Central Asia Highlights in 16 Days

Today, you can chose from 2 different tours described below:

Tour 1: Huns Ethno Village

After breakfast, you meet your group at 10:00 and drive about 90 minutes (60 km) from Almaty to the "Huns" ethno-aul, a living-history village themed around nomadic Kazakh culture. On arrival, two warriors in Saka-era armor greet you with the traditional Shashy welcome rite and offer everyone freshly fried baursaks, followed by a short baursak-cooking class. Baursak is a traditional Central Asian fried dough, especially popular in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Mongolia.

Your visit continues with a guided visit to a Kazakh yurt, where you learn how it is built, what it means to nomadic life, and how traditions such as the "Syrga Salu" wedding ritual are performed. You also see everyday crafts: cleaning and spinning wool, grinding grain, and the rite of placing a child in the "besik" cradle. You will see a performance by the "Sarbaz" troupe, with theatrical retellings of legends and horse games, followed by a class in the traditional Kara Zhorga dance, participate in an archery class in the traditional style.

You will have some free time to wander the grounds, take photos in national costume, ride the Altybakan swing, or visit the animals in the contact zoo. Around 16:00, you return to Almaty and transfer to your hotel. Tasty lunch of plov, salad, baursaks, and tea is included.

Tour 2: Charyn Canyon

Your guide and driver meet you in the hotel lobby, and you set out east from Almaty on the 220 km drive (3 to 4 hours) to Charyn Canyon. The long road is well rewarded: the canyon is one of Kazakhstan's most striking natural sights, a vast gorge of layered cliffs in shifting shades of red, orange, and gold, set within Charyn National Park.

On arrival, you take a break for a picnic lunch and some rest, then set off on foot along the canyon rim and down into the Valley of Castles. Here, weathered rock formations rise like towers and fortress walls, in a section of canyon that reaches about 154 meters deep. You also have the chance to walk through the ancient ash grove growing along the canyon floor. In the afternoon, you drive back to your hotel in Almaty.

• Breakfast / Lunch
• Intercontinental 5*

Drive from Almaty to Bishkek (about 250 km / 4 hours, plus border formalities at the Korday crossing). Meet your Kyrgyz guide and driver after the border.

In Bishkek, enjoy a 3-hour sightseeing tour: Oak Park and its open-air sculptures, Ala-Too Square, the Statue of Manas, the Philharmonic Hall and the Victory Monument.

• Breakfast
• Hotel Hyatt Regency Bishkek 5*

Day trip to Burana Tower near Tokmok, about an hour east of Bishkek. This Silk Road-era minaret is all that remains of Balasagun, once the capital of the Karakhanid dynasty. Climb the tower for views over the Chui Valley and Tian Shan, then explore the open-air museum of petroglyphs and balbals (ancient stone warrior statues). Return to Bishkek after lunch. Duration: approx. 5 to 6 hours. 

• Breakfast / Lunch
• Hyatt Regency Bishkek 5*

Transfer to Ala-Archa National Park, an alpine gorge about 40 km from Bishkek surrounded by snow-covered peaks. Hike 3.5 km from the Alpine Camp (2,200 m) through forest and alpine meadows to the 35-meter Ak-Sai Waterfall (about 2,700 m), then return to Bishkek.
After some free time, transfer to Manas International Airport for your evening flight to Tashkent (about 1 hour 20 minutes). Your driver meets you on arrival.

• Breakfast
• Hyatt Regency Tashkent 5*

A full day exploring Tashkent. Begin your Tashkent sighseeing tour at the Khast-Imam Complex, home to one of the oldest Qurans in the world, and wander the surrounding mahalla (old residential quarter). Visit Chorsu Bazaar under its blue-tiled dome, ride the ornately decorated Tashkent Metro, and finish at Independence Square and, time permitting, the Museum of Applied Arts. Duration: approx. 6 to 7 hours.

• Breakfast
• Hyatt Regency Tashkent 5*

Take the morning Afrosiyob high-speed train to Samarkand (about 2 hours). Your guide meets you for a 6-hour sightseeing tour: Registan Square and its three grand madrasahs, the Gur-e-Amir Mausoleum of Amir Timur, Bibi-Khanym Mosque, the blue-tiled Shah-i-Zinda Necropolis and the lively Syob Bazaar. In the evening, you can return to see Registan Square illuminated. 

• Breakfast
• Zarafshon Parkside Hotel 5*

Visit the traditional paper mill in Konigil village, where Samarkand's mulberry-bark paper is still made by hand. Then cross the Jartepa border into Tajikistan, where your Tajik guide meets you.

Seven Lakes in the Fann Mountains. Drive the scenic mountain road, stopping at several of the lakes for photos and short walks among rugged peaks and traditional villages. Return across the border to Samarkand in the evening. Duration: approx. 8 to 9 hours. 

• Breakfast / Lunch
• Zarafshon Parkside Hotel 5*

Take the Afrosiyob high-speed train to Bukhara (under 2 hours). Your guide meets you for a 5-hour sightseeing tour of the compact, walkable old town, with lunch along the way: the Ark Fortress, seat of Bukhara's rulers for over a thousand years; Bolo-Khauz Mosque and its carved wooden columns; the Poi Kalyan Complex with the 12th-century Kalyan Minaret; the tranquil Lyab-i-Hauz pond; and the four-towered Chor-Minor. Time permitting, also the Ismail Samani Mausoleum and the old trading domes, still home to working artisan shops.  

• Breakfast
• Hotel Indigo Bukhara by IHG 5*

At about 10:00, your driver picks you up at the hotel for the short drive to Vobkent, a small town near Bukhara, for a hands-on cooking class with a local family in their home. You cook alongside your hosts and learn how a traditional Uzbek family prepares plov and other dishes, then sit down together to enjoy the meal you made. The class is arranged for you only and is not combined with other groups. After lunch, you return to your hotel, with the rest of the afternoon free to explore Bukhara at your own pace or relax. Duration: about half a day, including transfers. 

• Breakfast / Lunch
• Hotel Indigo Bukhara by IHG 5*

Free morning to explore Bukhara further or relax. In the afternoon, transfer to Bukhara railway station for the direct train to Khiva (about 4 to 5 hours), then transfer to your hotel.  

• Breakfast
• Mercure Khiva 4*

Spend a full day in Itchan Kala, Khiva's walled inner city and a UNESCO World Heritage Site: the turquoise Kalta Minor Minaret; the Kunya-Ark Citadel, former residence of Khiva's khans; the Juma Mosque with its forest of over 200 carved wooden columns; the Islam-Khoja Minaret, which you can climb for sweeping views; and the Tash-Khovli Palace. You also have time to wander the quieter streets, browse craft workshops and visit the Mausoleum of Pakhlavan Makhmoud. 

• Breakfast
• Mercure Khiva 4*

Drive to the Shavat–Dashoguz border crossing (about 1 hour). After crossing on foot, your Turkmen guide meets you and helps finalize your tourist visa. Take the short domestic flight from Dashoguz to Ashgabat (about 50 minutes).
In the afternoon, get an introduction to Ashgabat's white-marble skyline: Independence Park and Monument, the Arch of Neutrality with its rotating gold statue, and the grand Magtymguly Avenue. 

• Breakfast
• Oguzkent Palace 5*
• Instead of taking a flight to Ashgabat, you can take a long drive thru the desert and spend the night in the yurt by Darwaza crater.

Start at Old Nisa, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and former Parthian capital with views toward the Kopetdag Mountains. Continue to the National Museum of Turkmenistan and the Akhal-Teke horse stables, home to Turkmenistan's legendary golden-coated horses. In the city, visit the Ertugrul Gazi Mosque and the Lenin Monument, a rare remnant of the Soviet past. Duration: approx. 6 to 7 hours.

• Breakfast
• Oguzkent Palace 5*

Check-out from the hotel. Private transfer to the airport.

• Breakfast
• Transfer