Langar

The Tajik portion of the Vakhan Valley ends in the large exotic village of Langar. Located at an elevation of 3,000 m above sea level, Langar is the highest village in the southern part of the Pamir Mountains. The weather there is cool and windy throughout. The place is surrounded on all sides by the 6,000-metre peaks of the Pamirs and Hindu Kush. Near Langar the Vakhandarya merges with the larger Pamir River to form the Panj. The village is highly popular among tourists: it is interesting from an ethnographic aspect and features an original tomb of a saint with an altar covered with numerous horns of Siberian ibexes and argali: the people in the area continue to perform ancient religious rites which are a combination of heathen, Zoroastrian and Ismailite rituals. Thousands of rock paintings can be found both in the village and in the surrounding mountains.
more...