Hiking and wild camping in Tajikistan’s Fan Mountains have been included in Lonely Planet’s list of the 25 best travel experiences for 2026. The publication recommends routes to the Seven Lakes, Alauddin Lakes and Kuli Kalon Basin.
The recommendation appears in Lonely Planet’s annual Best in Travel selection, which highlights travel experiences and destinations worth exploring in the coming year.
From the Seven Lakes to mountain passes
Lonely Planet suggests starting in the Shing Valley, home to the Seven Lakes, where visitors can walk along mountain lakes and explore nearby villages, some of which are accessible by car.
For more experienced hikers, the publication recommends multi-day treks across mountain passes, with the Alauddin Lakes and Kuli Kalon Basin highlighted as places for wild camping.
The experience also offers opportunities to discover life in mountain communities, meet local residents and share meals along the way.
Nearly 890,000 foreign tourists visited Tajikistan in six months
According to the Committee for Tourism Development under the Government of Tajikistan, 889,400 foreign tourists visited Tajikistan in January–June 2026, an increase of 127,100 people, or 16.7%, compared with the same period last year.
Visitors from CIS countries accounted for 806,900 arrivals, while 82,500 came from other countries. Together, CIS visitors represented around 91% of the total.
Uzbekistan was the largest source of tourists, with 510,400 visitors, followed by Russia with 175,800, Kyrgyzstan with 89,000, Kazakhstan with 23,100 and China with 22,700.
The number of visitors from Kyrgyzstan and China increased approximately 1.8-fold compared with the first half of 2025.
By midyear, Tajikistan had 216 hotels, 53 hostels and five tourist bases. A total of 191 companies provided tourism services, according to the committee.
However, at a press conference in July, the committee’s head said only around 30 companies were actively attracting foreign tourists. The committee expects Tajikistan to welcome more than two million foreign tourists by the end of 2026.