Qal'ai Khumb (Russian: Калаихум, Tajik: Қалъаи Хумб, Qal‘a‘i Xumb/Qal'haji Xumв - meaning fortress on the banks of the river of Khumb) or Qal'a-i-Khum, also Kalai-Khumb (transliterated from Russian: Калай-Хумб), is a small town located in the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region in Tajikistan on the border with Afghanistan. Formerly it was the capital of the independent Principality of Darvaz.[2] Now it is the capital of the Darvoz District of Tajikistan. Here the Pamir Highway meets the Panj River.
Qal'ai Khumb
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Qal'ai Khumb Location in Tajikistan | |
Coordinates: 38°27′59″N 70°47′48″E / 38.46639°N 70.79667°E | |
Country | Tajikistan |
Region | Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region |
District | Darvoz district |
Elevation | 1,200 m (3,900 ft) |
Population | |
• Total | 1,909 |
Time zone | UTC+5 (GMT) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+5 (GMT) |
Area code | +992 3552 |
Climate | Csa |
Official languages |
The village is an important overnight rest stop between Kulob and Khorugh, located at a distance of 168 km from Kulob (or 368 km from Dushanbe) and 235 km from Khorugh.[3] It has several hostels to accommodate travelers on their way between cities.[4] The village is almost entirely surrounded by the Pamir Mountains.
On the Afghan border Kalai-Khumb has one of the three bridges over the Panj river. On the Sunday market there used to be trades from Afghanistan near this bridge. Although Kalai-Khumb now has no such market.[5]