[Tajikistan] Travel Experience — Dushanbe
(Accurate as of 2024/02/01)
Most travel reports out there claim Dushanbe has nothing much to offer and one should spend 1 to 2 days in Dushanbe, but I would argue that Dushanbe is a lovely modern city where everything is within reasonable distance at reasonable price, and one should spend 2 to 3 weeks to really explore around the city in detail in order to enjoy the city to its fullest.
Landmarks
• I visited — Ismoili Somoni Monument, Ayni Opera House, Navruz Palace
- Ismoili Somoni Monument is part of a huge interconnected green zone which is really pleasant to go for a walk and is also adjacent to various landmarks; you can see National Library, Rudaki Park, Independence Monument, Palace of the Nation (not open to public), Flag Pole Park, Artificial Waterfall
- Ayni Opera House is sort of at the center of and within walking distance from everything and is an ideal area if you want to have some meetups
- Navruz Palace was only serving the function as a bowling alley (third floor) on the day I visited, but if you go up second floor and go to the 2 sides of the building, you can admire the view of Youth Lake Park
• I didn’t have time to visit — Amphitheatre, Mehrgon Market
Parks
• I visited — Alisher Navoi Park, Rudaki Park, Youth Lake Park
• I didn’t have time to visit — Flag Pole Park, Victory Park, Botanical Garden, Firdavsi Park, Ayni Park, TSMU Park + Avicenna Square, Capital Park
Shopping Malls & Supermarkets
• I visited — Dushanbe Mall, Barakat Plaza (the one on Ayni Street)
- There are a lot of nice supermarkets along Ayni Street if you walk towards east away from Rudaki Avenue
• I didn’t have time to visit — Barakat Plaza (the one on Ismoili Somoni)
• Apparently Paykar and Bi1 are 2 prominent supermarket chains in Dushanbe, from which you can find most of the things you need; Paykar seems to be a bit more high-end than Bi1
Where to Eat
• Local Food — Rohat Teahouse, Қурутобхонаи “Олим”, Toqi Teahouse
- Tajikistan is famous for its plov and qurutob; while its neighbor Uzbekistan is much more well-known for plov, qurutob is truly a must-try Tajik cuisine
• Exotic Restaurants — Al Sham (Middle Eastern), Delhi Darbar Dushanbe (Indian), Lung Chen Restaurant (Chinese), Lan’chzhou (Chinese)
- Each meal costs TJS100 to TJS200 per person
• Cafeteria-style Bistros (affordable and healthy dining options) — Ehson Bistro, Kafe Bistro Sarhadchi, Soyuz Bistro, Soyuz Bistro 2
- Each meal costs TJS30 to TJS35 per person
How the City is Structured
• There are 2 main roads in Dushanbe — Rudaki Avenue (north-south) and Ayni Street (east-west)
- Walking along Rudaki Avenue from Ismoili Somoni Monument all the way to the train station and then walk eastwards along Ayni Street will allow you to fully embrace the most exquisite and well-developed section of Dushanbe
First-hand Observation
• People in Dushanbe are in general much more fluent in English compared to people in Tashkent, and most people also can speak some Chinese (there are even some taxi drivers fluent in Chinese)
• Taxi drivers are in general more polite, rule-abiding, more respectful about boundary (especially they will not ask about passengers’ salary) compared to their counterparts in Tashkent; and there are a high proportion of EV taxis (painted in green)
• High-rise buildings with cranes on the rooftops can be seen everywhere in Dushanbe, and there are much higher proportion of well-designed high-rise apartments (and less Soviet-era old apartments) compared to Tashskent
• There are much less smokers in Dushanbe compared to Tashkent, and I didn’t encounter anyone smoking in dining venues or any taxi driver smoking
• The city rests pretty early, in the sense that it becomes more difficult to hail taxis after around 21:00 (even along Rudaki Avenue), whereas in Tashkent there are still many vehicles running on the roads even past midnight
• Payment kiosks are ubiquitous, same as in Tashkent
Read more about how to get in and out of Tajikistan and how to move around in Dushanbe here
