In September 2019, Graham escorted a tour of the Five Stans – Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.
For more than 2000 years Central Asia has been the focus of ancient east-west trade routes known as the Silk Road. This magnificent 28-day tour to this geographically diverse and historically fascinating region promises to be a truly memorable journey through Central Asia! This part of the globe is home to great steppes, magical deserts, fertile valleys and some of the highest mountains in the world. The scenery is breathtaking and remarkably varied, with green/blue glacial lakes, saw-toothed mountains, red rock formations, sparkling rivers and rolling hills. These lands produced great scholars and conquerors, and were a 19th and 20th century geopolitical chess board on which the ‘Great Game’ was played out between Britain and Russia. Until recently shut off from the outside world and still shrouded in legend and mystery, the personality of each of the ‘stans’ makes an extraordinary journey into the greatest remaining story-book history in world travel today.
Tour Date: 15/9/2019
Duration: 28 days
Itinerary: Click here
Tour Highlights
Kazakhstan
• Visit Almaty’s ‘St Basil’s’ – the stunning Zenkov Cathedral – made entirely of wood with no iron nails
• Enjoy an excursion to Kok Tube Hill for panoramic view of Almaty
Kyrgyzstan
• Take an exhilarating water-raft ride on the Chon Kemin River
• Experience the true nomadic lifestyle and traditional Kyrgyz cuisine at Chon Kemin
• Enjoy a fantastic show of horsemanship including the traditional game ‘Buzkashi’
• Dinner with a local Cossack family at Karakol
• Enjoy an excursion to the striking red sandstone rock formations at Jeti Oguz Gorge
• Superb BBQ lunch in the beautiful Valley of the Flowers
Tajikistan
• Immerse yourself in the atmosphere of the oriental bazaar at Dushanbe
• Enjoy a walking tour along the beautiful Karakul River
• Enjoy lunch with a local family at Sary Tag village surrounded by the Fann Mountains
• See one of the most beautiful mountain lakes in the world, Iskanderkul, in the Fann Mountains
• Visit the 8th century fortress at Khujand
Uzbekistan
• Explore the extraordinary Uzbek city of Samarkand and its bustling market
• Admire the exquisite architecture of Bibi Chanum mosque
• Travel across the great Kyzyl Kum Desert on the legendary Silk Road route
• Explore the great Ark Fortress of Bukhara
• Enjoy a city tour of Bukhara including the superbly preserved Chasma-Ayub mausoleum
• Visit Bukhara’s vibrant trading domes where traders sell local goods and handicrafts
• Watch a magnificent Uzbek folk show
• Stay one night in a madrassah in the heart of Khiva.
• Enjoy an extensive walking tour of the World Heritage-listed city of Khiva – the jewel in Uzbekistan’s crown
Turkmenistan
• Overnight stay at the extraordinary Darvaza gas crater outside Ashgabat – known locally as ‘The Door to Hell’
• Exclusive dinner at the Darvaza gas crater as the sun goes down
• City tour of the fascinating capital, Ashgabat
• Visit the World Heritage site of Nissa, the 2000-year-old capital of the Parthian Empire
• Excursion to the famous golden horses – ‘Akhal Teke’ – of Turmenistan
