Central Asian Silk Road Cultural Tour
The trip takes 16 days and 15 nights, passing through Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan. Famous attractions include Almaty City, Sharyn Canyon, Lake Issyk, Bishkek, and Tashkent, Samarkand, the ancient city of Shiva, the ancient city of Cunha-Ugenqi, Ashgabat, Nissa ruins, Bitter City, Dushanbi, and the ancient city of Cunha Urgench.
01
Urumqi
Description: Gather at Urumqi, stay at the airport hotel for a night break.
02
Urumqi – Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan)
Description: Arrive at the T3 terminal building of Urumqi International Airport in the morning and fly to Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan. After arriving, drive to the beautiful mountain lake of Issyk in the northern foothills of the Tianshan Mountains. You can enjoy Issyk-kul along the way. Beautiful landscape on the lake shore. Passing through the birthplace of the Chinese Tang Dynasty poet Li Bai - Suyab (now Tokmak), and visiting the 11th century Turkic ruins - Brenner Guta. After dinner, check into the hotel and rest.
▼Bishkek
▼ Issyk-Kul
▼ Brenner Guta
03
Lake Issyk - Bishkek
Description: After breakfast, return to downtown Bishkek. Visit Oak Park, State History Museum, Victory Square, Kyrgyz Administrative Center and Parliament Building, Manas Heroes Square, etc. After dinner, check in at the hotel.
▼ Oak Park
▼ State History Museum
▼ Victory Square
04
Bishkek - Almaty
Description: After breakfast, drive to visit Issyk-Ata Gorge (32 km from Bishkek), which is part of the Tianshan Mountains in Kyrgyzstan. After your arrival, stroll through the secluded valleys and enjoy the tranquillity of nature. After lunch, shop at Bazaar and after dinner, head to the airport to fly to Almaty, the former capital of Kazakhstan. Arrive at the hotel after arriving at the airport.
▼Issyk-Ata Gorge
▼ Almaty
05
Almaty
Description: After breakfast, drive to the beautiful environment of the Medeu Skating Rink and Ski resort, take the cable car up to 3200 meters above sea level, and watch the Shymbulak snow mountain, feel the natural style, white clouds, snow mountains, forests and villas. After lunch, return to Almaty and visit the Independence Square, the former presidential palace, and the National Museum. Go to Art Street, National Crafts Store, etc. and visit the Kok Tobe hill. Tourists take the car and stand on the top of the Kok Tobe hill overlooking the entire city of Almaty, surrounded by snow-capped mountains, blue skies, endless woods and a small hilltop zoo, which will make people feel the long-lost nature of the city. Scenery. After dinner, check into the hotel and rest.
▼Medeu Skating Rink and Ski resort
▼Shymbulak snow mountain
▼Shymbulak snow mountain
▼ National Museum
▼ Kok Tobe hill
06
Almaty - Sharyn Canyon - Almaty
Description: After breakfast, drive to the Sharyn Canyon (195 km, 3 hours), 2-hours later on the way to the town restaurant lunch, and then 1-hour drive to the Chalun Gorge. Return to Almaty after lunch and rest at the hotel after dinner.
[Sharyn Canyon] It is formed by geological changes, such as a long crack in the grassland hinterland, the locals are comparable to the Colorado Grand Canyon. Stroll through the Sharyn Valley, 2 km long and 20-80 m wide. The valleys are 12 million years old. Down to the bottom of the valley, looking up at the cliffs formed by the red rocks. Due to the erosion of wind, frost, rain and snow for many years, each mountain has become different in shape and strange. Some are like cocks with high heads, some like mysterious castles, some like a butterfly in the wind, some like a galloping horse... Every boulder here has an ancient legend.
▼Sharyn Canyon
07
Almaty - Dushanbe (Tajikistan)
Description: After breakfast, proceed to the Almaty First Presidential Park. After breakfast, proceed to the airport and fly to Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan. After arriving, take a break at the hotel. After lunch, visit the National Museum of Tajikistan, Presidential Park, Somony Square, and Rudaki Park. After dinner, check into the hotel and rest.
[National Museum of Tajikistan] (closed before 4 pm). As the national museum of Tajikistan, it possesses a lot of collections about the life of the Tajik people, such as carpets, pottery, jewelry and musical instruments. The museum houses a Buddha statue, which is about 13 meters long and dates back 1500 years.
[Rudaki Park] Here you can see the statue of Abdullah Rudaki, known as the "Father of Persian Poetry", the Presidential Palace of Tajikistan, the National Emblem Tower of Tajikistan and the Samanid of Central Asia. The founder of the dynasty, the statue of Somoni, known as the "father of the Tajik nation." It is a landmark of Dushanbe with an Islamic color. It is a mosque with a history of 200 years.
▼First Presidential Park
▼Dushanbe
▼ National museum
▼ Rudaki Park
▼ Statue of Ismoil Somoni
08
Dushanbe (Tajikistan) – Khujand (Tajikistan)
Description: After breakfast, visit the remains of the Hissar Fortress, then return to the city of Dushanbe. After lunch, proceed to the airport and fly to Khujand. Khujand is located at the junction of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, and the second largest city in Tajikistan. After dinner check and rest in hotel, (Remarks: Due to the frequent changes in flight times of the flight from Dushanbe to Khujand, in that situation, we will change to the M34 road after visiting the site of the Hisar Fortress. Go to Khujand City, 6 hours by car, M34, about 320 kilometers from Dushanbe. It is picturesque along the way. Along the way, two tunnels of about 5 kilometers long pass through the top of the mountain. Add a lot of color, you can pick up the camera and enjoy the spectacular M34 road! In winter, the road will be closed due to heavy snow. On the way, we will have a lunch in the restaurant near the tunnel.)
▼ Khujand
09
Khujand – Tashkent (Uzbekistan)
Description: after breakfast in hotel, we will visit the Tajik sea(Karakum Reservoir, east-west 70 kilometers, 20 kilometers wide from north to south, was officially named "Tajik Sea" by the Tajik government in 2015.) After that, visit the Historical Local Lore Museum of Archeology and Fortification, Sheykh Muslihiddin Mosque, Panjshanbe bazaar, Saidkhuja Urunkhudjayev and Arbob Cultural Palace. After lunch, drive to Uzbekistan-Tajikistan's border Olybek port and continue to Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan. After arrival, check in at the hotel. Tashkent is the largest city in Central Asia, the political, economic, cultural and transportation center of Uzbekistan.
Tashkent is one of the important commercial hubs on the ancient Silk Road, and the famous Silk Road passes through it. In ancient China, Zhang Huan, Fa Xian, and Xuanzang had left their footprints. They were once occupied by the Kazakh Khanate, and the history of the literature has been more than 1,500 years.
▼ Historical Local Lore Museum of Archeology and Fortification
10
Tashkent (Uzbekistan)
Description： After breakfast, go to the National Museum, Independence Square, National Museum of Art, then go to the pilaf center to taste local specialties. Afterwards, proceed to the Hazrat Imam Mosque, the Islamic Museum, and rest at the hotel after dinner.
▼ Tashkent
▼ National Museum
▼Independence Square
▼ Hazrat Imam Mosque
11
Tashkent - Samarkand (Uzbekistan) - Tashkent
Description: After breakfast, take a train to Samarkand, the world cultural heritage site. Upon arrival, visit Samarkand and the Guri Amir Mausoleum (about 30 minutes). It is the world-famous architectural treasure of Central Asia and the Rukhobod Mausoleum. After that, we will visit the Registan, Mausoleum Rukhabad, Sher Dor Madrasah, Tillya Kori Madrasah, Bibi Khanym Mosque, Ulugh Beg Observatory. After lunch, we will back to Tashkent.
▼Samarkand
▼ Guri Amir Mausoleum
▼ Registan
▼ Sher Dor Madrasah
▼ Bibi Khanym Mosque
12
Tashkent – Urgench – Shiva (Uzbekistan)
Description: Pack it for breakfast at the airport, fly to Urgench, and then take the bus to the world heritage site of Shiva. Visit Citadel Kunya-ark, Friday Mosque, Citadel Kunya-ark, Stone Palace (Tash Khauli), Kalta Minor Minaret, Islam Khodja Complex, Chodra Hovli and Pahlavon Mahmud Mausoleum. After dinner, check into the hotel and rest.
▼Shiva
▼ Kuhna ark
▼ Friday Mosque
▼ Mohammed Rakhim khan
13
Shiva – Urgench (Turkmenistan)
Description: After breakfast, take a bus to the world heritage Cunha-Urgenge (formerly known as "Gurganj"), which is located on the northern branch of the Silk Road. Upon arrival, visit Turabek Khanum Mausoleum, Sultan Tekesh Mausoleum, Sultan Tekesh Mausoleum, and Kyrk Molla. Upon arrival, you can go to the largest market to buy ethnic specialties and then stay at the hotel.
▼ Turabek Hanum
▼ Turabek Hanum
▼ Il Arslan Mausoleum
14
Dashoguz – Derweze – Ashgabat (Turkmenistan)
Description: After breakfast, take a bus to Dashoguz. This area is rich in natural gas. There are 3 natural gas pits: lit one, puddle one, and a mud pit; the fire burning in the pit is more than 40 years, because it is like the legendary hell entrance, people call it "the gate of hell." After the tour, drive to Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan, and rest at the hotel after dinner.
▼ Derweze
▼ Ashgabat
15
Ashgabat – Nisa – Ashgabat
Description: After breakfast, visit the World Heritage Site of the Nisa Ruins, which was the capital of Partia in the 3rd century BC. After that, we will travel to the village of Chincha to visit the Gypjak Mosque, the largest mosque in Turkmenistan, and the mausoleum of former President Niyazov. After returning to Ashgabat, we will visit the Monument Arch of Neutrality, Ashgabat National Museum of History, Turkmenistan Independence Monument, Palace Complex Oguzkhan, Ashgabat hippodrome. After visit, go to airport.
▼ Nisa
▼ Gypjak Mosque
▼ Ertugrul Gazi Mosque
▼ Turkmenistan Independence Monument
16
Ashgabat - Urumqi
Description: After arriving in the morning, disbanded in Urumqi and end this trip.
