TAJIKISTAN

Though it holds the title of the smallest country in Central Asia, high-altitude Tajikistan also features some of its most dramatic scenery. The region’s tallest peaks and largest number of mountains are clustered here, as well as the longest glacier outside of the polar territories. Discover the colossal splendour of the Pamir Mountains, known as the Roof of the World, where brown bears and snow leopards roam. Then there is Lake Iskanderkul; an azure-watered wonder where, according to legend, Alexander the Great’s beloved horse Bucephalus met an untimely end.

Sited on a historic crossroads of Silk Road caravan routes, capital Dushanbe’s name translates as Monday, in tribute to the centuries-old bazaar that was once held here. The city has evolved rapidly since Tajikistan gained independence in 1991, with modern mosques, museums and teahouses sitting alongside Soviet-era monuments and boulevards. Consider also a visit to cultural Khujand, a city with almost 2,500 years of stories to tell, or embrace the traditional Tajik way of life within sleepy highland villages.