- Home
- Tours
- The Five-Stans Journey
The Five-Stans Journey
21-Day Overland Adventure Across Central Asia
DAY 1. Almaty (KAZAKHSTAN)
We start the tour sightseeing Almaty. Walking along the city center’s tree-lined streets from the famous wooden Zenkov cathedral and Panfilov park to the Green Bazaar, you will quickly get a feel for the history and the multi-culti atmosphere of Almaty.
Then we go up into the mountains to visit Medeo, the world’s highest mountain skating rink, surrounded by +4000m peaks. After that, we’re on the cable car to the Kok-Tobe hill, home of the world’s tallest TV tower, if measured from sea level. It’s a great place to see night fall over Almaty’s 2 million citizens. To close off the evening, Almaty is the region’s culinary capital, so let us know what kind of food you would prefer for dinner: the choices get a lot smaller after this! Overnight at the hotel.
DAY 2. Almaty – Charyn canyon – Almaty
Breakfast at the hotel. Your tour guide and driver will be waiting to meet you at your hotel in Almaty. Leave Almaty and make your way to Charyn Canyon, offering breathtaking views of the Altai Mountains
en route (220 km, 3-4 hours). Arrive at Charyn Canyon. Take a hike through this stunning canyon, characterized by towering mountains reaching up to 300 meters and the picturesque “Valley of Castles” stretching over 2 kilometers. Return to Almaty in the late afternoon. Overnight at the hotel.
DAY 3. Almaty – Bishkek (KYRGYZSTAN)
Today we head to Kyrgyzstan. It’s a 4-hour drive to Bishkek. Once the stamp is in your passport, we’ll discover Bishkek on a guided tour. Bishkek is as Soviet and provincial as it is a window into the modern Kyrgyz soul. Monumental squares and busy bazaars, aging high-rises and street-sellers offering cups of fermented horse milk – we’ll see all of that and more.
DAY 4. Bishkek – Issyk Kul
DAY 5. Issyk Kul – Bishkek
DAY 6. Bishkek – Tashkent (UZBEKISTAN)
One more sniff of Kyrgyzstan’s natural beauty before heading to Uzbekistan – we’ll hike in Alamedin gorge. The mountains in this gorge are covered with fir trees and along the entire route is a mountain river which ends with a waterfall that flows from the Rocky Mountains. You will have a picnic near this waterfall. This is a great chance to have a rest far from civilisation and to enjoy the views of Mother Nature. After hiking we will return to Bishkek.
Evening flight to Tashkent.
DAY 7. Tashkent – Khiva via Urgench
This morning, we’ll hop on another flight to Urgench and transfer to distant Khiva.
Looking down on the inhospitable desert below, you will quickly understand why it took the Russians so long to conquer this desert khanate, and why it has preserved its medieval town from outside influences. We’ll take a guided tour of Khiva. Narrow streets, magnificently carved porches and doors, majestic minarets and mausoleums, heritage and arts –all kept with care in this city as a great treasure. Don’t worry, there’s time for shopping.
DAY 8. Khiva – Darwaza (TURKMENISTAN)
Morning departure for Turkmenistan, oh yeah! Arriving at the border post, it’s already clear: Turkmenistan is like nowhere else on Earth. After all the bureaucratic formalities, we’ll drive to Ancient Konye Urgench. Genghis Khan raised the city to the ground, but what remains is stunning Turkmen brick magic.
Lunch in a local restaurant. After Uzbekistan’s oil-drenched plovs, this could potentially be quite delicious, to anyone’s and everyone’s surprise.
After lunch, we’ll drive to the Darwaza gas crater in the Karakum desert. There’s barbecue for dinner and then we head down to the crater to bask in its glow or feel its fire, whichever you prefer, surrounded by an endless desert. Truly a unique sight. Overnight in Yurts near the crater.
DAY 9. Darwaza – Ashgabat (300 km)
Picnic-style breakfast. Drive to Ashgabat (280km, 5h). Transfer to hotel. Drive to visit the Carpet Museum, one of the best in Central Asia featuring designs from the Tekke, Yamud, Sarik and Chodor tribes. The Turkmen Carpet Museum is one of the cultural centres of Turkmenistan, where about 2000 carpet exhibits, including rare ones, are exhibited. For example, the museum has the smallest carpet to wear keys, as well as the world’s largest hand carpet with a total area of 301 m², which was woven in 2001, and in 2003 it was added to the Guinness Book of Records.
Afternoon you will have an Ashgabat city tour. In 2013 the Guinness Book of Records named Ashgabat a “white marbled city” – here you can see the biggest number of structures in the world made out of white marble. You will see the Presidential Palace, Ruhyyet Palace, Wedding Palace, modern “Yildyz” Hotel, Ferries Wheel, Constitution Monument, Arch of Neutrality, Monument and Park of Independence, Ertogrul Gazy Mosque, Ashgabat Sports and Housing facilities.
Overnight at Hotel.
DAY 10. Ashgabat – Mary
BF at the hotel. Morning drive to Mary (360km, 5h). You also see the ruins of Seyitjemalledin mosque in Anau. The mosque was built in 1456 when Abu-ibn-Kasim Baber Bahadurkhan ruled in Khorasan (1446-1457). Construction of the mosque was financed by Bahadurkhan’s vizier, Muhammed Hudaidot, who also selected a site of construction–near the grave of his father, sheikh Jemaleddin, a native of Anau. The square central hall (with the sides of 10.5 meters) was crowned with a dome. In later periods, the Seyit-Jemaleddin mosque was partially reconstructed. By the nineteenth century, the subsidence of land had already damaged the building heavily, and during the 1948 Ashgabat earthquake it was destroyed completely. Now, only the lower parts of the portal and some fragments of the walls are extant.
On the way visit Abiwerd which was once an important trading town of North Khorasan. It was a key link on the Great Silk Road between Nisa and Merv, and also enjoyed ties in Nishapur, across the Kopetdag Mountains to the south.
You will see all the major buildings of Mary in the downtown. Also, visit Mary Bazaar to see a variety of local products. and the Russian Orthodox church (one of the oldest in Turkmenistan). Overnight at hotel.
DAY 11. Mary – Merv – Bukhara (UZBEKISTAN)
BF at the hotel. Drive to Merv to explore ancient Merv – “Queen of the world”, was one of the most important capitals of Islam along with Baghdad, Cairo and Damascus. Sightseeing of ancient Merv includes Greater Kyz Gala & Lesser Kyz Gala (VI-VII), Complex of Askhabs (VIII-XIV), Erk Gala (VI BC), Gyaur Gala (IV BC), Hoja Yusup Hamadani complex, Sultan Sanjar mausoleum, Muhamed Ibn Zeid mausoleum. After sightseeing, drive to Turkmen – Uzbek border Farap (260km, 4h).
Then it’s time to say goodbye (reluctantly) to Turkmenistan and head towards Uzbekistan’s most atmospheric city, Bukhara.
DAY 12. Bukhara
Bukhara breathes history from its every pore. On a guided tour, you will learn all about its heyday as a medieval center of (religious) studies on a par with Baghdad and Timbuktu. Trade is the other side of Bukhara, and it’s perhaps the best place to do some shopping for Uzbek crafts.
DAY 13. Bukhara
More Bukhara? Yes, it’s a highlight. You need more time to see it all. You might have already gotten some inkling of Central Asia’s Sufi traditions in Turkmenistan, but today this spiritualist Islamic sect will reveal all its secrets to you. Join millions of pilgrims from across the world (but particularly Southeast Asia) on a visit to the mausoleum of Sufi saint Bahouddin Nakshbandi.
We finish off with the eclectic summer residence of the last Emir of Bukhara. Afternoon free time.
In the evening, we can teach you how to make plov (if you are not sick of it yet!).
DAY 14. Bukhara – Shakhrisabz – Samarkand (260 km/110 km)
Breakfast at the hotel. Departure to Shakhrisabz city (motherland of Great Amir Timur).
City tour: Ruins of Ak-Saray Palace (XIV-XV), Dor-ut Saodat Complex: Khazratiy Imam Mosque (XIV), Jahongir Mausoleum (XIV), Dor-ut Tillavat Complex: Gumbazi-Seiidan, Kok Gumbaz Mosque (XV).
Continue to Samarkand. Arrival and Samarkand hotel accommodation. Overnight at the hotel.
DAY 15. Samarkand
Today we visit Samarkand, homeland of two famous dictators: Amir Timur and Islam Karimov. Amir Timur conquered the known world and built a monumental city that would inspire architects for centuries to come. Islam Karimov just stole a bunch of money. But they each have well-visited mausoleums.
We’ll focus on Amir Timur’s fantastic architecture: the Gur Emir Mausoleum, the Registan, Shah-i-Zinda and the Bibi-Khanum Mosque are all fantastic sights to behold.
DAY 16. Samarkand – 7 Lakes – Panjakent (TAJIKISTAN)
Now that we have seen Uzbekistan’s Persian-speaking side in Bukhara and Samarkand, we are ready for the real Persians of Central Asia. Off to Tajikistan!
Seven Lakes is a world away from Samarkand. Located in the west of the Fann mountains each of the lakes has its own colour which varies from calming turquoise to mesmerising purple. It’s stunning, and the villages are very traditional here. Magical place.
Overnight in a guesthouse in the 7 lakes or in nearby Panjakent.
DAY 17. Panjakent – Iskanderkul Lake– Dushanbe (300 km)
We’ll drive to Tajikistan’s capital Dushanbe today. En route we stop at Iskanderkul Lake. As one of the most beautiful mountain lakes in the former Soviet Union, it is a popular tourist destination. Afternoon arrival in Dushanbe, a baffling mix of dictator chic and village fashion.
DAY 18. Dushanbe – Khujand
First on the agendat today is a visit to the Historical Museum. Tajikistan’s giant Buddha tells a tale of a multicultural society of times past, and the many winding paths the Silk Roads have taken in the past.
After lunch we drive to Khujand for another giant statue. Khujand used to be called Leninabad, and to celebrate that fact, it received the biggest statue of Lenin in the Soviet Union, now quietly moved to a park outside of the center.
DAY 19. Khujand – Tashkent (UZBEKISTAN)
Another day, another border crossing. We’re heading for Central Asia’s biggest city today – Tashkent
Arriving and accommodation at hotel.
DAY 20. Tashkent
Last day! Breakfast at hotel. Full day city tour in Tashkent: Khastimam Complex, Kukeldash Madrasah, Chorsu bazar.
Lunch. New Part of the city; Independence square, Museum of Applied Arts of Uzbekistan, Alisher Navoi theatre, Amir Temur square etc.
And we’ll see how Tashkent evolved from a traditional Central Asian city of winding roads and bazaars to a monumental Asian Soviet city of Brutalist buildings and massive boulevards.
Tashkent’s history and arts museums are some of the bests in the region: they round up, recap and summarize the past 20 days in their exhibits. Tashkent is good for foodies. Good idea for a farewell dinner perhaps?
DAY 21. Tashkent – home (flight)
Time to go home! We really hope you enjoyed your trip!
Service includes:
Accommodation: single or twin/double hotel/guesthouse room Accommodation based on shared yurts or tents (Turkmenistan) Airport transfers Meals: breakfast BBQ dinner at Darvaza (Turkmenistan) Bottled drinking water en route 1.l pp pd A/C comfortable transport per itinerary Entrance fees for all mentioned monuments Local flights: Tashkent-Urgench (economy class) Guide services |
Service does not include:
Visa costs and processing COVID-19 PCR tests by arrival (Turkmenistan) Early check-in Single accommodation (Kyrgyzstan) Photo and video charges International and local air tickets Meals (lunches and dinners) Tips and gratuities |
Any personal expenses (extra luggage fee, room service, medical expenses/insurance, etc.)
Suggested accommodation:
- Almaty – Mildom*** or similar
- Tashkent – Art Deluxe*** / Art Regency*** or similar
- Samarkand – Ideal***/ Jahongir*** or similar
- Bukhara – Atlas 3* / Lyabi house 3* or similar
- Khiva (Urgench) – Arkanchi*** or similar.
- Ashgabat –Ak altyn hotel 3*
- Mary – Merw 3* hotel
- Panjakent – Panjakent Plaza Hotel 3*
- Dushanbe – Asia Gran” Hotel 3*
- Khujand – “Firuz” Hotel 3*
- Bishkek – My hotel / Crown / Orient 3*
- Issyk Kul – 3 Crowns / Silent 3*