Homestays
What it means
Homestay means that you stay overnight with a local family. It is an authentic way of travelling that promotes exchange between travellers and locals. In many deserted areas in the Pamirs, it is the only option for overnight accommodation.
Accomodation
It can be a house, a yurt or a traditional Pamiri House. Whatever it is, you stay with local people and experience the Pamirian way of life.
Sleeping
Pamiri’s usually sleep on thicker blankets on the floor. The blankets are lined with yak fur and provide good warmth. Traveller sleep weather on the ground or in bed’s. That depends on the circumstances and the preferences of the travellers.
Eating
As a rule, you get a hot dinner and breakfast in the homestays. Traditional plov is often served in the evening. In the morning, there is often bread with egg and jam. All meals are served with enough tea and bread.
Over 150 registered homestay owner in Pamir
With over 150 homestays in the Pamirs, you can stay in any small village. All of these 150 homestays are subject to minimum standards of hygiene, hospitality and bedrooms.
We arrange different types of accommodation depending on your needs. Especially sanitary facilities like flush toilets are not standard and only available in a few homestays. We are happy to advise you and arrange accommodation according to your individual needs.
Why do we support Homestays?
Our Mission
Our Mission
We facilitate exchange between travellers and local homestay owners. We want to create an authentic tourism experience. This benefits travellers as well as locals. We explicitly promote the exchange of cultures. This micro-tourism efficiently promotes the fight against poverty in the Pamirs.
Our Vision
By supporting the homestay owners and thus the local population, we want to reduce poverty across the board. The money goes directly to the families and not to larger corporations. Our vision is to establish the Pamirs as an ecological and authentic travel destination. We dream of fair tourism and a living exchange between travellers and tourists.
What makes the traditional Pamirian House so special?
Pamiri House
Pamiri House
The Pamiri House has a long history. It contains ancient Aryan elements and dates back to the time of Zoroastrianism. The speciality of the Pamiri House is that the structure has religious and philosophical significance. The symbolism dates back over 2500 years. Where initially the symbols had Zoroatrainism origins, they evolved over time to Shia Muslim meaning. So the symbolism has changed over time, but the structure is still the same. In the following picture you can see a Pamiri house from the inside and an explanation about some special features in the interior of the house. Check this Link for detailed information about the meaning of a Pamiri House.
What makes the traditional Pamirian House so special?
The Pamiri House has a long history. It contains ancient Aryan elements and dates back to the time of Zoroastrianism. The speciality of the Pamiri House is that the structure has religious and philosophical significance. The symbolism dates back over 2500 years. Where initially the symbols had Zoroatrainism origins, they evolved over time to Shia Muslim meaning. So the symbolism has changed over time, but the structure is still the same. In the following picture you can see a Pamiri house from the inside and an explanation about some special features in the interior of the house. Check this Link for detailed information about the meaning of a Pamiri House.
You see three of the five pillars in the picture. Today, the 5 pillars simbolise Ali’s family members.
Listed from left to right:
– Mohamed, his son-in-law Ali, Mohamed’s daughter Bibi Fatima (Ali’s wife), and their sons Hassan and Hussein. The 5 pillars also represent the 5 principles of Islam.
The interpretation of Zoroastrianism is not entirely clear. One assumption is that the 5 pillars stand for the most important deities of that time.
On the ceiling you can see 4 squares staggered on top of each other. The Zoroastrian elements stand for earth, water, air and fire. Above the uppermost square is a window so that daylight enters the room.
The Pamiri’s stand out for their creativity. It can happen that there is a cat flap on the window.
The three floors represent the 3 kingdoms of nature: animal, mineral and vegetable.
# Impressions
