NATIONAL INFORMATION AGENCY OF TAJIKISTAN "KHOVAR"

Tajik National Park

The Tajik National Park is considered one of the most amazing corners of the world. Rugged mountains, green valleys, gushing mountain rivers, crystal clear lakes, alpine meadows and mountain forests all merge here.

The park’s rich and unique fauna and flora are listed in the Red Book of Endangered Species. Snow leopards, bears, mountain sheep, ibex, marmots and other rare animals and birds of prey inhabit this area.

This is the largest specially protected natural area in the republic and Central Asia. The park covers a vast area of 2.6 million hectares and takes up 18% of the total area of Tajikistan and 60% of the territory of the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region.

Within it are Jirgatol and Tavildara districts, central part of the Pamir-Alay, which includes the Akademiyai Ilmho Zooloy, Zulumart ranges, the eastern part of the Vanj, Yazgulom and Darvoz ranges, the highest peaks of in Central Asia and the Commonwealth of Independent States named after Ismoili Somoni and Vladimir Lenin, the Baland-Kiik and Sauksoy gorges, the Fedchenko glacier, Moskvina glade, as well as the Karokul and Sarez lakes. The park is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

The park was created to preserve the unique natural resources, endangered flora and fauna species, ecological zones, cultural and historical monuments, as well as to develop tourism.

Beshai Palangon Nature Reserve

Close to the Afghan border,  in the upper reaches of the Amu Darya, is one of the most unique corners of nature called Beshai Palangon Nature Reserve, which translates to tiger meadow and is also known as Tigrovaya Balka.  The reserve stretches over 40 kilometers, with its highest elevation at 1,200 meters above sea level. It is considered to be the most important natural reserve in the Central Asian region due to its exceptional size and ecological diversity, which includes rare species.

Animals such as the rare Bactrian deer, which was the main pray of the Caspian tiger last spotted in the reserve decades ago, red hangul deer, desert antelopes, leopards, jungle cats, striped hyenas, black and golden Tajik pheasants, see-see partridges, golden jackals, snake eagles, wild boars, badgers, porcupines, red foxes and grey wolves inhabit this pristine natural reserve. Reptiles such as the Central Asian cobra, viper, echis and a large number of non-venomous snakes can also be observed here.

The natural reserve has been designated as an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International because of the vast number of bird species populating the area.

Varieties of fish, including trout, cyprinid, catfish, snakehead, carp and grass carp abound in the reserve’s numerous rivers and lakes. The oldest relict fish false, the shovelnose sturgeon, is preserved in the lower reaches of the Vakhsh River.

The reserve is being considered for inclusion in the UNESCO’s list of World Heritage Sites.

Romit Nature Reserve

The Romit Naure Reserve is located 70 kilometers north-east of Dushanbe. This reserve is a real find for wildlife lovers. There is a rich variety of animal species in the reserve, some of which are included in the Red Book of Rare and Endangered Species. Among them are the tugai deer, Siberian and Central Asian wild goats with scimitar-shaped horns and  roller-shaped nodes, which indicate the age of the animal (half the number of nodes plus one). Brown bears, snow leopards and the rare white-claw bears can also be spotted here.

Near the reserve, between Sardaimiyon and Sorbo, is a little known area with lots of sun, blue crystal clear rivers, mountain forests, bright subalpine flowers, waterfalls, snowfields, little-known passes. This  paradisiacally unique site is also worth visiting.

Dashti Jum Nature Reserve

The vast nature reserve ecompassing 19 700 hectares or 380 square kilometers, with its highest altitude 2500 meters above sea level is a World Heritage Site.

Due to its rich diversity of bird species it has also been designated as an Important Bird Area by BidLife International. Himalayan snowcocks, common mergansers, saker falcons, Pallas’s fish-eagles, cinereous vultures, ibisbills, pale-backed pigeons, yellow-billed choughs, Hume’s larks, sulphur-bellied warblers, wallcreepers, white-winged redstarts, alpine accentors, rufous-streaked accentors, brown accentors, water pipits, crimson-winged finches and red-mantled rosefinches can all be observed in this reserve.

The reserve is located in the Shurobod district of Khatlon province, 240 kilometers away from Dushanbe and 80 kilometers south-east of Kulob. Though it is rich in its diversity of bird species, the reserve was established on the southern slope of the Darvoz range to preserve the population of the horned goat (morkhur) and the Central Asian mouflon.

Sari Khosor Nature Reserve
The natural reserve offers a variety of activities for nature lovers, including hiking, swimming in the river, gazing at waterfalls, amazing geological formations, observing rare wildlife and while camping, gazing at stars at night.

The Sari Khosor Natural Reserve is located in the Baljuvon district, 300 kilometers away from Dushanbe. This reserve was declared an international tourism zone by the decision of the government of Tajikistan.