Your Itinerary
DAY 1 - WELCOME TO TASHKENT
Upon arrival you will be met by your private driver and guide who will then drive you through the bustling capital to your centrally located hotel where you can relax after your flight. Today with your guide you will explore the Old Quarter of Tashkent with the impressive Khast Imam Complex and see Barak Khan Madrasah, Till Sheikh Mosque and mausoleum of Abu Bakr Kaffal Shashi. There is also time to wander around Chorsu Bazaar, before taking the Metro to the city centre and walk around Tamerlanes’s central square, Independence Square and visit the Museum of Applied Arts.
DAY 2 - HIGH SPEED TRAIN TO BUKHARA
This morning transfer to Tashkent north train station for the Afrosiyob passenger train to Bukhara. After checking into your accommodation and lunch, enjoy a guided city tour walking through the narrow streets of the old Bukhara. One of the great trading cities along the Silk Road, Bukhara’s layout and architecture bring its past to life and make for a truly fascinating visit. Visit the stunning Chor Minor Madrassa, the Ark Citadel, residence of the Emirs of Bukhara and the Zindan prison in which two 19th century British officers were kept before being executed in the Registan Square. Continue to Bolo-Khauz Mosque, the Ismael Samani Mausoleum dating from the 10th century and Chashmai Ayub.
DAY 3 - CITY TOUR OF MEDEIVAL BUKHARA
Spend the morning continuing your exploration of Bukhara. Discover the Poi Kaslyan complex featuring the Kalyan mosque, the 17th Century Kalyan minaret and Miri Arab madrassah. The minaret was used as a ‘lighthouse in the desert’ for camel caravans arriving from the sands of the Kyzyl Kum. Also visit Ulugbeg and Abdulazizkhan madrassahs, Trade Domes, ancient Silk Market, and Magokki Attori mosque. In the afternoon continue exploring on your own and perhaps relax in a Chaijana which is a traditional tea house. Finish the day with a traditional Uzbek dinner in a family-run restaurant where you will experience welcoming local culture and have the opportunity to try unleavened bread and rich mutton dishes.
DAY 4 - TRAVEL TO SHAKHRISABZ & SAMARKAND
Drive to Shakhrisabz, Tamerlaine’s birthplace, a pleasant provincial town located in a small valley surrounded by the Pamir Mountains. Enjoy fantastic views from the portal of Tamerlaine’s Arksarai Palace and visit his mausoleum, a unique architectural structure as there is no such type of crypt in the entire Middle and Middle East. After lunch in a local family house, drive to Devil Plateau (Shaitan Djiga), an extensive plateau of granite slabs stretching from the creeks of Mirankul. Huge boulders are scattered around and with a small amount of imagination, you can see faces bent in pain, bizarre animals and monsters turned into stones. Then travel to the nearby mountain village Tersac to have tea in a village and learn about traditional Uzbek life. Continue to Samarkand and overnight.
DAY 5 - EXPLORE GLOURIOUS SAMARKAND
The historic town of Samarkand is a crossroad and melting pot of the world’s cultures. It was Tamerlaine’s capital and contains some of Asia’s most stunning architecture. On today’s full-day tour, visit the ancient settlement of Afrosiab and its museum as well as Ulugbek’s observatory and Bibi Khanum Mosque, built by Tamerlaine for his favourite wife. Later, see Gur Amir, the mausoleum of Tamerlaine and of course the famous Registan Square, which has extraordinary blue tiled madrassas, minarets and shimmering mosaics on three sides. No trip to Samarkand would be complete without a stop at the colourful Oriental Bazaar-Siya. Also, there may be time to visit the Shah-i-Zinda mausoleum complex built in the 14th and 15th century.
DAY 6 - FLY TO BISHKEK (KYRGYZSTAN)
This morning return to Tashkent driving through small towns and villages surrounded by cotton fields arriving in time to catch your flight to Bishkek. Land in Kyrgyzstan’s capital which lies against the back-drop of snow-capped mountains where you will be met by your private guide and driver and transferred to your centrally located hotel.
DAY 7 - BISHKEK & ALA ARCH NATIONAL PARK
This morning enjoy a guided sightseeing tour of Bishkek including the main square called Ala Too (formerly Lenin Square) where you can watch the guard changing ceremony, the State History Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts and Frunze House Museum. Frunze was the famous Bolshevik general after whom the city was named until Kygyz independence in 1991. Stroll around Bishkek’s Osh Bazaar. Later head to Ala-Archa National park for an excursion into the mountains, with a mountain picnic. This is an area of incomparable scenic beauty with green valleys, fir forests and high glaciers. Your guide will take you on walks along pristine trails by streams and waterfalls with magnificent views over Ala Archa Canyon. Return to Bishkek where you stay overnight.
DAY 8 - SCENICE DRIVE TO JYRGALAN VALLEY
After breakfast depart the busy city of Bishkek with your local guide and drive overland to Burana Tower Historical complex, near Tokmok, and visit the minaret and ancient stone memorials. Then it is on to the Jyrgalan Valley, a beautiful, wild area which lies in the Teskey Ala-Too mountains. Jyrgalan is 2300 metres above sea level and is known for its natural beauty and unspoiled scenery. Go for a hike and enjoy this remote wilderness.
DAY 9 - EXHILREATING WALKS THROUGH JYRGALAN VALLEY
Today go with your guide on foot to get to know this lovely valley better. Set off east through green pastures where flocks of sheep graze and horses roam. Continue on through a narrow canyon to the 20m high Kok-Bel Waterfall. Have a picnic lunch along the way and return to Jyrgalan village in the afternoon. The total distance walked today is around 12km but this can be altered to suit.
DAY 10 - TRAVEL TO KOCHOR VILLAGE
After breakfast, leave the valley and drive to Kochor village where you will stay with a local family. On the way, visit Skazka canyon, a bizarre rocky landscape which has been transformed by erosion into amazing sculptures over the course of time. It is known as Fairy Tale Canyon as the formations remind people of characters in fairy tales. Spend the night in a local homestay.
DAY 11 - OVERLAND TO SONG KUL
Today drive through fantastic mountain gorges to Song-Kul Lake, stopping to visit Kochkorka village and a workshop that makes traditional felt carpets. On arrival in Song Kul Lake you will be accommodated in a yurt, the traditional home of Kyrgyz nomads. Spend the night in a basic yurt camp near the lake shore in a yurt, just like the nomads do, and watch Kyrgyz herding their cattle and making national dishes and handcrafts.
DAY 12 - EXPLORE ALPINE LAKES & MIX WITH THE LOCALS
Song Kul Lake is a mountain lake in the Central Tian Shan Range and is the second largest lake in Kyrgyzstan, lying at an altitude of 3016m above sea level with a total area of an incredible 275 sq km. Spend the morning exploring either on foot or horseback. There is plenty to see aside from the spectacular scenery, there are yurts in the summer pastures and you will have an opportunity to witness traditional Kyrgyz life. Visit a local family in their yurt and you may even help with the milking or making a batch of Kykyz which is a dairy product similar to Kefir. In the afternoon relax or continue exploring before finishing the day by an open fire beneath the stars.
DAY 13 - HEAD NORTH TO BISHKEK
After breakfast head back to the capital on what will be a long drive. However, it is more than compensated for by the incredible landscape you will see as you head north through the vast Ala Too mountain range arriving in Bishkek in the afternoon.
DAY 14 - DEPART BISHKEK
This morning we will ensure you are taken to the airport in plenty of time for your international flight
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DETAILS:
This itinerary costs from £3490 per person B&B based on 2 sharing and including all private transfers but not international flights.
You can get flights from £750 per person return and do ask us for advice. Alternatively we can book the flights for you but a booking fee may apply.
What's included?
INCLUDED:
- Prices start from £3490 per person
- 13 nights accommodation on B&B basis
- Accompanied by an English speaking guide throughout.
- Private vehicle and transfers
- Internal flights (three)
- All entrance fees for excursions
- Lunch on Days 3, 11 & 12
- Dinner on Days 4, 8, 9, 10 ,11 & 12
- Local taxes
- Meals for guides and drivers
- All trips are ATOL protected or ABTA bonded to ensure you are financially protected
