Khorugh ( tg, Хоруғ, ; russian: Хорог, translit=Khorog; ) is the capital of the

Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region Gorno-Badakhshan, officially the Badakhshan Mountainous Autonomous Region,, abbr. / is an autonomous region in eastern Tajikistan, in the Pamir Mountains. It makes up nearly forty-five percent of the country's land area, but only two percen ...

(GBAO) in

Tajikistan Tajikistan (, ; tg, Тоҷикистон, Tojikiston; russian: Таджикистан, Tadzhikistan), officially the Republic of Tajikistan ( tg, Ҷумҳурии Тоҷикистон, Jumhurii Tojikiston), is a landlocked country in Centr ...

. It is also the capital of the

Shughnon District tg, Ноҳияи Шуғнон , other_name = Xuγnủnzemath , native_name = , motto = , image_skyline = , imagesize = , image_caption = , image_flag = , fla ...

of Gorno-Badakhshan. It has a population of 30,500 (2020 ). Khorugh is above sea level in the Pamir Mountains (ancient

Mount Imeon Mount Imeon () is an ancient name for the Central Asian complex of mountain ranges comprising the present Hindu Kush, Pamir and Tian Shan, extending from the Zagros Mountains in the southwest to the Altay Mountains in the northeast, and linked to ...

) at the confluence of the rivers Ghunt and

Panj Panj () is a city in southern Tajikistan which is situated on the Afghan border, some south of the capital Dushanbe. It is located along the north bank of the river Panj, from which it derives its name. The population of the town is 12,500 (Jan ...

. The city is bounded to the south (Nivodak) and to the north (Tem) by the deltas of the Shakhdara and Ghunt, respectively. The two rivers merge in the eastern part of the city flow through the city, dividing it almost evenly until its delta in the Panj, on the border with

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

. Khorugh is known for its poplar trees that dominate the

flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' ...

of the city.

History

Until the late 19th century, Khorugh was in an area disputed between the Emir of Bukhara, Shah of

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

and

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

. The Russians emerged the winners of the region after

The Great Game The Great Game is the name for a set of political, diplomatic and military confrontations that occurred through most of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century – involving the rivalry of the British Empire and the Russian Empi ...

, which fixed the current northern border of Afghanistan on the Panj River and established the territory of

Russian Pamir The Russian Pamir (russian: Русский Памир) is a former territory of Imperial Russia, now the province of Gorno-Badakhshan of Tajikistan. The regional capital is Khorugh Khorugh ( tg, Хоруғ, ; russian: Хорог, translit=Khor ...

around Khorugh. Before 1896, when the Russians arrived and built a fort, the main town in the area was Kala-i Bar Panj (or Bar Panja Qal'a) somewhat downriver on the Afghan side. Following the fall of

czar Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East and South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word '' caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" in the European medieval sense of the t ...

ist Russia and the rise of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

, Khorugh became the capital of Gorno-Badakhshan in 1925. Soviet leaders encouraged the migration of settlers to the area with promises of pay, medals and automobiles, but with no industry and little arable land, the effort was not successful. Khorugh occupied headlines in July 2012 due to a government forces clash with guerrillas. Over 40 people, including 12 soldiers were killed (many reports indicated that the number of casualties could be higher). The country’s security forces moved in to arrest suspects in the murder of secret services General Abdullo Nazarov. The alleged criminals were linked to former guerrilla leader-turned-border patrol commander Tolib Ayombekov. Ayombekov is alleged to have been involved in drug trafficking and the smuggling of tobacco and precious stones for many years. In 2014, 2018, 2021 and most recently in May 2022, Khorugh was the scene of violent clashes and demonstrations against suspected human rights violations by security forces. Pamir's botanical garden is the most popular view of Khorog. It was established in 1940 to test the survival rate of various plants in mountain climate conditions. More than 30,000 varieties of plants have been checked according to official statistics, which now covers around 4,000 types of garden collection. Located close to Khorog, the botanic garden of Pamir opens up a great panoramic view of the entire city.

Facilities and education

Modern Khorugh is one of the poorest areas of Tajikistan, with the private, not-for-profit, non-denominational, international development agency

Aga Khan Foundation The Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) is a private, not-for-profit international development agency, which was founded in 1967 by Shah Karim Al Hussaini, Aga Khan IV, the 49th Hereditary Imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslims. AKF seeks to provide long-term ...

providing almost the only source of cash income. However, the city does have its own university ( Khorugh State University), founded in 1992), twelve schools, and several hospitals. There is a museum, the Khorugh Regional Museum, an

Ismaili Centre The Ismaili Centres are symbolic markers of the permanent presence of the Nizari Ismailis in the countries and regions in which they are established, characterised by the Aga Khan IV as 'ambassadorial buildings'. Each building is architecturally un ...

, and the second-highest botanical garden in the world, the Pamir Botanical Garden. Khorugh is also host to the Aga Khan Lycee and one of the three campuses of the

University of Central Asia The University of Central Asia (UCA) ''(russian: Университет Центральной Азии) i''s a secular, non-profit, research university in Central Asia. It was founded by an international charter between the governments of Tajiki ...

(UCA)
/small>. The

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

was founded in 2000 by the governments of

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

, the

Kyrgyz Republic Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and the People's Republic of China to the east ...

and

, and The Aga Khan. It is the world’s first internationally chartered institution of higher education. UCA has three Schools - School of Arts and Sciences, Graduate School of Development and the School of Professional and Continuing Education. The Khorugh Campus offers Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees in Global Economics and Earth and Environmental Sciences.

Transportation

There is a bridge to the Afghan side of the river. Khorugh is situated along the

Pamir Highway The M41, known informally and more commonly as the Pamir Highway (russian: Памирский тракт, translit=Pamirsky Trakt ), is a road traversing the Pamir Mountains through Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan with a ...

at the point where it leaves the Panj valley and heads east up the Ghunt valley. The Pamir highway is the main road in Gorno-Badakhshan and connects the Tajik capital of

Dushanbe Dushanbe ( tg, Душанбе, ; ; russian: Душанбе) is the capital and largest city of Tajikistan. , Dushanbe had a population of 863,400 and that population was largely Tajik. Until 1929, the city was known in Russian as Dyushambe (ru ...

toward the west to the Republic of

Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and the People's Republic of China to the ea ...

to the northeast. The highway is very difficult to pass in both directions, especially during winter and spring. Khorugh also has a small

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surfa ...

, which can accommodate smaller airplanes like

AN-28 The Antonov An-28 (NATO reporting name Cash) is a twin-engined light turboprop transport aircraft, developed from the Antonov An-14M. It was the winner of a competition against the Beriev Be-30, for use by Aeroflot as a short-range airliner. It ...

turboprop and the Yakovlev

YAK-40 The Yakovlev Yak-40 (russian: Яковлев Як-40; NATO reporting name: Codling) is a regional jet designed by Yakovlev. The trijet's maiden flight was in 1966, and it was in production from 1967 to 1981. Introduced in September 1968, the Yak ...

, or helicopters.

Climate

Khorugh experiences a

semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of sem ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

''BSk'') with cold, snowy winters and hot, dry summers.

Sports

Khorugh is the locality of highest altitude where bandy has been played.

Photo gallery

Notes

References

External links

"Welcome to Xoroq (Khorogh)"
© Tirdâd Gorgâni, May 2005; (web archive, 1 August 2008). * http://www.pamirs.org * Photo of Khorugh Airport: https://imgproc.airliners.net/photos/airliners/4/1/3/1101314.jpg?v=v40 (found on https://www.airliners.net/photo/Aeroflot/Yakovlev-Yak-40/1101314). * A Bird's Eye View of Khorugh: https://www.flickr.com/photos/ed_hill/205843943/ {{Authority control Populated places in Gorno-Badakhshan