SILK ROAD DISCOVERY  Beijing to Tashkent

Tour operates: April until October

No of days: 21 nights 22 days 

Tour cost from: US Dollars

Destinations: Beijing-Xian-Dunhuang-Turfan-Urumqi-Kashgar- Torugart pass-Issyk Kul lake-Karakol-Bishkek-Ala Archa park-Tashkent-Urgench-Khiva-Bukhara-Shakhrisabz-Samarkand

Transport: Private air conditioned transport, economy class domestic flights, soft sleeper class trains.

Accomodations: All comfortable accommodations with private facilities, one night at Tash Rabat Yurt camp with communal facilities

Tour Start: Beijing or Tashkant

Tour ending Point: Tashkent or beijing

Guides:Experienced English speaking local guides each cities in China fully escorted in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan

Guaranteed departure: Beijing west boundEvery Friday Minimum 2 people required

Day by day itinerary;

Day 01: Beijing

On arrival at Beijing International airport transfer to the hotel. The rest of the day is free for your own at Leisure. Overnight in Hotel (D)

Day 02: Beijing

This morning, we explore the heart of Beijing including the vast Tiananmen Square where Chairman Mao's tomb and various monuments to the people are located. Dominating the city's heart is the Forbidden City, a centre of power for five centuries and seat of the emperors. Entering through the Gate of Heavenly Peace (replete with Chairman Mao's portrait), we enjoy a guided tour of this old city within a city. In the afternoon, we visit temple of Heaven.

Overnight in Hotel (BLD)

Day 03: Beijing Great Wall

Don some comfortable shoes today as we hike the famous Great Wall, along one of the less visited sections from Jingshan Ling to Sumatai. Climbing the Great Wall is one of those "must do" experiences!

Overnight in hotel (BLD)

Day 04: Beijing overnight Train to Xian

Free day on your own to explore Beijing or speak to your Guide for optional activities. In the evening we catch an overnight soft sleeper train to Xian (BL)

Day 05: Xian Terracotta worriers

Train arrives in the morning in Xian, we will drive directly to the Terracotta army. We visit the exquisite Terracotta Warriors and Horses, considered the greatest archaeological discovery of the last century. The figures vary in height from 182cm to 195cm, according to their role; the tallest are the generals. The figures include strong warriors, chariots, horses, officials, acrobats, strongmen, and musicians. Current estimates are that in the three pits containing the Terracotta Army there are more than 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses, and 150 cavalry horses, the majority of which are still buried in the pit.l We return to the city and visit big Wild Goose Pagoda, Xian Great Mosque and Muslim quarter.

Overnight at hotel (BLD)

Day 06: Xian- Dunhuang

Flight to Dunhuang. In the evening we will be visiting Mingsha sand dunes, known as the Singing Sands. Here we will have an opportunity to ride a camel across the desert to a lovely crescent-shaped lake set amidst the impressive sand dunes (BLD).

Day 07: Dunhuang Mugao Cave- Overnight Train

Morning we visit Mugao caves-chapels, a UNESCO World Heritage site. This complex of some 492 cave-chapels was built around 386 AD and is a veritable museum of magnificent sculpture and beautiful wall paintings in both Chinese and Central Asian styles Later transfer to Liyuan for overnight soft sleeper class train to Turfan (BLD).

Day 08: Turfan

Morning train arrives in Turfan, the oasis city in the province of Xinjiang. Turfan is inhabited mainly by Uighur people. Visit the ancient ruined city of Jiaohe, the vibrant Flaming Mountains, the Bezeklik Thousand Buddha Caves and grape valley. In the evening watch the local Uighur dance.

Overnight in hotel (BLD)

Day 09: Urumqi-Kashgar

Drive to Urumqi. Visit the museum, famous for their Mummies. Tour the Grand Market, evening flight to Kashgar (BLD).

Day 10: Kashgar Sunday Market

This day is planned to coincide with the famous Sunday market in Kashgar where everything from carpets, blankets, foods, horses, donkeys, sheep's 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 (BLD)

Day 11: Kashgar –Tash Rabat (Kyrgyzstan)

Morning transfer to the border crossing: the Torugart pass, stop at Tash Rabat Saray caravan and spend the night in a typical Kyrgyz Yurt (BL).

Day 12: Issik Kul Lake

Morning drive to Cholpon Ata (Issyk Kul lake) enjoy the stunning scenery (BLD).

Day 13: Karakul

After breakfast visit Cholpon-Ata rock petroglyphs dated back 800 BC-1200 AD. 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. Later city tour of Karakol includes visiting the museum, Dungan Pagoda type of mosque and the Orthodox wooden Church.

Overnight in hotel (BLD)

Day 14: Bishkek

In the morning drive to Bishkek. En-route we stop at Jety Oguz canyon, where you have chance to do some short hikes or optional horse riding, later visit Burana tower which was built in the 11 centuries.

Overnight in hotel (BLD)

Day 15: Tashkent (Uzbekistan)

In the morning visit Ala-Archa National Park with picnic lunch later city tour of Bishkek, late in the the afternoon transfer to the airport for flight to Tashkent

Overnight in hotel (D)

Day 16: Tashkent-Urgench Khiva

Morning flight to Urgench and transfer to Khiva. Depending on the flight schedule, possibly half day sightseeing of Khiva city

Overnight in Khiva hotel (BLD)

Day 17: Khiva-Bukhara

City tour of Khiva. Legend has it that Khiva was founded when Shem, son of Noah, discovered a well here. The town certainly existed by the 8th Century, as a minor fort and trading post on a Silk Road branch to the Caspian Sea and the Volga. In the early 16th century, Khiva was made capital of the Timurid Empire, becoming a busy slave market and pivot of the khanate for the next three centuries. Until Russia finally wrested the region from Timurid grasp in the 19th century, even the boldest hearts feared encounters with these fierce tribesmen and their desert territory. Khiva is an ancient walled city and looks much like it did in centuries past. It is one of the few sites in Central Asia where one can easily imagine life during the time of the Emirates. We will spend the morning wandering its maze of ruins and great mosques. Later, a tour of this living museum including the Ichon-Qala gates, Muhammad Amin and Rakhim Khan's Medressas, Tosh-Khovli Palace, Islom-Huja Medressa and Minaret. Later drive to Bukhara through the arid setting of the Kyzyl Kum Desert. Along the way we stop for some refreshments and see how humans have survived over the centuries in this unforgiving landscape. With buildings spanning 1,000 years of history and a thoroughly lived-in city centre that hasn't changed much in two centuries, Bukhara is one of the best places in Central Asia to catch a glimpse of pre-Russian Turkestan. Most of the city centre is an architectural preserve and includes a massive royal fortress, plenty of former Madrassas, a number of ancient public baths and the remnants of a once-vast market complex. There are over 140 protected buildings in the city.

Overnight in Bukhara at hotel (BLD)

Day 18: Bukhara: City Tour

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 whilst drinking tea. Bukhara has been designated a World Heritage Site; resulting in the complete restoration of some of the 11th to 15th century mosques. There are even some structures still standing that date back to Zorastrian times 2,500 years ago. We also visit the massive fortress The Ark, 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 a ancient madrassa long time gone. It was built in 1809 and has more in common with Indian art styles than local. Its name comes from Tajik although the towers you can see are not actually minarets but simply decorative towers.

Overnight in Bukhara at hotel (BLD)

Day 19: Bukhara - Shakhrisabz - Samarkand

We depart early for Shakhrisabz, the birthplace of Tamerlane, where we tour Ak-Saray Palace, Kok-Gumbaz Mosque, House of Meditation and the Crypt of Timur, a man who changed the course of Central Asian history. There's little left of Timur's Ak-Saray Palace except bits of the gigantic, 40 m (98 foot) high entrance covered with gorgeous filigree like blue, white and gold mosaics, but it's staggering to try and imagine what the rest of this glorious summer palace must have looked like. We continue later to Samarkand. For most people, Samarkand is as mythical as Atlantis or as remote and legendary as Tombouctou. 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.

Overnight in Samarkand at hotel (BLD)

Day 20: Samarkand: City Tour

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, Bibi Khanum Mosque, Mausoleum of Tamerlane, Observatory of Ulughbek, the site where Uleg Bek, 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 Bibi Khanym, 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 Samarkand at hotel (BLD)

Day 21: Samarkand-Tashkent

In the morning we drive along the scenic road as it winds along the eastern spurs of the Pamir Ranges to Tashkent. We continue on a city tour of Tashkent visiting mosques and madrassas (Islamic schools) housing craft workshops and dating from the 14th century. We visit the Kukeldash Medressa, a grand 16th century academy undergoing restoration and the History Museum of Uzbekistan and the Museum of Fine Arts.

Overnight at hotel in Tashkent (BLD)

Day 22: Onward flight

Trip will end with airport transfer (B)