Safety in Tajikistan: what overland travellers should know
Our summary of the country advice published by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Viaggiare Sicuri) on 27 May 2026.
Safety
- Pamir GBAO permit — A special permit is still required to go into the Pamir mountains: the GBAO permit is issued by the OVIR offices in Dushanbe, or you can request it before arrival through the e-visa system, where a "GBAO permit" option appears as you fill in your details. Gorno-Badakhshan, the Pamir region in the south-east, needs a high level of caution in any case, and Khorog has seen clashes between the security forces and the population in the past.
- Unmarked minefields — In rural and border areas move with particular care or stay out altogether: some minefields are unmarked, and antipersonnel mines are also reported in high mountain areas that are hard to reach. Do not head off alone into the districts far from the cities.
- Border friction — With no clear agreement on where the national borders run, incidents and clashes on the Uzbek border are frequent. If you cannot avoid the area, pay maximum attention around Isfara on the Kyrgyz border, in Sughd region in the Fergana valley, where armed clashes between Tajiks and Kyrgyz over interethnic disputes have increased in recent months.
- Khatlon and the south — The authorities have raised the terrorism alert level countrywide, Dushanbe included, after a series of arrests of people accused of belonging to islamist extremist cells. Non-essential travel is discouraged and particular care is needed in the south, above all in Khatlon region and at Danghara, Serband, Bokhtar, Valsh and Pyanj, where visits and movement should be limited and avoided altogether from dusk and through the night. Keep travel in the Danghara area to what is strictly necessary: a group of foreign cyclists was killed there on 29 July 2018, an attack the Tajik authorities attributed to members of an islamist-inspired party, after which security was reinforced in Khatlon and in the capital.
- Crime — Crime against foreign visitors is rare apart from pickpocketing in markets and crowded places, though the economic crisis and the return of migrant workers from abroad have pushed general insecurity up. There have been violent incidents in the capital and around it, mostly aimed at the local police, so avoid gatherings and follow what the authorities tell you.
- Earthquakes — Tajikistan is frequently seismically active.
Before you rely on this
This is our summary of advice written by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Italian travellers, published on 27 May 2026. We summarise in good faith, but we cannot guarantee it is accurate, current or complete, and we take no responsibility for decisions made on the basis of it. Rules change without notice and are applied by officials at the border, not by websites. Always read the original source and the travel advice your own government publishes for Tajikistan before you travel. GuideMeet has no way of checking whether an individual guide meets any standard mentioned here — ask them directly.
Source: Viaggiare Sicuri — Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, updated 27 May 2026. Last checked by GuideMeet on 2026-09-20.