Tajikistan, the smallest and perhaps the most beautiful of the Five Stans, is blessed with a passel of great peaks and an intriguing, little-known Persian culture. Close to the storied Silk Road cities of Samarkand and Bukhara, it's a fine addition to any Central Asian journey.

• TOTAL AREA: 143,100 sq km

• LAND AREA: 142,700 sq km

• WATER AREA: 400 sq km

• POPULATION: 7,320,815

• RELIGIONS: Sunni Muslim 85%, Shi'a Muslim 5%, other 10%

• LANGUAGES: Tajik (official), Russian widely used in government and business

• GOVERNMENT TYPE: Republic

• CAPITAL CITY: Dushanbe

• OFFICIAL CURRENCY: somoni

• TIME ZONE: GMT/UTC +5