go trekking in Tajikistan. While this small Central Asian state isn’t an obvious choice, Thomas believes you could do a lot worse than the nation’s warm hospitality, rich history, and scenic landscape. Having lived and worked in the country for four years, Thomas, along with his co-author Robert Middleton, has recently put together the most comprehensive English-language guide yet to the country. We caught up with him to discuss his new book, Tajikistan and the High Pamirs, and how on earth he ended up there.

What made you choose to move to Tajikistan?

I retired early from my job in the National Health Service in the UK. Back in the 1960s I worked as an aid worker in Kenya, and I had always harboured the idea of going back to work in a developing country. The opportunity came up to be programme director for Aga Khan Health Service, Tajikistan. I jumped at the chance, although I had to reminded of the exact position of where I would be based – Khorog in the Autonomous Oblast of Gorno-Badakhshan.

How do the Pamirs compare to Wales’ Brecon Beacons?

Both areas are wild mountain country, but the Pamirs are about 12 times higher. Whereas it is possible to drive from Cardiff to the Beacons in about two hours, it takes two days to drive from Dushanbe, the capital, on very rough and hazardous roads to Khorog, the main town in the Pamirs. The way of life in the Pamirs is rather like it was 150 years ago in the Beacons, with subsistence farming and shepherds staying up with their flocks in the mountains all summer. The people build stone walls – very reminiscent of the Welsh mountains. The climate is very different. The Pamirs are hot in summer with blue skies, and the winters are very severe with snowfalls of many metres; very different to the mild weather of the Beacons with grey skies and a lot of rain. In their own ways, both are special places.

Tajikistan was just emerging from the Civil War when you arrived. How has the country recovered, and what’s the political situation there now?

In 1999 there was great poverty, and many people were reliant on food aid. There were still a few incidents and some areas were out of bounds. The Russian-built infrastructure was rapidly deteriorating. There was very little work, and many young men went to work in Russia.

Slowly the people have pulled themselves up by their own bootstraps. The mountain people work incredibly hard to obtain a basic living. Each time I have returned I have noticed signs of increasing prosperity, for instance the country markets are bustling, whereas in 1999 there was virtually nothing for sale. Dushanbe is seeing many new buildings and there is some foreign investment. However, the country has been badly hit by the recession. In particular, work on building sites in Russia is drying up and so the young men have no work. This is a very serious situation as it is estimated 50 pre cent of GDP comes from remittances from men working abroad.

Politically it is stable. People have raw memories of the civil war. However, the government is very corrupt, and unless the economic situation improves there could be unrest.

Many people confuse the five ex-Soviet ‘stans’ in Central Asia with each other. How does Tajikistan differ from its neighbours?

I find most people in the UK have not a clue about Tajikistan. People think it is in South America, the Middle East, Africa, or in one case, an island off the coast of Scotland.

Central Asia is vast, much bigger than the whole of Europe, so within the area there is much diversity. However, much of Kazkahstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan is desert. Scenically Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan are similar, with great ranges of high mountains, beautiful valleys and rivers, and a much greater diversity within a fairly small area [Tajikistan is about twice the size of Switzerland]. Tajikistan is great walking country, it is hot but not stifling in summer, and there is the delight of meeting some of the friendliest and hospitable people on earth. Although not a Western style democracy, it is not nearly as oppressive as its neighbours.

How has the ongoing war in Afghanistan affected Tajikistan?

So far very little. The people have no time for the Taleban, and fear a fundamentalist state on their borders. There are a few French troops based in Dushanbe, but so far logistical support for the Western troops has come from bases in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. However, Uzbekistan closed the US base and Kyrgyzstan has threatened to do the same. The US needs a more secure supply line than the one through Pakistan, therefore, Tajikistan would be in a strong position to offer facilities for logistical support. They would like to do this, but it is likely such a scheme would be blocked by Russia, which sees Tajikistan as it’s ‘near abroad’ and within its sphere of influence.

You’ve described Tajikistan as “untouched by modernity” – do you think that will change?

I cannot remember saying that! Until the Russians arrived in the 19th century it was a very traditional society. The Bolsheviks forced through enormous social change. Women stopped wearing the veil. Over time the Russians introduced universal education, a comprehensive health service, and much industrialisation. Visitors to Dushanbe or Khudjand will find cities very reminiscent of many other cities throughout the former Soviet Union. People in the cities usually wear Western dress.

However, the country people are still very conservative, both socially and with their religion. If anything they are becoming more so as they re-claim their older traditions. I think Tajikistan will remain a mixture of ancient and modern.

What compelled you to write the book?

Both Robert Middleton, my co-author, and I developed a great love of the people and country of Tajikistan. We both felt it had had a very bad press. In Russia it was seen as dangerous and chaotic. A section in a well known guidebook dealt with Tajikistan, which we considered to be a travesty of the truth. We wanted to redress the balance. We wanted visitors to share the attractions of the country. We also consider people in Tajikistan could benefit from responsible tourism. They are very poor, particularly in the mountains and visitors staying with families in home stays can boost their modest incomes.

The opportunity came for us to write the guidebook when Odyssey Books and Guides of Hong Kong decided to add Tajikistan to their list.

Do you see Tajikistan opening up as a mountainous tourist hotspot in the future, in the way Nepal has?

I cannot see it on the scale of Nepal. The attractions are more for the traveller than the tourist. You have to be able to put up with things not always going to plan. I would expect it to develop slowly for the trekking, walking, wild side people. It would certainly be spoiled if too many people went. At the moment air fares are high and the Tajik government is somewhat ambivalent about tourism. They officially encourage it, but there are still a number of Soviet style bureaucratic irritations that need to be swept away.

When I left in 2003 I had hardly seen any tourists, but now the numbers are rising and a significant number of people are coming [every year], maybe 6,000 – small by Nepal standards.

Tajikistan and the High Pamirs is published by Odyssey Books & Guides; www.odysseypublications.com.

Top five things to do in Tajikistan

1.      Take the Pamir Highway from Dushanbe through the magnificent Pamirs to Khorog, then along the Afghan border through the Wakhan corridor with its ancient fortresses set against the backdrop of glaciers and peaks of the Hindu Kush to the high plains of Murghab. Here there are the semi-nomadic herdsmen with their yaks. Then on through two passes at 5,000 metres to the bustling market town of Osh in Kyrgyzstan.

2.      Take the road north from Dushanbe across two mountain ranges to Iskanderkul [Alexander’s Lake], a beautiful lake surrounded by mountains where it is believed Alexander the Great rises on his horse on moonlit nights. From here visit Istaravashan, a smaller version of Bukhara, once a great city state with enormous walls, with ancient mosques, medrassas and mosques – and no tourists. Finally to Khudjand, the furthest point reached by Alexander the Great in Central Asia. Now a modern elegant city on the banks of the great river, the Syr Darya.

3.      Enjoy the capital, Dushanbe, with its wide tree-lined boulevards, magnificent museum, fine parks and excellent restaurants and teahouses. Visit nearby Hissar, the ancient capital of Turkestan, with its ramparts, scaled 21 times in its long history and see the ancient medrassas and the old caravanserai – a stopping place on the Silk Route.

4.      Trek in the Fan mountains [higher than the Swiss Alps] and combine it with a visit to Penjikent ‘The Pompeii of Central Asia’, so called because of the magnificent frescoes preserved when the city was set on fire by the Arabs in 722AD.

5.      Best of all, just go walking in any of the mountain areas and meet wonderfully hospitable people, still farming in traditional ways. Admire the views, the rivers and forests. Breathe the clear air, and see the stars at night as you have never seen them before.