Wakhan, or "the Wakhan" (also spelt Vakhan; Persian and , ''Vâxân'' and ''Wāxān'' respectively; , ''Vaxon''), is a rugged, mountainous part of the Pamir,

Hindu Kush The Hindu Kush is an mountain range in Central Asia, Central and South Asia to the west of the Himalayas. It stretches from central and eastern Afghanistan into northwestern Pakistan and far southeastern Tajikistan. The range forms the wester ...

and

Karakoram The Karakoram () is a mountain range in the Kashmir region spanning the border of Pakistan, China, and India, with the northwestern extremity of the range extending to Afghanistan and Tajikistan. Most of the Karakoram mountain range is withi ...

regions of

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

. Wakhan District is a

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

in Badakshan Province.

Geography

The Wakhan is located in the extreme north-east of Afghanistan. It contains the headwaters of the

Amu Darya The Amu Darya ( ),() also shortened to Amu and historically known as the Oxus ( ), is a major river in Central Asia, which flows through Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Afghanistan. Rising in the Pamir Mountains, north of the Hindu Ku ...

(

Oxus The Amu Darya ( ),() also shortened to Amu and historically known as the Oxus ( ), is a major river in Central Asia, which flows through Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Afghanistan. Rising in the Pamir Mountains, north of the Hindu Ku ...

) River, and was an ancient corridor for travellers from the

Tarim Basin The Tarim Basin is an endorheic basin in Xinjiang, Northwestern China occupying an area of about and one of the largest basins in Northwest China.Chen, Yaning, et al. "Regional climate change and its effects on river runoff in the Tarim Basin, Ch ...

Badakshan Badakhshan is a historical region comprising the Wakhan Corridor in northeast Afghanistan, eastern Tajikistan, and Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County in China. Badakhshan Province is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan. Much of historic Ba ...

. The geographic position of Wakhan between China, India, and Bactria allowed it to play a major role in trade in the ancient world. Until 1883, the Wakhan included the whole valley of the Panj River and the Pamir River, as well as the upper flow of the Panj River known as the Wakhan River. An 1873 agreement between UK and

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

split the Wakhan by delimiting spheres of influence for the two countries at the Panj and Pamir rivers.International Boundary Study of the Afghanistan-USSR Boundary (1983)
by the US Bureau of Intelligence and Research Since then, the name Wakhan is now generally used to refer to the Afghan area south of the two rivers. The northern part of the historic Wakhan is now part of the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Province in Tajikistan. The only road into the Wakhan is a rough track from Ishkashim past Qila-e Panja to Sarhad-e Broghil. Paths lead from the end of the road to the Wakhjir Pass, a mountain pass leading to China which is closed to travellers. The western part of the Wakhan, between Ishkashim and Qila-e Panja, is known as ''Lower Wakhan'', which includes the valley of the Panj River. The valleys of the Wakhan River, the Pamir River and their tributaries, and the terrain between, are known as ''Upper Wakhan''. The eastern extremity of Upper Wakhan is known as the ''Pamir Knot'', the area where the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than list of h ...

Tian Shan The Tian Shan, also known as the Tengri Tagh or Tengir-Too, meaning the "Mountains of God/Heaven", is a large system of mountain ranges in Central Asia. The highest peak is Jengish Chokusu at high and located in Kyrgyzstan. Its lowest point is ...

Kunlun The Kunlun Mountains constitute one of the longest mountain chains in Asia, extending for more than . In the broadest sense, the chain forms the northern edge of the Tibetan Plateau south of the Tarim Basin. Located in Western China, the Kunlu ...

, and

ranges meet. West of the Pamir Knot is the Little Pamir, a broad U-shaped grassy valley 100 km long and 10 km wide, which contains Chaqmaqtin Lake, the headwaters of the Aksu or Murghab River. At the eastern end of the Little Pamir is the Tegermansu Valley, from where the closed Tegermansu Pass (4,827 m) leads to China. The

Great Pamir The Great Pamir or Big Pamir is a U-shaped, grassy valley (or pamir) forming the eastern part of the Wakhan Corridor in northeastern Afghanistan, in the Pamir Mountains. The area is home to a diverse range of animals and has traditionally been u ...

or ''Big Pamir'', a 60 km long valley south of Zorkol lake, drained by the Pamir River, lies to the northwest of the Little Pamir. The mountain range that divides the two Pamirs is known as the Nicholas Range. West of the Nicholas Range, between the Great Pamir and the lower valley of the Wakhan River, is the ''Wakhan Range'', which culminates in the ''Koh-e Pamir'' (6,320 m). The roads in the region have small

shrine A shrine ( "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred space">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ...: ''escri ...

s to Ismaili Muslim pirs and are adorned with "special stones and curled ibex and sheep horns", which are symbols of purity in the

Zoroastrian Zoroastrianism ( ), also called Mazdayasnā () or Beh-dīn (), is an Iranian religion centred on the Avesta and the teachings of Zarathushtra Spitama, who is more commonly referred to by the Greek translation, Zoroaster ( ). Among the wo ...

faiths, once present in the region before the arrival of Islam.

Wakhan Corridor

The Wakhan is connected to Tashkurgan Tajik County, China, by a long, narrow strip called the Wakhan Corridor, which separates the Gorno-Badakhshan region of

Tajikistan Tajikistan, officially the Republic of Tajikistan, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Dushanbe is the capital city, capital and most populous city. Tajikistan borders Afghanistan to the Afghanistan–Tajikistan border, south, Uzbekistan to ...

from

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ; , ; abbr. KP or KPK), formerly known as the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Northern Pakistan, northwestern region of the country, Khyber ...

in Pakistan and

Gilgit-Baltistan Gilgit-Baltistan (; ), formerly known as the Northern Areas, is a region administered by Pakistan as an administrative units of Pakistan, administrative territory and consists of the northern portion of the larger Kashmir region, which has b ...

. The Wakhan River flows through the corridor from the east to Qila-e Panja where it joins the Pamir River to become the Panj River which then forms the border. In the south the corridor is bordered by the high mountains of the

, crossed by the Broghol pass, the Irshad Pass and the disused Dilisang Pass to

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

History

Historically the Wakhan has been an important region for thousands of years as it is where the western and eastern portions of Central Asia meet.

Ancient history

Western Wakhan (休密 ''Xiumi'') was conquered in the early part of the 1st century CE by

Kujula Kadphises Kujula Kadphises (Kushan language: Κοζουλου Καδφιζου, also Κοζολα Καδαφες; Kharosthi: 𐨐𐨂𐨗𐨂𐨫 𐨐𐨯, International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ', '; ; r. 30–80 CE, or 40–90 CE accor ...

, the first "Great Kushan," and was one of the five ''xihou'' or principalities that formed the nucleus of the original Kushan kingdom. Wakhan was administered by the Kushan indirectly through semi-independent rulers who oversaw trade on the Buddhist Route of the Silk Road.

Wakhan Mirdom

Until 1883 Wakhan was a semi-independent principality on both sides of the Panj and Pamir Rivers, ruled by a hereditary ruler (''

mir ''Mir'' (, ; ) was a space station operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, first by the Soviet Union and later by the Russia, Russian Federation. ''Mir'' was the first modular space station and was assembled in orbit from 1986 to ...

'') with its capital at Qila-e Panja. It was a tributary to Badakhshan, which itself was a tributary state of

Qing China The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the Ming dynasty ...

. However, in the 1750s when the Qing dynasty

conquered Conquest involves the annexation or control of another entity's territory through war or coercion. Historically, conquests occurred frequently in the international system, and there were limited normative or legal prohibitions against conquest ...

the

Dzungar Khanate The Dzungar Khanate ( Mongolian: ), also known as the Zunghar Khanate or Junggar Khanate, was an Inner Asian khanate of Oirat Mongol origin. At its greatest extent, it covered an area from southern Siberia in the north to present-day Kyrgyz ...

, Wakhan and Shighnan were incorporated into the Qing dynasty. The

Khanate of Kokand The Khanate of Kokand was a Central Asian polity in the Fergana Valley centred on the city of Kokand between 1709 and 1876. It was ruled by the Ming tribe of Uzbeks. Its territory is today divided between Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, a ...

eventually annexed Wakhan and Shighnan from Qing China by the 1830s.

Conquest by Afghanistan

Agreements between Britain and

in 1873 and between Britain and Afghanistan in 1893 effectively split the historic area of Wakhan by making the Panj and Pamir Rivers the border between Afghanistan and the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

. On its south side, the Durand Line agreement of 1893 marked the boundary between

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

and Afghanistan. This left a narrow strip of land as a buffer between the two empires. In the 1880s (1880-1895), under pressure from Britain, Abdur Rahman Khan, the Emir of Afghanistan, imposed Afghan rule on the Wakhan. The last Mir of Wakhan, Ali Mardan Khan fled to Chitral, where he was allotted land in Ishkoman Valley.

Modern history

In 1949, when

Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; traditionally Romanization of Chinese, romanised as Mao Tse-tung. (26December 18939September 1976) was a Chinese politician, revolutionary, and political theorist who founded the People's Republic of China (PRC) in ...

completed the Communist takeover of China, the borders were permanently closed, sealing off the 2,000-year-old caravan route and turning the corridor into a

cul-de-sac A dead end, also known as a ''cul-de-sac'' (; , ), a no-through road or a no-exit road, is a street with only one combined inlet and outlet. Dead ends are added to roads in urban planning designs to limit traffic in residential areas. Some d ...

. When the Soviets invaded Afghanistan in December 1979, they occupied the Wakhan and built strong military posts at Sarhad-e Broghil and elsewhere. To facilitate access they built a bridge across the Pamir River at Prip, near Gaz Khan. However, the area did not see fighting. In 2010 the Wakhan was reported to be peaceful and unaffected by the war in the rest of Afghanistan.

Demographics

Wakhan is sparsely populated. The total population is estimated at 10,600. Wakhi and Kyrgyz are the major ethnic groups of Wakhan. Most of its inhabitants speak the Vakhi or

Wakhi language Wakhi (, , IPA: ikwɔr zik is an Indo-European language in the Eastern Iranian branch of the language family spoken today in Wakhan District, Northern Afghanistan, and neighboring areas of Tajikistan, Pakistan and China. Classification and ...

(x̌ik zik), and belong to an ethnic group known as Vakhi or Wakhi. Nomadic Kyrgyz herders live at the higher altitudes.Shahrani, M. Nazif. (1979) According to a 2003 report by the

United Nations Environment Programme The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is responsible for coordinating responses to environmental issues within the United Nations system. It was established by Maurice Strong, its first director, after the Declaration of the United Nati ...

and

Food and Agriculture Organization The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; . (FAO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger and improve nutrition and food security. Its Latin motto, , translates ...

, the population of Wakhan suffers from lack of education, poverty, ill health, food insecurity and

opium Opium (also known as poppy tears, or Lachryma papaveris) is the dried latex obtained from the seed Capsule (fruit), capsules of the opium poppy ''Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid mor ...

addiction.

Wakhi

The Wakhi population of Wakhan was 9,444 in 2003. Almost all of them adhere to the Shia Ismaili faith and some of them speak

. Wakhi people also inhabit several areas adjacent to the Wakhan in

, Pakistan and China. The Wakhi practice agriculture in the river valleys, and herd animals in the summer pastures at higher elevations. The dominant sect of Islam in the region is Ismaili, much milder than the strict form of Islam generally practiced in the country. In Ishkashim, the city at the western mouth of the Wakhan, stricter observance is demanded. The area has been long neglected by the central government of Afghanistan. People are poor, many being traditional pastoralists living in

yurt A yurt (from the Turkic languages) or ger (Mongolian language, Mongolian) is a portable, round tent covered and Thermal insulation, insulated with Hide (skin), skins or felt and traditionally used as a dwelling by several distinct Nomad, nomad ...

s and lacking basic services. Non-governmental organizations such as the Aga Khan Development Network foundation have taken an interest in the area. The Central Asia Institute, founded by Greg Mortenson, has built 11 schools in the region. There is a trickle of tourists who engage in

trekking Backpacking is the outdoor recreation of carrying gear on one's back while hiking for more than a day. It is often an extended journey and may involve camping outdoors. In North America, tenting is common, where simple shelters and mountain hu ...

and

mountaineering Mountaineering, mountain climbing, or alpinism is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas that have become mounta ...

. Alastair Leithead of BBC News 24 on 26 December 2007, presented a half-hour feature about Wakhan, focusing particularly on the work of the

expatriate An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. The term often refers to a professional, skilled worker, or student from an affluent country. However, it may also refer to retirees, artists and ...

British doctor Alexander Duncan, which provided a significant piece of extended media reporting from this inaccessible area. He has also covered the Pamir Festival in the area.

Kyrgyz

The Kyrgyz population of Wakhan was 1,130 in 2003, all in the eastern part of Wakhan. The Kyrgyz are

Sunni Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Mu ...

Hanafi The Hanafi school or Hanafism is the oldest and largest Madhhab, school of Islamic jurisprudence out of the four schools within Sunni Islam. It developed from the teachings of the Faqīh, jurist and theologian Abu Hanifa (), who systemised the ...

Muslims. The suppression of the 1916 rebellion against Russian rule in Central Asia caused many Kyrgyz to later migrate to China and Afghanistan. Most Kyrgyz refugees settled in Wakhan region of Afghanistan. Until 1978, the northeastern portion of Wakhan (the Great Pamir and the Little Pamir) was home to about 3,000-5,000 ethnic Kyrgyz.FACTBOX-Key facts about the Wakhan Corridor

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...

. 12 June 2009 In 1978 almost all the Kyrgyz inhabitants fled to Pakistan in the aftermath of the

Saur Revolution The Saur Revolution (; ), also known as the April Revolution or the April Coup, was a violent coup d'état and uprising staged on 27–28 April 1978 (, ) by the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA), which overthrew President of Afghan ...

. They requested 5,000 visas from the United States Consulate in

Peshawar Peshawar is the capital and List of cities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by population, largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is the sixth most populous city of Pakistan, with a district p ...

for resettlement in

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

(a region that shares a similar climate and temperature with the Wakhan Corridor). Their request was denied. In the meantime, the heat and the unsanitary conditions of the refugee camp were killing the Kyrgyz refugees at an alarming rate.

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, which was then under the military coup rule of General Kenan Evren, stepped in, and resettled the entire group in the

Lake Van Lake Van (; ; ) is the largest lake in Turkey. It lies in the Eastern Anatolia Region of Turkey in the provinces of Van Province, Van and Bitlis Province, Bitlis, in the Armenian highlands. It is a Salt lake, saline Soda lake, soda lake, receiv ...

region of Turkey in 1982. The village of Ulupamir (or "Great Pamir" in Kyrgyz) in Erciş on Lake Van was given to them, and more than 5,000 of them still reside today. The documentary film " 37 Uses for a Dead Sheep – the story of the Pamir Kirghiz" was based on the life of these Kyrgyz/Kirgiz in their new home. Kyrgyz from Wakhan region of Afghanistan moved to Pakistan in the 1970s. Nearly 1,100 of them were accepted by Turkey to settle in Ulupamir (or "Great Pamir" in Kyrgyz), their resettlement village in Van Province. Some Kyrgyz returned to the Wakhan in October 1979, following the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan.

Tourism

In recent years the Wakhan has become a destination for adventurous trekkers, and several tour companies offer trips to the area. BBC correspondent John Simpson has recommended the area as a place to take a wonderful, and relatively safe, holiday. Kate Humble, a BBC television presenter, reports that the area is beautiful and the people friendly. The entire Wakhan was designated as the protected Wakhan National Park in 2014.

Popular culture

The Wakhan plays a large role in Greg Mortenson's book, '' Stones into Schools''. This book tells the story of the building of a school in the Kyrgyz village of Bozai Gumbaz. The factual accuracy of this account is strongly disputed in Jon Krakauer's ebook '' Three Cups of Deceit''.

Footnotes

References

* Gordon, T. E. 1876. ''The Roof of the World: Being the Narrative of a Journey over the high plateau of Tibet to the Russian Frontier and the Oxus sources on Pamir.'' Edinburgh. Edmonston and Douglas. Reprint: Ch'eng Wen Publishing Company. Taipei. 1971. * Kokaisl, Petr. The lifestyles and changes in culture of Afghan Kyrgyz and Kyrgyz in Kyrgyzstan. ''Asian Ethnicity''. 2013, vol. 14, issue 4, pages 407–433.
Online
* Shahrani, M. Nazif. (1979) ''The Kirghiz and Wakhi of Afghanistan: Adaptation to Closed Frontiers and War''. * Munshi Abdur Rahim. Journey to Badakhshan with Report on Wakhan and Badakhshan. 1885.

* Stein, Aurel M. 1921a. ''Serindia: Detailed report of explorations in Central Asia and westernmost China'', 5 vols. London & Oxford. Clarendon Press. Reprint: Delhi. Motilal Banarsidass. 1980

* Stein Aurel M. 1921. "A Chinese expedition across the Pamirs and Hindukush, A.D. 747". ''Indian Antiquary'' 1923. From: www.pears2.lib.Ohio-state.edu/ FULLTEXT/TR-ENG/aurel.htm. Last modified 24 June 1997. Retrieved 13 January 1999. * Stein Aurel M. 1928. ''Innermost Asia: Detailed report of explorations in Central Asia, Kan-su and Eastern Iran'', 5 vols. Clarendon Press. Reprint: New Delhi. Cosmo Publications. 1981. * Stein Aurel M. 1929. ''On Alexander's Track to the Indus: Personal Narrative of Explorations on the North-west Frontier of India''. London. Reprint, New York, Benjamin Blom, 1972.

External links

Photo Essay on Afghan Kyrgyz in Wakhan and on the group Kyrgyz that migrated to Turkey from the Wakhan

Aga Khan Development Network: ''Wakhan and the Afghan Pamir'' (2010)

Juldu.com
Photos and Online guide to trekking in the Wakhan and Afghan Pamir
Wakhan Development Partnership
A project working to improve the lives of the people of Wakhan since 2003
Wakhan Corridor
Photos from Afghan Wakhan Corridor
Little Pamir
Photos of Life of Kirghiz in Afghanistan's Little Pamir
Photos From Afghanistan: Natural Beauty, Not War
– slideshow by '' NPR''

Ride Report of two Polish motorcyclists who rode to Wakhan from Poland in 2009 * Wong, Edward.
In Icy Tip of Afghanistan, War Seems Remote
" ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''. 27 October 2010.
Portfolio of images from summer 2010 trek through the Afghan Pamir by Zygmunt Korytkowski, photographer and traveller.

Photos from the Wakhan Corridor
Albums mainly from the Eastern part of Wakhan (Big and Little Pamir) inhabited by Kirghiz nomads.
Polish Climbing Expedition "Afghanistan 2010"

Climbing in the Wakhan Corridor

Caravanistan.com Wakhan corridor
{{Authority control Regions of Afghanistan Geography of Tajikistan Historical regions of China Sites along the Silk Road