File:Sanatorium_Zumrad_in_Isfara_02.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
Isfara
Isfara (; ) is a city in Sughd Region in northern Tajikistan, situated on the border with Kyrgyzstan. The city was the seat of the former Isfara District.
Weather now
cached 9h ago22°overcast clouds
64% 0.8 m/s OpenWeatherMap
7-day forecast
via Open-Meteo
Place details
- Locality
- Исфара
- Region
- Вилояти Суғд
- Country
- Тоҷикистон
- Population
- 274,000
Travel guide
Understand
The town of Isfara was founded in the 15th century by Arabs who had entered into the Ferghana Valley as part of the broader Arab conquest of Central Asia. The town was originally called Aspara. The first mention of the city in literary sources was in the 16th century by Babur, who praised the city's almonds and fruits. (Babur later went on to conquer northwestern India, establishing the Mughal Empire there.) In the post-Babur era, Isfara was under the control of the Khanate of Kokand, which was based in the city of Qo'qon in today's Uzbekistan. In 1876, the Khanate of Kokand was dissolved into the expanding Russian Empire.
With the Russian Revolution in 1917, Isfara found itself in the Soviet Union. Originally, it (along with the rest of Tajikistan) was part of the Uzbekistan Soviet Socialist Republic (SSR), but in the 1930s the Tajikistan ASSR was upgraded to a full SSR. During the Soviet Union, the borders between the SSRs didn't impact life on the ground, so Isfara prospered being at the tripoint between the Tajik, Uzbek, and Kyrgyz SSRs. But when the Soviet Union dissolved in the 1990s, Isfara suddenly found itself isolated on two sides.
The city continued to prosper as a trading and tourist town, allowing easy access between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, but with the outbreak of hostilities between the two countries in 2021 and the border closures, the town has begun to suffer economically.
Isfara is surrounded by high colorful mountains, each of which is a different …
Get in
The closest airport is in Khujand (LBD). From the airport, take a taxi to Avtostantsiya, where you can pick up a marshrutka to Isfara for с20. The last marshrutkas leave around 5pm. The trip takes between 90 minutes and 2 hours, depending on how many times the marshrutkas stop for passengers to get on/off and the quality of the road. A segment of the road between Khujand and Isfara is the disputed border between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, so the quality is very poor and bumpy.
If coming from Uzbekistan, cross the border between Qo'qon and Konibodom and take a marshrutka to Konibodom's bus station. Pick up a marshrutka to Isfara there. The trip between Konibodom and Isfara is about an hour (again, depending on how often it stops) on poor roads, but it's about с13-18.
Both marshrutka routes drop you off at the station, which is in the center of town next to the main bazaar.
Get around
~3 min read
Article
8 sectionsContents
- History
- Demographics
- Geography
- Climate
- Subdivisions
- Economy
- See also
- References
Isfara (; ) is a city in Sughd Region in northern Tajikistan, situated on the border with Kyrgyzstan. The city was the seat of the former Isfara District.
There are currently territorial disputes between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan over the area of Isfara Valley.
Gallery (7)
On the map
3 mapped locations