Jan Bakker is an expedition leader, co-author of Trekking in Tajikistan, and pioneer of the Pamir Trail, a long-distance trekking route that connects remote mountain communities.

In this conversation, we talk about:

• How a boy from flat Netherlands fell in love with mountains

• First mountain at 16 in Mallorca

• Why Tajikistan captured his imagination

• Designing 1300 km Pamir Trail in Tajikistan

• How to map a long distance hiking route

• Choosing routes from satellite and shepherd paths

• Working with local communities along the trail

• Real world dangers including glacial rivers and rockfall

• What to do when rescue is days away

• Politics on the ground and border permits

• Being a white tourist in Afghanistan

• Myths versus reality on the Afghan border

• Ethics of opening remote valleys to tourism

• How a trail creates local jobs and homestays

• Why he kept government at arms length

• Funding phase two for homestays and guides

• Family life in Uganda while building trails

• First multi day trek with his kids

• Cultural differences in time and priorities

• What comes next after the Pamir Trail

You can find Jan’s book, Trekking in Tajikistan, here:

https://shorturl.at/9cMiL

Jan is the Founder of:

pamirtrail.org

packraftafrica.com. 

You can find Jan Bakker here:

LinkedIn – ⁠https://shorturl.at/KLapD

⁠Instagram – ⁠https://www.instagram.com/summitsofafrica/?hl=en⁠