Highly Commended
Lily Dyu
Fastpacking
Khorog to resupply I was told to leave
the region. Another research trip cut
short. It left me somewhat disillusioned
and I decided to self-publish a guide in
PDF with the treks that I did manage to
research.
I didn’t give it much thought anymore
until Christine Oriol approached me
in 2015 with the offer to join forces to
make a more comprehensive guidebook.
She lived in Tajikistan for four years
and knew the country more intimately
than I did. At the time I was working for
the UK-based travel company Untamed
Borders. At the Adventure Travel Show
WHAT THE JUDGES SAID...
Dushanbe is now on my bucket list.
This is really what the guidebook
category is all about: the first
published guide to a remote and
relatively unexplored part of the
world that may not be on many
people’s list on account of a trip
being too complicated to organise.
Not any more! Inspirational text
and photographs that really fire the
imagination.
Judges Sue Viccars, commissioning
editor of Dartmoor Magazine and
Chris Bagshaw, editor, writer and
former OWPG member
The Guidebook Award is
sponsored by Aquapac,
manufacturer of 100%
waterproof cases, bags
and pouches. Aquapac
is British company
headquartered in London,
and sells all over the
world.
in London Cicerone was practically our
neighbouring stand. I popped in for a
chat with Jonathan and Joe (we had been
in touch about a Tajikistan book six
years earlier). A month later I signed the
book deal with Cicerone for Trekking in
Tajikistan.
Tajikistan as a trekking destination is
still rather niche, but I’ve noticed there
is definitely an increased interest in the
Tajik mountains. I receive tales from the
Tajik trails that certain routes are a little
busier than the trekker expected (and
most of the trekkers are using the guide),
a testimony that Trekking in Tajikistan
is drawing more people to the beautiful
Tajik mountain wilderness.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to
attend the AGM in Norfolk as I live in
Uganda, so when I was on home leave in
Scotland a few weeks ago I found to my
complete surprise and delight the Award
for Excellence for Trekking in Tajikistan
in the mail. I owe a big thank you to the
team at Cicerone Press for believing in
this book project. Jonathan Williams
said: ‘It would probably the least
profitable title in Cicerone’s portfolio’,
but went with it regardless. And without
Christine Oriol this book would not have
come to fruition, so I send a big thank
you to Grenoble, France where she
resides. My feet are itching to head back
to the Tajik mountains to explore more
routes for edition two!
winter 2019 | Outdoor focus 15