Highlights of Central Asia - Five Stans Tour
Tour Itinerary
Arrive in Almaty on an early-morning flight. Your driver will meet you at the airport and transfer you to the hotel. Standard check-in is in the afternoon, so if you want to go straight to your room and rest, a pre-night can be booked for the evening before, guaranteeing the room is ready when you arrive. Otherwise, your luggage is stored at the hotel and you can freshen up as soon as a room becomes available.
In the afternoon, you head out on a 3-hour guided Almaty sightseeing tour, including: Panfilov Park and Zenkov Cathedral, a colorful wooden Orthodox cathedral built without nails, Republic Square and the Independence Monument, Green Bazaar, the city's main market, where you taste dried fruits, nuts, and local sweets, Kok-Tobe Hill, reached by cable car, for panoramic views over the city and the Tian Shan foothills
Transfer to the hotel
Rixos Almaty 5*
Optional pre-tour night
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
Rixos Almaty 5*
After breakfast, depart Almaty and drive to Bishkek (approximately 250 km / 4 hours, excluding border formalities). Enjoy the scenic landscapes along the way. Arrive at the Korday Kazakhstan–Kyrgyzstan border crossing and complete border formalities on both sides.
Meet your Kyrgyz guide and driver after crossing the border and continue to Bishkek.
Upon arrival, begin a 3-hour sightseeing tour of Bishkek with a local guide, exploring the city and its landmarks: Oak Park known for its open-air sculpture collection, the city's central Ala-Too Square, the Statue of Manas, honoring the hero of the Kyrgyz national epic, Philharmonic Hall and the Victory Monument, striking examples of Soviet-era architecture.
- Breakfast
- Orion Bishkek 5*
After breakfast, your guide and driver meet you at the hotel for a day trip to Burana Tower, located in the village of Don-Aryk near Tokmok, about an hour east of Bishkek in the Chui Valley.
Burana Tower is a Silk Road-era minaret, all that remains of Balasagun, once the capital of the Karakhanid dynasty. You climb the tower's narrow interior staircase for panoramic views over the Chui Valley and the Tian Shan mountains beyond, then explore the surrounding open-air museum, home to petroglyphs, balbals (ancient stone warrior statues), and other archaeological finds unearthed from the site. After lunch, you return to Bishkek.
Duration: approx. 5 to 6 hours
- Breakfast / Lunch
- Orion Bishkek 5*
After breakfast, transfer to Ala-Archa National Park, located approximately 40 km from Bishkek. The park is set in a spectacular alpine gorge through which the fast-flowing Ala-Archa River runs. The gorge is surrounded by snow-covered peaks and steep, forested mountain slopes. Begin a 3.5 km hike from the Alpine Camp (2,200 m) to Ak-Sai Waterfall, a 35-meter-high waterfall located at an elevation of approximately 2,700 m. The trail passes through coniferous forest and alpine meadows. Return to the Alpine Camp and transfer back to Bishkek.
Free time in Bishkek before transferring to Manas International Airport, approximately 110 km / 1.5 hours away, for your evening flight to Tashkent. The flight takes approximately 1 hour 20 minutes. Upon arrival in Tashkent, meet your driver and transfer to the hotel.
- Breakfast
- Tashkent Hyatt Regency 5*
After breakfast, your guide and driver meet you at the hotel for a full day exploring Tashkent, a city that blends the traditional and the modern more visibly than almost anywhere else in Central Asia.
You begin in the Old City at the Khast-Imam Complex, Tashkent's spiritual heart, where the Barak-Khan Madrasah, Tillya-Sheykh Mosque, and the Mausoleum of Abu Bakr Kaffal Shashi sit around the library holding the Quran of Caliph Uthman, one of the oldest Qurans in the world. From there, you wander the narrow streets of the surrounding mahalla (old residential quarter).
You then visit Chorsu Bazaar, Tashkent's oldest and liveliest market, instantly recognizable by its blue-tiled dome. Stalls spill out from under it selling spices, dried fruit, fresh produce, bread, and handicrafts, and it's a good place to try bargaining the way locals do.
The afternoon continues with a ride on the Tashkent Metro, celebrated as one of the most ornately decorated metro systems in the world, each station designed around its own theme. You finish with a visit to Independence Square, the city's central square with its fountains and Eternal Flame memorial, and, time permitting, the Museum of Applied Arts.
Duration: approx. 6 to 7 hours
- Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner
- Tashkent Hyatt Regency 5*
After breakfast, your driver transfers you to Tashkent railway station for your morning departure on the Afrosiyob high-speed train Tashkent - Samarkand, which covers the roughly 300 km to Samarkand in about two hours.
On arrival, your local guide and driver meet you at the station to begin a 6-hour Samarkand sightseeing, taking in Samarkand's showcase Silk Road monuments: Registan Square, the city's iconic centerpiece, flanked by three grand 15th–17th century madrasahs, Gur-e-Amir Mausoleum, the ornate burial place of Amir Timur (Tamerlane), founder of the Timurid Empire, Bibi-Khanym Mosque, one of the largest mosques of its era in the Islamic world, Shah-i-Zinda Necropolis, a striking avenue of tombs famous for its intricate blue-tiled facades, Samarkand's lively local Syob Bazaar with fresh produce, dried fruit, and freshly baked non (Uzbek bread).
In the evening, you have the option to return to Registan Square once it's illuminated after dark. It is considered one of the most memorable sights in Samarkand.
- Breakfast
- Zarafshon Parkside Hotel 5*
After breakfast, you set out from Samarkand toward Konigil village, home to a working traditional paper mill where Samarkand's famous handmade mulberry-bark paper has been produced since the Silk Road era. You watch the full process — soaking, pounding, and pressing the bark by hand — using methods largely unchanged for centuries, with the chance to pick up paper goods directly from the workshop.
From Konigil, you continue to the Jartepa border crossing into Tajikistan (border formalities typically take around 40 minutes to an hour on both sides. Your Tajik guide and driver meet you on the other side for the drive to Penjikent.
Here you can chose one of the 2 activities:
Tour 1: Penjikent and Sarazm UNESCO World Heritage Archaeological Site
Visit Sarazm, a UNESCO World Heritage archaeological site dating back more than 5,000 years. Located near Panjakent, Sarazm is one of the oldest known settlements in Central Asia and offers fascinating insight into the region's earliest agricultural communities, craftsmanship, and long-distance trade. Explore the archaeological remains and learn how this ancient settlement became an important crossroads connecting Central Asia with regions as far away as the Iranian Plateau, the Indus Valley, and the Eurasian steppe. Excavations have revealed ancient dwellings, pottery, tools, jewelry, and metal objects, providing evidence of a sophisticated community and its extensive trading connections.
In Penjikent — one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities on earth, you visit: the Rudaki Museum, dedicated to the "father of Persian poetry," born near Penjikent, The ancient Penjikent ruins, remnants of the Sogdian city destroyed by Arab conquest in the 8th century, The Central Mosque and Olim Dodkhoh Madrasah, and a stroll through the local bazaar.
Tour 2: Spectacular Seven Lakes in the Fann Mountains.
Travel along the scenic mountain road, stopping at several of the lakes to admire the changing colors of the water, rugged peaks, waterfalls, and traditional mountain villages along the way. The landscape becomes increasingly dramatic as you climb higher into the valley, with each lake offering its own character and scenery. Enjoy time for photographs and short walks along the lakeshores, taking in the peaceful mountain surroundings and the traditional way of life in this remote part of Tajikistan.
In the late afternoon, you begin the return journey, crossing back through the Jartepa border into Uzbekistan and driving back to Samarkand, arriving in the evening.
Duration: approx. 8 to 9 hours
- Breakfast / Dinner
- Zarafshon Parkside Hotel 5*
After breakfast, your driver transfers you to Samarkand railway station for the Afrosiyob high-speed train to Bukhara, a journey of under 2 hours.
On arrival, you're met and transferred to the old town to begin a 5-hour sightseeing of Bukhara, with lunch along the way. Bukhara's historic center is compact and walkable, and your guide leads you through The Ark Fortress, the massive citadel that served as the seat of Bukhara's rulers for over a thousand years, now a museum of the city's royal past, Bolo-Khauz Mosque, facing the Ark, known for its intricately carved wooden columns, Poi Kalyan Complex, the city's architectural centerpiece, where the towering 12th-century Kalyan Minaret stands between the Kalyan Mosque and the Mir-i-Arab Madrasah, Lyab-i-Hauz, a tranquil 17th-century pond framed by three historic madrasahs, one of Bukhara's most atmospheric squares and a good place to pause for tea, Chor-Minor, a small, distinctive four-towered gatehouse tucked into the old residential quarter.
Depending on time and interest, the day can also take in the Ismail Samani Mausoleum, one of the oldest surviving monuments in Central Asia, and the trading domes that still house working artisan shops along the old Silk Road bazaar streets.
- Breakfast / Lunch
- Mercure Bukhara 4*
After breakfast and a free morning to explore Bukhara further or relax.
In the afternoon, your driver transfers you to Bukhara railway station for the new direct train to Khiva. On arrival, in about 4-5 hours you will reach Khiva, and be trasfered to the hotel.
- Breakfast
- Farovon Khiva 5*
After breakfast, you spend the full day exploring Itchan Kala, Khiva's walled inner city and a UNESCO World Heritage Site — one of the best-preserved medieval old towns in Central Asia, compact enough to explore entirely on foot. Your guide leads you through Kalta Minor Minaret, Khiva's turquoise-tiled icon near the West Gate — originally intended to be the tallest minaret in the Islamic world, left unfinished at 29 meters after the death of its patron, Kunya-Ark Citadel, the old fortress and former residence of Khiva's khans, with its mosque, harem, throne room, and a watchtower offering panoramic views over the old city, Juma Mosque, famous for its forest of intricately carved wooden columns — over 200 of them, some dating to the 10th century — supporting its roof, Islam-Khoja Minaret, Khiva's tallest, which you can climb via a narrow spiral staircase for sweeping views of the city walls and the Kalta Minor beyond, Tash-Khovli Palace, known for its richly decorated harem courtyard and reception rooms. You'll also have time to wander the old city's quieter side streets, browse local craft workshops (embroidery, woodcarving, ceramics), and stop at the mausoleum of Pakhlavan Makhmoud, Khiva's patron saint.
- Breakfast
- Farovon Khiva 4*
In the morning, your driver takes you to the Shavat–Dashoguz border crossing (60 km, about 1 hour). After completing Uzbek exit formalities, you cross the neutral zone on foot, where your Turkmen guide meets you on the other side to finalize your tourist visa and onward arrangements.
From the border, you're transferred to Dashoguz Airport for a short domestic flight to Ashgabat, about 50 minutes in the air.
On arrival, you're met and transferred into the city, with the afternoon set aside for an introductory look at Ashgabat's famously white-marble skyline. You will see Independence Park and the Independence Monument, the city's centerpiece commemorating Turkmenistan's 1991 independence, the Arch of Neutrality, topped by a rotating gold statue, one of Ashgabat's most recognizable landmarks, impressive Magtymguly Avenue, past the ministry buildings and monuments that give the city its reputation for scale and symmetry.
- Breakfast
- Oguzkent 5*
After breakfast, your guide and driver begin a full day exploring Ashgabat, a city famous for its white-marble architecture and record-setting monuments.
You start with Old Nisa, a UNESCO World Heritage Site just outside the city, once the capital of the Parthian Empire — the fortress ruins here date back over 2,000 years and offer sweeping views toward the Kopetdag Mountains.
From there, you continue to the National Museum of Turkmenistan, home to archaeological treasures spanning the country's history, followed by a stop at the Akhal-Teke horse stables, where you can see (and sometimes get close to) Turkmenistan's legendary golden-coated horse breed — a source of deep national pride and a recurring symbol across the country's art and architecture.
In the city itself, your tour continues through Ashgabat's showcase monuments: the Spiritual Mosque (Ertugrul Gazi Mosque), one of the largest in Central Asia, the Lenin Monument, a rare surviving piece of the city's Soviet past.
Duration: full day, approx. 6–7 hours
- Breakfast / Lunch
- Oguzkent 5*
Depending on your flight time, the morning is free — for a final walk through the city, last-minute shopping at the Russian Bazaar for carpets, textiles, or souvenirs, or simply relaxing before your journey home.
Your driver transfers you to Ashgabat International Airport in good time for your onward flight, marking the end of your Central Asia journey.
- Breakfast
- Transfer to the airport
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