Silk Road Epic Journey
Central Asia & Kashgar

Tour operates: March until October

No. of days: 22 nights 23 days

Destinations: Almaty- Chong-kemin valley-Bishkek-IssykKul Lake-Karakol-Kochkorvillage- TashRabat-Torugart pass-Kashgar-Karakul Lake-Irkishtam pass-SaraiTash-Osh-Ferghana valley-Tashkent-Samarkand-Bukhara-Mary-Darvaza-Ashgbad.

Transport: Private air conditioned transport, economy class domestic flights

Accommodations: All comfortable class accommodation with private facilities, 2 nights in local guest houses with basic communal facilities.
Guides: Fully escorted English speaking guides in each country

Tour starting point: Almaty or Ashgabad

Tour ending point: Ashgabad or Almaty

Guaranteed departure: Daily- Minimum 2 people required

Day by day itinerary

Day 01: Almaty (Kazakhstan)

Upon arrival at Almaty airport you will be met by our guide and transferred to your hotel.Later city tour of Almaty visiting the ZenkovCathedral  (one of the world’s tallest all wood buildings) and the Central State Museum.  After lunch, ascend the Kok-Tube Mountain. Return to Almaty to visit the unique National Museum of Kazak Musical Instruments.
Overnight in hotel (D)

Day 02: Chong Kemin (Kyrgyzstan)

Today we drive to Chon-Kemin Valley, after border formalities at the Korday border crossing. In the afternoon we explore the village.
In the evening, experience true Kyrgyz hospitality with a traditional Vodka party dinner .
Overnight at Ashu Guest house (BD)

Day 03: Bishkek IssykKul Lake

In the morning drive to IssykKul Lake. En-route we stop in Bishkek for sightseeing.
Overnight in Three Carona hotel (BD)

Day 04: Karakul

Drive to Karakol, one of the first towns of the Russian Cossak settlements in late 19th century. En-route we visit Przevalski (a great Russian explorer in late 19th century) Memorial Museum.  After lunch sightseeing of Karakol. We visit the museum, Dungan Pagoda type of mosque and the Orthodox wooden Church.
Overnight in hotel (BLD)

Day 05:  Day trip to AltynArshan valley

Full day exploration of Altyn-Arashan valley, where you can relax in one of the hot springs or hike around the area. Later return to the Karakul.
Overnight in hotel (BD)

Day 06: Karakol – Kochkor village

In the morning drive to Kochkor village. En-route we stop at JetyOguz Canyon for a hike or an optional horse ride. In the afternoon visit the local handcraft center which is run by local communities. 
Dinner will be served with a traditional Kyrgyz local folk music
Overnight in Guest house (BD)

Day 07: Tash Rabat

In the morning transfer to Tash-Rabat towards the Chinese border. Visit the Caravan Sarai established in the 11th century, which served as a fortress for travelers along the Great Silk Road.
Overnight in Yurt (BD)

Day 08: Kashgar (China)

Early in the morning transfer to Kyrgyz Chinese border at Torugart. After border formalities we will be met by our Chinese guide and driver  andtransferedto Kashgar for overnight stay(BD)

Day 09: Day trip to Karakul Lake

Day trip to Karakul Lake along the famous Karakorum highway. The scenery along the way is breathtaking. We will be stopping at the Lake where you can enjoy the view of Muztagh-ata Mountain. After lunch, we have time for stroll around the lake. Return to Kashgar, overnight in hotel (BD)

Day 10: Kashgar Sunday Market

This day is planned to coincide with the famous Sunday market in Kashgar where everything from carpets, blankets, fresh produce, horses, donkeys, sheep and even camels are for sale! Wonderful assortments of people come from all over the region, and the population of the town swells by 100,000. This is truly one of the most incredible bazaars in Asia, and a photographer’s paradise.
Overnight in Hotel (BD)

Day 11: Irkeshtam pass to Sari Tash

In the morning transfer to Chinese Kyrgyz border Irkeshtam where you will be met by our Kyrgyz guide. Later drive to SaraiTash,
Overnight at home stay (BD)

Day 12: Osh-Ferghana valley

In the morning drive to the city of Osh; a town with a 3000 years history. Sightseeing of Osh includes Oriental Bazaar - one of the biggest bazaars in Central Asia, Suleiman mountain or Solomon’s throne, the rocky hill where Bobur the Mougal king and  the ruler of India resided.
In the afternoon  after border formalities transfer to Dostuck border for Ferghana valley
Upon arrival you will be met by our Uzbekistan guide and transferred to your hotel.
Overnight in hotel (BD)

Day 13: Tashkent

                                                                                          
Morning visit to Babur Park in Andjian and the silk factory in Margilan.
Later drive to Tashkent via KoKand
Overnight in Tashkent (BD)

Day 14: Khujand-Istrafshan (Tajikistan)

 
Transfer to the Uzbek Tajik border at Oybek to Khujand.  After lunch we continue to drive to Istrafshan and visit the well preserved old town of Istarafshan, a maze of small alleys that wind through neighborhoods of shady, mud walled Central Asian homesteads. Sights include the fifteenth century KukGumbaz Mosque, the Hafz-i-Sangin Mosque and the eighteenth century Hazrat-i-Shah Mosque and mausoleum complex. Later return to Khujand.
Overnight in hotel (BD)

Day 15: Khujand-Tashkent

Morning city tour of Khujand  including a visit to the ancient part of Timurmalik fortress, museum and Panjshanbe market. Later in the afternoon transfer to Oybek border to Tashkent
Overnight in hotel (BD)

Day 16: Samarkand

 
Drive to Samarkand for a half day city tour. For most people Samarkand is as mythical as Atlantis or as remote and legendary as Timbouctou. The sublime larger-than-life monuments of Timur, the technicolour bazaar and the city's long, rich history work a special kind of magic. On arrival we'll visit the old bazaars for which this exotic city is famous for.
Overnight in a hotel (BD)

Day 17: Samarkand sightseeing

 
Samarkand, sometimes called the ‘Rome of the Orient' was already flourishing when Rome and Babylon were founded. During the course of our full day tour we visit the famous Registan Square, BibiKhanum Mosque, Mausoleum of Tamerlane and the Observatory of Ulughbek; the site where UlegBek, grandson of Tamerlane, made some of the greatest achievements of the pre-telescope era of astronomy in the 15th century. We also visit the regal mausoleums of Shah-I Zinda, site of Central Asia's most sacred Islamic shrine, the massive mosque of BibiKhanym, and the adjacent colourful market. You can purchase Samarkand's famous bread which Alexander the Great unsuccessfully tried to have duplicated back home in Greece, or try some of the region's local produce, from grapes to the world's tastiest melons of multiple varieties. Our afternoon tour covers the Afrosiab Museum, located on the site of ancient.
Overnight in hotel (BD)

Day 18: Bukhara via Shakhrisabz

Travel to Bukhara via Shakrisabz, the birthplace of Tamerlane. We visit Tamerlane’s palace AkSarai, the KokGumbaz mosque, Mausoleum of Jehangir (Tamerlane’s grandson) and Tamerlane’s Mausoleum. Bukhara is one of the centere of the Russian/British Intelligence Services in the 19th Century.
Overnight in hotel (BD)

Day 19: Bukhara

    
Today we explore the old quarter on foot. Bukhara is an ancient city with its bustling "trade domes," active mosques, and the Kalyan Minaret ("tower of death"), one of Central Asia's tallest. We'll stroll around the streets and visit the old town center where old men with long white beards gossip for hours while drinking tea. Bukhara has been designated a World Heritage Site; the resulting restoration of some of the mosques, constructed in the 11th to 15th centuries, to make them appear as if they were built yesterday. There are even some structures still standing that date back to Zorastrian times 2,500 years ago.
We also visit The Ark, a large fortress with the Emir's open-air throne room and the Mausoleum of Ismail Samani, an intricate and beautiful 10th century brick structure that is nicely preserved. We'll also venture to the outskirts of Bukhara and visit the summer palace of the last emir, built by a Russian Czar with grand halls and a harem. We will also see Char Minar, a gate of an ancient madrassa long time gone. It was built in 1809 and has more in common with Indian art styles than local.
Overnight in hotel (BD)

Day 20: Mary (Turkmenistan)

In the morning, drive to the Uzbek Turkmen border and continue to ancient Merv. There will be plenty of time to see this historically important site, one of the most significant in Turkmenistan and indeed central Asia. The site consists of a series of towns each succeeded by another throughout the course of history and contains, amongst other things, the remains of Erk Kala and it’s citadel and the Musoleum of Sultan Sanjar.
Overnight in Hotel (BD)

Day 21: Ashgabad

In the morning, we fly to Ashgabat. Half day city tour of Ashgabad, Visit Tolkuchka bazaar. Continue to Old Nisa - ancient Parthian settlement and the Spiritual Mosque of Turkmenbashi.
Overnight in hotel (BD)

Day 22: Ashgabad- Darwaza Gas Crater

Today we visit the National Museum of History & Ethnography of Turkmenistan.
In the afternoon drive to Darwaza  Gas Crater, en-route  we visit a Nomad village, Karakum desert,  continue drive to Darwaza flaming gas crater or the ‘mouth of hell’.
Later return to Ashgabad for overnight in hotel
Overnight in hotel (BD)

Day 23: Ashgabad Sightseeing

  
Depend on the flight schedule transfer to the airport for onward flight (B)