The city and the area in Gorno-Badakhshan oblast under the same name, Reshta Valley of Central Tajikistan. It is known for Garm-Chashma resort constructed in 1957 next to mineral water springs. It is the most well-known balneological resort of Pamir. The curative properties of Garm-Chashma mineral water is recognized far beyond the country.

Hot mineral water spring Garm-Chashma (hot spring) is located 2,325 m above the sea level, on the western slope of the Shahdarya Ridge in the average watercourse of Garm-Chashma river. The age of the spring is over few thousands years. The mineral water rises on the surface from great depths in the form of gushing forth small and large jets of 10 cm to 1.5 m. One jet gives from 5 to 7 liters of hot water a second. The water is muddy from limy deposits with and contains balls of calcium.

The sediments of such balls and limestone form a travertine mound ending with a number of natural bowls - pools of various sizes with a water mirrors ranging from 0.5 to 20 sq. m half a meter depth. They are filled with hot water of turquoise color containing iron, aluminum, magnesium, strontium, fluorine and other elements. The water is also rich in hydrogen sulfide, silicon acid and carbonic acid.

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Dushanbe, the capital city of the republic, is located in Hissar Valley in the south of Tajikistan.
Before the revolution the site of the present capital of Tajikistan was occupied by three small kishlaks: Sary Assija, Shahmansur and Dushanbe (dushanbe means "Monday" in Tajik; the market-day in the kishlak).

Although the name of the city is rather new, its historical past dated back as far as 3 thousand years. Archeologists have dug out the remains of Greek-Bactrian settlements, the site of ancient settlement from Kushan period (7th - 8th centuries), site of ancient Shishi Khon village and other medieval settlements. In the early 20th century Dushanbe was the summer residence of Hissar beks. In 1920 the last of Bukhara emirs Said Alimhon fled from Bukhara and made Dushanbe his residence. But Bolsheviks forced him to leave Dushanbe and run abroad. On July 14th, 1922 Dushanbe was taken by Bolsheviks. The Soviet power was established in the city. Dushanbe became the capital of newly-formed Tajik SSR. However, it could hardly be calle a city. There was a small settlement of 4 houses with wooden floors, 42 wagons and 283 inhabitants. In than 70-year's time a small mountain kishlak has grown into green, modern, industrial city with more than 600 thousand inhabitants. From 1929 to 1990 it was the capital of Tajik SSR, and since 1991 it has been the capital of independent Tajikistan.

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Substantially closer to Samarkand Uzbekistan than to Dushanbe, Penjikent is the old center of the Sogdian empire. Around the modern town and in its museum you will find remains of this preislamic civilization.
The remains of the Sogdian city of Panjikent are just out of town on a hill overlooking the valley. You can wander around the site without being bothered by anyone. Unfortunately there are hardly any signs that explain what is what. If you are lucky there are excavators here. Most of the time they are students from St. Petersburg and they are very willing to tell you about their work and about the finds.

The town has a small museum with soviet memorabilia and stuffed animals, but also very impressive finds from the excavations nearby. Wallpaintings from the 5-th century with faded colors, but recognizable motifs and hunting scenes.

You can also do good treks in the surrounding Fan Mountains. Penjikent is usually visited from Samarkand through the Intourist Service Bureau located in the Hotel Samarkand, but it is also possible to arrange the trip by yourself. You might even arrange to come here without an actual Tajik visa, on your Uzbek visa. It seems to depend a bit on the custom guards, but they tend to be quite friendly. They do not see many tourists, so you are a bit of a sight yourself.

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Dushanbe is a peaceful city in the trees; everybody walks, street sweepers are out in the early morning to brush away the leaves. The cars are mostly Lada's, a perfect car for the environment since you can fix it yourself. Electric powered buses cruise the main streets stopping only to pickup passangers and put the electrodes back on the wires. Red, white and green blinking flags light up the streets...

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...We boarded the bus which was a really adventurous vehicle and that was meant to bring us in about 5 hours to the junction where the road leads another 20km up the mountain to the beautiful Iskander Kul...

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We explored the "huge" village and found out that it is half Tajik and half Kyrgyz, with the city hall in the middle. The Tajiks live in the Western part, where you find a Tajik shop and houses, whereas the Eastern part of the village is home of a Kyrgyz mosque, a Kyrgyz shop and many gers...

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Istaravshan is a museum city, the ancient center of trade and crafts, one of the most ancient cities of the Central Asia. In 2002 Istaravshan turned 2,500 years old...

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