Tajikistan - Useful information for your trip

Tajikistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia, its capital city is Dushanbe. It's located on a mainly mountainous territory and two are the most important mountain ranges, Trans-Alaj in the north and Pamir in the south. These include the highest mountains of Central Asia, such as Ismail Samani peak, 7495 m high. Main rivers are Dyr Darya, Amu Darya, Kafirnigan, Vahsh and Pjandz.

The climate is continental, with strong temperature ranges, while rainfalls are scarce. Winter in Tajikistan is freezing cold while summer is extremely hot and spring almost doesn't exist. The fauna is rich and varied, ranging from the big mountain mammals such as snow leopards, wolves, yaks, steinbocks, Marco Polo sheep with their beautiful spiral horns, golden eagles and boars. The flora is typically mountainous, including edelweiss, cotton and juniper.

Most of the population belongs to the Tajik ethnic group, with Uzbek, Yaghnobi and Russian minorities. The population is mainly Muslim. The official language is Tajik, but Russian is still widespread.

Tajikistan is among the formers USSR republics with the lowest GDP. Due to its scarce job opportunities, almost half of the working population is employed abroad, generally in Russia. Less than 7% of the land is fit for cultivation. The main product is cotton, even though the agricultural sector is strongly penalized by the lack of infrastructures. The most important mineral resources are silver, gold, uranium and tungsten. Industry is mainly dedicated to the production of aluminum. Quite relevant are also hydroelectric plants, light and food industry, even though they use outdated factories.

During your stay in Tajikistan you cannot miss its many natural beauties and mountainous landscapes. They include Iskanderkul lake, a mountain lake of glacial origin, Sarez lake in the Gorno-Badakhstan province, Fann mountains in the western Pamir-Alaj and Nurek Dam on Vahsh river.