The extreme conditions of high-altitude desert and strong winds, combined with lack of opportunities beyond yak and sheep breeding, make life in the High Pamir Mountains of eastern Tajikistan a fight for survival. Yet in recent years, the village of Alichor has seen a turnaround in its fortunes, with a nascent tourism industry slowing the outflow of people to neighboring Kyrgyzstan. Photojournalist Janyl Jusupjan paid the village a visit.
Tourism Revives Remote Tajik Mountain Village

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Alichor village sits at the foot of a mountain. But it is actually 4,000 meters above sea level, which made it the highest village in the former Soviet Union.

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A Soviet-style billboard welcomes travellers to Alichor with a depiction of two men, one with a Kyrgyz white hat and one with the red hat of the Pamiri ethnic group.

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View of Аlichor village. The area is so high that 7,000-meter snow-capped peaks are seen as lowlying hills.

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A family in front of their house. The village is 80 percent Kyrgyz and 20 percent Pamiri.