LOCATION & CONTACT

Tucked into the heart of Mount Badakhshan and just outside central Tajikistan’s ancient city of Khorog, the Khorog Serena Inn offers a haven of warmth and hospitality amid stunning natural beauty. If you require further information about the hotel or would like to book accommodation for an upcoming visit, please contact us today.

The town of Khorog (Tajik: Хоруғ), also transliterated as Khoroq, Khorogh, Khorog, or Xoroq) is the capital of the Gorno-Badakhshan (Tajik: Kuhistoni Badakhshon, "Mountainous Badakhshan") Autonomous Province (GBAO) in Tajikistan. It is also the capital of the Shughnon district of Gorno-Badakhshan. It has a population of 28,000 (2000 census). Khorog is situated 2,200 m above sea level in the Pamir Mountains (ancient Mount Imeon) at the confluence of the Gunt and Panj rivers. The city is bounded to the south (Nivodak) and to the north (Tem) by the deltas of the Shakhdara and Gunt, 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 river Panj, also being known as Amu Darya, or in antiquity the Oxus) on the border with Afghanistan. Khorog is known for its beautiful poplar trees that dominate the flora of the city.

Khorog is situated along the Pamir Highway at the point where it leaves the Panj valley and heads east up the Gunt valley. The Pamir highway is the main road in Gorno-Badakhstan and connects the Tajik capital of Dushanbe toward the west to the Republic of Kyrgyzstan to the northeast. The highway can prove difficult to pass in both directions, especially during winter and spring. Khorog also has a small airport, which can accommodate small capacity airplanes and helicopters. Recently the Pamir Highway was connected to the Karakorum Highway of China and Pakistan, also known as KKH.

Officially known as the Republic of Tajikistan, this landlocked country is bordered by Afghanistan in the south, Uzbekistan to the west, Kyrgyzstan to the north, and the People's Republic of China to the east. Tajikistan also lies adjacent to Pakistan but is separated by the narrow Wakhan Corridor.

Most of Tajikistan's population belongs to the Tajik ethnic group, who share culture and history with Afghanistan and speak the Persian language (officially referred to as Tajiki in Tajikistan). Once part of the Samanid Empire, Tajikistan became a constituent republic of the Soviet Union in the 20th century, known as the Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic (Tajik SSR).

Historically, Tajiks and Persians come from very similar stock, speaking variants of the same language and are related as part of the larger group of Iranian peoples. The Tajik language is the mother tongue of around 80% of the citizens of Tajikistan. The main urban centers in today's Tajikistan include Dushanbe (the capital), Khujand, Kulob, Panjakent and Istaravshan. Most of the population are members of the Sunni Islam faith, though there is also a sizable number of Ismailis.

Landlocked Tajikistan is the smallest nation in Central Asia and is 90% covered by mountains. Over fifty percent of the country stands at over 3,000 meters above sea level. The only major areas of lower land are in the north (part of the Fergana Valley), and in the southern Kofarnihon and Vakhsh river valleys, which form the Amu Darya. Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, is located above the Kofarnihon valley.