The M41, known informally and more commonly as the Pamir Highway is a road traversing the Pamir Mountains in Central Asia.
Today this route is part of the M41 highway, which, according to google maps starts at Termiz at 37°12′39″N 67°16′20″E and ends at Kara Balta to the west of Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan at 42°49′40″N 73°52′53″E.
Note that there is road from Mazar-i-Sharif in Afghanistan to Termiz across the border which connects with the A76 highway which leads to Kabul and Herat but on google maps this road is not marked as either the A76 or the M41.
Traditionally, however, the Pamir Highway is considered to begin on that road just east of Mazar-i-Sharif in northern Afghanistan, passing northward into Uzbekistan and passing Termiz before turning east and crossing another border into Tajikistan.
It then follows a general eastward route through Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, to Khorog, crossing the Kafirnigan, Vakhsh, and Bartang Rivers.
From there it continues east for a distance of 311 kilometers (193 miles) to Murghab, there crossing the Murghab River before turning northward. The Pamir Highway passes through the altitude 4,655 meter (15,270 ft) Ak-Baital pass and past lake Karakul before crossing into Kyrgyzstan and on to Osh. The Murghab-Osh leg is 417 kilometers (259 miles) in length. The stretch of road between Khorog and Osh attracts a small amount of tourism due to its rugged natural beauty.
The Pamir Highway is designated as route M-41 over much of its length in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, and is known as the second-highest altitude international highway in the world (4,655 m). The section between Dushanbe and Murghab has the European route number E 008.
Construction and maintenance levels vary substantially along the highway.
The roadway sometimes paved but often unpaved, and heavily damaged in places by erosion, earthquakes, landslides, and avalanches. However, it is the only continuous route through the difficult terrain, serving as the main supply route to Tajikistan's Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region.
The route of the Pamir Highway has been in use for millennia, as there are a limited number of viable routes through the high Pamir Mountains; the road formed one link of the ancient Silk Road trade route.
