Afghanistan

An adventure on horseback in Afghanistan, along the old caravan route to China, already traveled by Marco Polo.
From Ishkashim on the Tajik border through the Wakhan corridor up to the Little Pamir, the Roof of the World. A strip of land a few kilometers wide, in the nineteenth century was a buffer zone between the Russian Empire and the British Raj; here those empires faced each other in a secret war of spies for the domination of Central Asia. The subsequent closure of all the borders around made it a dead end. The current border with Tajikistan, along the course of the Panj River (the ancient Oxus of Alexander the Great), is patrolled 24 hours a day by armed guards ready to shoot opium smugglers. The border with Pakistan, which runs along the ridges of the high peaks, patrolled by poorly equipped soldiers, is naturally inaccessible.
The Taliban are only a few hours away from Ishkashim. These inhospitable lands, between 3 and 4 thousand meters above sea level, are inhabited by splendid and mild populations. The lower part of the valley is inhabited by the Wakhis, who speak only an oral Indo-European language, practice mountain agriculture (there is no lack of water) and observe the Ismaili religion (a current of Shiite Islam). The highest and most inhospitable part is inhabited by Kyrgyz, semi-nomads, of Sunni religion, who breed goats, sheep, horses and yaks, live in felt yurts in conditions on the verge of survival.