Khorugh, Tajikistan  - The air tasted dusty and Tajik folk music blared from the Russian-built, all-terrain Lada, which was bumping along Central Asia's Pamir Highway with seven passengers at 30 kph. Glacier massifs towered above, and the stony desert had a sprinkling of yurts.

While tourists swarm over the neighbouring Himalayas, not many have heard of the Pamir Highway, an insider tip among mountain lovers.

Averaging 4,000 metres in height, the Pamirs, known as "the roof of the world," are the second-highest mountainous area in the world. They are situated mainly in the former Soviet republic of Tajikistan, and extend into China, Kyrgyzstan and Afghanistan. Many peaks exceed 7,000 metres.

The Pamir Highway is the sole access to the Pamirs and runs through their heart. The asphalt and dirt road was built by Soviet military engineers in the 1930s and -40s.

Many merchants and missionaries traversed the high-mountain landscape over the centuries. Later, Soviet soldiers braved the thin mountain air at the lonely outpost at the southern edge of the Soviet Union. The ruins of army bases, forts and caravansaries are evidence of the area's eventful past.

Marco Polo also crossed the Pamirs, in the 13th century, and described their remoteness and impassability in his diaries.

Travelling through the Pamirs is easier today. The high plateau remains sparsely settled, but there is regular lorry traffic and public transport. The main route goes from the Kyrgyz city of Osh to the Tajik capital Dushanbe.

An alternative route is an approximately 1,500-kilometre loop tour that passes through the remote eastern Pamirs and crosses the Wakhan Valley on the Afghan border. Travellers should plan on spending at least a week.

The Lada left Osh and went past green upland pasture, yurts and herds of sheep. Not far from the Tajik border, the glacier-covered, 7,100-metre Mount of Tajikistan's Independence, called Mount Lenin until 2006, came into view.

The Lada wound its way higher and higher into the mountain passes as the air became drier and breathing more difficult. The vehicle had to be given more engine coolant every two kilometres. Sheer rock faces and salty valley beds displaced vegetation. A long wooden fence stood along China's desolate western border.

One of the destinations along the tour route was Lake Karakul, Central Asia's highest salt lake. Curious locals stopped the Lada and offered the travellers fresh yak milk and flatbread.

The night was spent in the town of Murgab, a former Soviet military post. For a number of years now, a local group has arranged overnight accommodation in yurts and traditional Pamir houses, providing residents with a little extra income.

Sleeping and eating is done on the floor, and the toilet is outside. For a small surcharge, almost all of the lodgings offer a pail of hot water for showering.

The next stop was Khorugh, capital of the Gorno-Badakhshan (Mount Badakhshan) autonomous region in south-central Tajikistan. It turned out to be a green oasis with mulberries and black poplars.

Nearby, the loop tour diverges from the Pamir Highway and follows the Afghan border into the Wakhan Valley, A meeting place of cultures and peoples for centuries, it is renowned mostly for its Stone Age rock drawings and cave paintings. To this day, the valley is dotted with old forts and fortresses, caravansaries and religious holy sites. (dpa)