Tajiks are one of the most ancient nations of the world. Life in area situated at the main crossroads of eastern civilizations has given them continuous access to the achievements of other cultures. First settlement on the territory of today's Tajikistan date back to the end of upper Paleolithic period. Archaeological finds, the works of Herodotus and other written evidence provide information on trading relations, customs, and rituals of the nation. For many centuries the country, involved mainly in trading with neighbors suffered from foreign invasions by the troops of Alexander the Great, steppe nomads, Arabs and Tatar-Mongols. Tajikistan , the smallest country of the Central Asia , is located in its southeast part. In the west and the north it borders on Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan , in the south - with Afghanistan , and in the east, in its mountainous part, with China .

It is the country of mountains and rivers. In fact, almost entire territory of the republic (more than 90 %) is occupied by mountains which are parts if the highest ranges - the Pamir and the Tien Shan with absolute heights from 300 m to 7,495 m. The Pamir is the place where rough mountain rivers raging at bottoms of gorges and canyons are born. Tajikistan has 947 (!) rivers which are over 10 km long. The largest rivers are the Amu Darya , the Syr-Darya (in the north), the Zeravshan (inflow of Amu Darya ) as well as the Vakhsh and the Panj.

There are lakes in Tajikistan too. The largest of them is Lake Karakul (the Eastern Pamir ). The area of this salty closed lake is 380 square km. The deepest lake of Tajikistan is Lake Sarez (the Western Pamir ). Its area is 86.5 sq. m, depth - 490 meters. The water in the lake is fresh.

Tajikistan is a Central Asian which is not such a major center of tourism as for example Turkey . But it does not mean that there are fewer tourists wishing to come there to spend a vacation. They are mainly attracted by the exotic of this country, its customs and traditions which have been preserved untouched in its secluded corners since ancient times. If you go up in the mountains you will have a chance to find really small villages where live unique nationalities - the descendants of Alexander the Great who conquered this territory. In this way you'll be able to experience a spirit of antiquity and ancient history. Tourists travel to Tajikistan in order to get indelible impressions from fabulous and even wild virgin nature. The Pamir , the Tien Shan and Fan Mountains are regarded as "resorts" of Tajikistan . These fantastic places are attractive to those who prefer active travels with a touch of extreme to boring beach vacation.