This species is found in northeastern Afghanistan, northern India (southwest Jammu and Kashmir), northern and central Pakistan, southern Tajikistan and southern Uzbekistan (Grubb, 2005). It ranges in elevation from 600 to 3,600 m asl.

Capra falconeri falconeri
Within Afghanistan, it is historically been limited to the east in the high mountainous, monsoon forests of Laghman and Nuristan. Within India, markhor is restricted to part of the Pir Panjal range in southwestern Jammu and Kashmir (Ranjitsinh et al. 2005, Bhatnagar et al. 2007). Populations are scattered throughout this range starting from just east of the Banihal pass (50 km from the Chenab river) on the Jammu-Srinagar highway westward to the disputed border with Pakistan. Populations are known from recent surveys still to occur in catchments of the Limber and Lachipora rivers in the Jhelum Valley Forest Division, and around Shupiyan to the south of Srinagar. In Pakistan, Schaller and Khan (1975) considered the former Astor markhor (C. f. falconeri) and Kashmir markhor (C. f cashmiriensis) to be one subspecies – the flare-horned markhor. The distribution map given by Schaller and Khan (1975) seems still valid for this markhor, though the populations within the large range along the Indus have probably since decreased. Markhor is mainly confined to the Indus and its tributaries, as well as to the Kunar (Chitral) river and its tributaries. Along the Indus, it inhabits both banks from Jalkot (District Kohistan) upstream to near the Tungas village (District Baltistan), with Gakuch being its western limit up the Gilgit river, Chalt up the Hunza river, and the Parishing valley up the Astor river (Schaller and Khan, 1975). The occurrence of this markhor on the right side of the Yasin valley (Gilgit District) in the recent past (Schaller and Kahn, 1975) was also reported to R. Hess in 1986, but could not be confirmed. The flare-horned markhor is also found around Chitral and the border areas with Afghanistan where it inhabits a number of valleys along the Kunar river (Chitral District), from Arandu on the west bank and Drosh on the east bank, up to Shoghor along the Lutkho river, and as far as Barenis along the Mastuj river (Schaller and Khan, 1975).

Capra falconeri heptneri
This subspecies previously occupied most of the mountains lying along the north banks of the Upper Amu Darya and the Pyanj rivers from Turkmenistan to Tajikistan. Today it is found in only about two to three scattered populations in a greatly reduced distribution. It is limited to the region between lower Pyanj and the Vakhsh rivers near Kulyab in Tajikistan (about 70”E and 37’40’ to 38”N), and in the Kugitangtau range in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan (around 66’40’E and 37’30’N) (Weinberg et al.1997). This subspecies may possibly exist in the Darwaz peninsula of northern Afghanistan near the border with Tajikistan. Almost nothing was known of this subspecies or its distribution in Afghanistan before 1979 (Habibi, 1977), and no new information has been developed in Afghanistan since that time.

Capra falconeri megaceros
In Afghanistan, at least until 1978, this markhor survived only in the Kabul Gorge and the Kohe Safi area of Kapissa, and in some isolated pockets in between. Intensive hunting pressure had forced it into the most inaccessible regions of its once wider range in the mountains of Kapissa and Kabul Provinces. In Pakistan, the most comprehensive study of the distribution and status of the straight-horned markhor comes from Schaller and Khan (1975). They showed a huge recent past range for this subspecies, but the present range in Pakistan consists only of small isolated areas in Baluchistan, a small area in NWFP, and one unconfirmed occurrence in Dera Ghazi Khan District (Punjab Province). Virk (1991) summarized the actual information for Baluchistan Province and confirmed the subspecies’ presence in the area of the Koh-i-Sulaiman (District Zhob) and the Takatu hills (District Quetta), both according to Ahmad (1989), and in the Torghar hills of the Toba Kakar range (District Zhob) (Tareen, 1990). The NWFP Forest Department (NWFP, 1987) considered that the areas of Mardan and Sheikh Buddin were still inhabited by the subspecies. There is no actual information about the Safed Koh range (Districts of Kurram and Khyber) where, according to Schaller and Khan (1975), probably at least 100 animals lived on the Pakistan side of the border at the time of their survey.