The Pamir Highway is well known in the world of travel for its high altitudes, epic mountains, pristine lakes, glacial waterfalls, and overall beauty. But what you might not know about is the fascinating wildlife that exists in this part of the world.
Snow leopards are probably the most famous wild animal associated with the Pamir Mountains, along with other mountain ranges in Central Asia. You're not likely to just stumble on one of these though! Existing only well above the snow line, and designed perfectly to blend in with their surroundings, these predators require very specific searching to be found. That being said, there are some lovely concrete statues of them all over the Pamirs, along with the mountains in Kyrgyzstan and southern Kazakhstan.
One of our favourites is the Marco Polo mountain goat. Mountain goats are found elsewhere in Central Asia, in fact they're impossible to miss in the Koytendag region of eastern Turkmenistan for example (another favourite spot of ours), but these Marco Polos are massive, with curly hair and very impressive curly horns. These guys are much easier to spot than snow leopards, but you will still need to be above the snow line to get a glimpse.
The sky and cliff faces are rife with eagles, whilst the smaller trees and ground level shrubs are covered in little tits flitting about. It's tough to see any of these up close, but they are everywhere, so with a set of binoculars or a good zoom on your camera, you can get some great views of various types of birds.
And I think probably my favourite is the cute and unassuming little marmot. A bit like an orange beaver, but with a fluffier tail, these little dudes are dead easy to spot once you get to about 3500m, especially in valleys with spots for them to easily burrow into. Near the bottom of the food chain, they seem to be somewhat oblivious of the relatively constant danger they're in, and can often be found standing tall and proud on top of mounds of rocks, scarpering about near the side of the road, or just chilling in the middle of a plain. And that orange fluffy coat doesn’t blend in at all with the grey rocks or green grass. Good for us, not so good presumably for their survival!
Then there are yaks. These are often found grazing in herds in the high altitudes, though they thrive below the snow line. And once over about 3000m in altitude you won't really find any meat other than lake and river fish, or yak. Yak and chips is regularly the only item on a menu. What does it taste like? Beef basically. Slightly tough beef.
There are also horses, sheep, goats, hornets, beetles, all sorts of fish in the river and lakes, and other small rodents such as ground squirrels. Especially once above the tree line, it's nice and easy to see a lot of these animals as the land itself is so barren. Or if you're up for a challenge, you might want to venture into the snow and try and find a snow leopard or a Marco Polo.
Pictured: European Bee-eater (juv) (bird), Himalayan Agama (reptile), Marmot (rodent), blue male Plumbeous Redstart, Himalayan Agama (reptile).
