Crossing Central Asia, 19 days

Trip Description

Accomodation

Stay program

• day 1

  Paris-Bishkek

  Flight to Bishkek via Istanbul (or Moscow).

• day 2

  Bishkek – Choktal

  Welcome by the guide and transfer to the hotel. Rest. Breakfast. Visit of the capital of Kyrgyzstan: Dostyk Square, the opera, Dubovy Park, the national museum, and the great market of Bishkek – Och Bazar. Lunch. Departure for Lake Issykkul (1600 m altitude). Visit of the Burana Tower en route. Arrival in Tchoktal and check-in at the hotel. Dinner. Night at the hotel.

• day 3

  Tchoktal – Kotchkor

  Breakfast. Time to enjoy the lake (possibility of swimming, walking). Lunch. Drive to Kotchkor. Arrival and check-in at a guesthouse. Dinner. Night.

• day 4

  Kotchkor – Songkul

  Breakfast. Departure for Lake Songkul, via the Kalmak Achu pass (3448 m altitude), to meet the nomadic shepherds. Arrival and installation under the yurt. Lunch. Time to enjoy nature and the lake (possibility of a walk, meeting the shepherds, attending equestrian games demonstrations). Dinner. Night under the yurt.

• day 5

  Sonkul – Bishkek – Osh

  Breakfast. Route to Bishkek through magnificent landscapes. Lunch on the way. Arrival and transfer to the airport. Flight to Osh. Dinner. Overnight at the hotel.

• day 6

  Och – Andijan – Fergana

  Breakfast. Drive to Fergana. Customs formalities at the Kyrgyz-Uzbek border. Arrival in the city of Andijan. Visit of the city and its market. Lunch. Continuation of the road and arrival in Fergana in the afternoon. Check-in at the hotel. Dinner. Overnight at the hotel.

• day 7

  Fergana – Margilan – Rishtan – Kokand – Tashkent

  Breakfast. Departure for Tashkent via Margilan and Kokand. Visit in Margilan to the silk factory, unique in the country. Visit of the weaving workshop and discovery of the procedure for making the famous atlas fabric, as well as silk carpets. Stop in Rishtan at a famous ceramist's to visit his workshop. Arrival in Kokand. Lunch in a Chaykhana. Visit of the Khudayar Khan Palace, the royal cemetery, and the Friday mosque of Kokand with its 99 columns. Train to Tashkent. Arrival and check-in at the hotel. Dinner. Overnight at the hotel.

• day 8

  Tashkent

  Breakfast. Visit of Tashkent through the Chorsu market, the Khasti Imam complex. Lunch. Continuation of the visit with Independence Square, Amir Timur Square, the Tashkent metro. Dinner. Night at the hotel.

• day 9

  Tashkent – Samarkand

  Early breakfast. Transfer to the station at 06:00. Train to Samarkand (TGV) at 07:00. Arrival in Samarkand at 09:15 and transfer to the hotel. Visit of the Gur Emir mausoleum and the Registan complex with the Ulugh Beg madrasa, the Sher Dor madrasa, the Tillya Kari madrasa. Lunch. Visit of the Bibi Khanoum mosque, the Siyab market and the Shakhi Zinda necropolis. Dinner. Overnight at the hotel.

• day 10

  Samarkand – Shakhrisabz - Samarkand

  Breakfast. Drive to Chakhrisabz via the pass (by taxi, 3 people per car). The road crosses mountains with mineral landscapes. Arrival and visit of the city: ruins of the Ak-Saray palace, market, Dor-ut-Tilovat and Dor-us-Siyodat complexes. Lunch. Return to Samarkand. Free time to stroll in the city. Dinner. Overnight at the hotel.

• day 11

  Samarkand – Bukhara

  Breakfast. Visit to the Ulugh Beg Observatory and the Samarkand paper workshop. Transfer to the train station at 10:30 am. Departure by train to Bukhara at 11:30 am. Lunch (free, you should plan to bring something to eat on the train). Arrival in Bukhara at 3:15 pm and transfer to the hotel. Free time to get a first impression of the city. Dinner. Overnight at the hotel.

• day 12

  Bukhara

  Breakfast. Visit to the mausoleum of Ismail Samani, Chachma Ayoub, the ancient Citadel "Ark" and the Bolo Khaouz mosque. Lunch. Continuation of visits to the following monuments: the Magoki-Attari mosque, the Ulug Beg madrasah (1417), the Abdul Aziz Khan madrasah (1654), the Poyi Kalyan complex, the Mir Arab madrasah (1535), the Kalyan minaret, the Great Mosque, the money changers' dome, the hat sellers' dome, the Tim of Abdullakhan and the jewelry dome, the Lyabi Khaouz complex with the Nadir Devan Begui madrasah, the Koukaldach madrasah, the Khanaka and the city's large basin. Dinner. Overnight at the hotel.

• day 13

  Bukhara

  Breakfast. Visit of Bukhara through the Bakhouddin Naqshbandi complex, who was the great Sufi of Central Asia, to the summer palace of the Emir of Bukhara - Sitoraï Mohi-Khossa, and visit of the small Chor Minor madrasa. Lunch. Free afternoon for strolling and possible shopping. Dinner. Overnight at the hotel.

• day 14

  Bukhara – Khiva

  Breakfast. Drive to Khiva (450 km). The road passes through the Kizyl Kum desert and its sand dunes. Lunch in a roadside Tchaykhana along the way. Previously, caravans heading west passed through this part of the Silk Road, which connected the western cities and Bukhara. Arrival in Khiva at the end of the day and check-in at the hotel. Dinner. Overnight at the hotel.

• day 15

  Khiva

  Breakfast. Visit of architectural monuments, including the truncated minaret Kalta Minar, the Mohamed Aminkhan madrasa, the king's seat and the former Kounya Ark palace, as well as the Mohamed Rahimkhan madrasa. Lunch. Continuation of visits with the mausoleum of Pahlavan Mahmud, the Islamkhodja minaret, the Jouma mosque, the Caravan saray (today's market), the Toch Khavli palace and the Khan's Harem. Dinner. Overnight at the hotel.

• day 16

  Khiva – Dachoguz – Kunya-Urgench – Darwaza

  Breakfast. Departure towards Turkmenistan. Customs formalities at the Chovot border. Road to Kunya-Urgench. Visit of the Najmidin Kubro mausoleum and the historical park. Lunch. Road to Darwaza. Arrival and installation under the tent. Observation of the flames of a crater, discovery of the night in the desert and visit of a nomad village. Picnic. Night at the hotel.

• day 17

  Darwaza – Ashgabat

  Breakfast. Drive to Ashgabat via the village of Jerbent. Arrival and check-in at the hotel. Lunch. City tour. Dinner. Overnight at the hotel.

• day 18

  Ashgabat – Nisa – Ashgabat

  Breakfast. Departure for Nissa. Visit to the National Museum of History and Ethnography of Turkmenistan and the archaeological site of ancient Nisa. Lunch. Free time for independent visit of Ashgabat. Dinner. Overnight at the hotel.

• day 19

  Achgabad – Paris

  Transfer to the airport and flight to Paris.