Another Saturday in Varzob: Gusgarf Waterfall & Pioneersky Pass

🧭 Trail Stats

📏 Distance: 5 miles
⬆️ Ascent: 2,244 ft
⬇️ Descent: 2,267 ft
⏱ Total Time: 4h 33m
🚶 Time Moving: 2h 50m
🥾 Difficulty: Moderate
📅 Date Hiked: March 14, 2026

For the past couple of months I’ve been doing a lot of hiking with some newfound friends who get after it every weekend. The rest of my fam has been busy with schoolwork and hanging out with friends, so the weekend hikes have mostly been a smaller affair. When I saw that Hike Tajikistan was heading up to Pioneersky Pass, and the kids didn’t have anything lined up for the day, I signed us all up. A couple of my regular weekend hiking buddies joined as well.

When we arrived at the meeting spot it quickly became clear that plenty of other people had the same idea. By the time the vans pulled out of the city we had close to twenty people along for the adventure.

The turnoff for Gusgarf village isn’t far outside of Dushanbe. From there we wound our way up the narrow mountain road until reaching the upper end of the village where the trail begins. The last time I had been here—about five weeks earlier—the entire place was buried under snow. Now it was completely gone and spring was starting to wake up the mountains. Trees were blooming, flowers were pushing up out of the hard ground, and patches of wild rhubarb were beginning to appear higher up the slope.

We followed the trail up the valley alongside the river, admiring the big trees lining both banks. It wasn’t long before we reached the junction where the path begins climbing toward the pass. With such a large group the line quickly stretched out across the hillside as everyone worked their way up the switchbacks. I was happy to see the kids pushing a strong pace near the front of the pack.

Roye was taking a little longer to find her hiking legs again, so I hung back with her near the rear of the group. Meanwhile the boys had struck up a conversation with a couple of university students in the group who were in Tajikistan on Fulbright Scholarships. They had recently replaced another Fulbright student who the boys and I had spent a long weekend hiking with near Sarytoqh, so it felt like a bit of a continuation of that connection.

About two-thirds of the way up, the trail turned slick and muddy. Rather than fight the mud, several of us veered off onto the grassy slope to the right and headed straight uphill toward the crest of the pass. The grass gave much better traction, though it definitely gave everyone’s calves a solid workout. Ten minutes later we were standing on top of Pioneersky Pass, enjoying a quick snack and taking in the views across the surrounding ridges.

A handful of us decided to continue partway down the other side to visit the Gusgarf Waterfall. We dropped down the backside of the pass, rock-hopped across the river, and picked up a faint trail climbing a steep hillside. From there it levels off briefly before dropping toward the gorge that leads to the base of the falls.

I looked up and saw Rowan had already followed my buddy to the upper section of the hill. As soon as I started climbing toward them, I realized the entire slope was slick mud. Another girl was trying to make her way back down, sliding and struggling to keep her footing. I was about halfway up watching Rowan attempt to head back toward me when both of his feet hit a patch of mud at the same time. In an instant he went over the edge and began sliding down the steep hillside, giving me a brief heart-stopping moment.

To his credit, he handled it remarkably well for most of the descent, managing what was almost a controlled slide. Near the bottom he tried to stop himself by planting his feet against a large rock, but it only sped him up. When he hit the rock it flipped him into a quick cartwheel and roll that finally brought him to a stop at the bottom of the hill.

Thankfully he popped right back up—shaken and a little bruised, but otherwise completely fine.

We crossed back over the river and eventually found a better trail that led us down to the waterfall itself. After a fifteen-minute break at the falls we climbed back up toward the pass to reconnect with the rest of the group. A half hour later we were all gathered again at the top before beginning the descent.

This time we took an alternate route heading down the other side of the ridge, a series of short, steep switchbacks on loose gravel that made for slow and careful footing. Eventually the trail rejoined the main path along the river and before long we were back at the vans.

Another fantastic day in the mountains just outside the city.