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Highlights of Central Asia

Trip Type: Explorer

16 Days
1 - 12 People

Starts From:

NZD $7,470.00 /Person

Get a taste of Central Asia's charm on this 16-day trip through ancient silk road towns and bustling bazaars. Visit four out of the …

Highlights of Central Asia

Get a taste of Central Asia's charm on this 16-day trip through ancient silk road towns and bustling bazaars. Visit four out of the five Stans as you travel the Kazak steppe and Uzbek Silk Road towns by train. Starting in Bishkek, visit the clear waters of Issyk-kul Lake, cross the border to the charming Almaty, catch an overnight train to Uzbekistan and seek out the delicious plov, then explore the white marbled capital of Ashgabat. Spend a night in a traditional yurt camp near Issyk-kul Lake, hike the flaming red rocks at Jety Ogus, toast with locally produced wine to a Kazak home-cooked feast and learn about the full Silk Road history in the blue-hued mosques, madrasas and ruins in Samarkand, Bukhara and Merv.

Itinerary

Day 1: Bishkek

Day 2: Bishkek

Day 3: Lake Issyk Kul

Day 4: Karakol

Day 5: Almaty

Day 6: Almaty

Day 7: Overnight train to Tashkent

Trip Inclusions

Meals

14 breakfasts and 2 dinners are included

Transport

Private Vehicle, High Speed Train, Overnight Train

Accomodation

Hotel (12 nights), Overnight train (1 night), Tourist yurt camp (1 night), Guest house (1 night)

Included Activities

Bishkek - City walking tour
Issyk-kul Lake - Kyrgyz carpet making demonstration
Issyk-kul Lake - Kyrgyz Elechek Demonstration
Issyk-kul Lake - Boorsok Cooking Demonstration
Shamsy Valley - Burana tower
Barbulak - Kyrgyz family visit and home-cooked lunch
Karakol - Jety Oguz Visit
Karakol - Skazka Canyon Visit
Issyk-Kul Lake - Yurt workshop
Almaty - Charyn Canyon Hike
Almaty - Panfilov Park
Almaty - Zenkov Cathedral
Almaty - Museum of Kazakh Musical Instruments
Almaty - Winery visit with tasting and home-cooked lunch
Tashkent - Leader-led orientation walk
Samarkand - Plov cooking demonstration & family visit
Samarkand - Bibi-Khanym Mosque
Samarkand - Registan Square
Samarkand - Siob Bazaar
Bukhara - Taki Zargaron Trading Dome
Bukhara - Lyabi Khauz Complex
Bukhara - Ismail Samani Mausoleum
Bukhara - Ark Fortress
Bukhara - Sitorai Mokhi-Khosa Palace
Merv - Sultan Sanjar Mausoleum
Merv - Erk Kala & Gayur Kala
Merv - Big & Small Kizkala
Ashgabat - Independence Monument
Ashgabat - Anau ruins
Ashgabat - Ertugrul Gazi Mosque
Ashgabat - Akhal - Teke horse farm
Ashgabat - Neutrality Arch
Ashgabat - Turkmenbashy Ruhi Mosque & Family Mausoleum of the First President of Turkmenistan

Trip Highlights

Discover the history and former glory of the Silk Road with visits to the ancient trade towns and ruins in Bukhara, Samarkand and Merv.
Rub shoulders with the locals at bazaars, hear about their daily life and learn about how to make plov with a local family in Samarkand.
Spend a night in the yurt camp near Issyk-kul Lake. Taste the popular Kygyz snack boorsook, see how Kyrgyz carpets are made and enjoy a peaceful night under the stars, living like a local nomad.
Explore Central Asia’s landscape on short hikes to the flaming red rocks in Jety Oguz and the Charyn Canyon in Kazakhstan.
Unveil the mysterious Turkmenistan in its white capital of Ashgabat, which rose from the devastation of an earthquake in 1948 and see the futuristic transformation the city has gone through on a city tour with your local leader.