
It is hard to imagine to be away from an everyday life for a month. Thus, if you can afford it, we offer you to take a trip to a fantastic travel across 9 countries of Central Asia and Caucasus. On your road, like the travelers of the past, there will be walks to the most colorful cities, visit to wonderful sights, meeting different people and impressions for the entire life.
The tour will be gradually take you from East to West as did caravans thousands of years ago, filled with silk, spices and jewels. First you will see unusual China with its western cities of Urumqi and Kashgar, where there is still trade running in big bazaars. After, you will have a trip to a spellbinding beautiful mountain passes of Kyrgyzstan, and an overnight in a yurt on the shore of the Lake Son-Kul. After Kyrgyzstan, you will have a short visit to Kazakhstan, where the northern branch of the Great Silk Road used to pass. From there, you will travel to the southern branch of the route - to Tajikistan famous for its amazing mountains and lakes. The main and the most intensive part of the tour will be a trip to the centuries-long monuments of Uzbekistan – you will have excursions to mosques, medreses and bazaars of Tashkent, Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva. The Central Asia tour will be concluded with a trip to Turkmenistan, the largest part of which is covered with a desert. Here you will pay a visit to ancient cities of Merv and Kunya-Urgench.
The second part of the Great Silk Road Tour will be a trip to three countries of the Caucasus. First, you will meet Azerbaijan: Baku, where the past and the future are perplexed in quiet old quarters with medieval sights and modern business centers with wide streets. Take an excursion to the city outskirts, to the monuments of different epochs. Georgia will charm you with its churches, well-known cuisine and lovely wines. The last country in this vast trip will be Armenia. You will see numerous churches that differ considerably from the Georgian ones, and some even refer to the Greek architecture.
35 days tour will be an interesting life in another world. Impressions will surely be for more than one book. Take this journey and create your own story.
Tour itinerary:
Overnight at Urumqi.
Additional meals: dinner
Additional meals: lunch, dinner
Additional meals: lunch, dinner
Visit Old City part of Tashkent with Khast-Imom Complex where the world famous Quran of Caliph Uthman – Ottoman has been preserved. In Khast-Imom visit Madrasah of Barak-Khan, Tilla Sheikh Mosque, Mausoleum of the Saint Abu Bakr Kaffal Shashi and the Islamic Institute of Imam al- Bukhari. Explore Chorsu Bazaar. Then take a ride on Tashkent Metro to the city center to visit Applied Arts Museum and walk through Navoi Theater to Amir Timur Square where you will end Tashkent city tour. Free time in the afternoon. Overnight at the hotel.
Spend your afternoon in fascinating Old Bukhara which is listed in UNESCO World Heritage List. Explore Kalyan Minaret, Kalyan Mosque and Miri-Arab Madrasah, Magoki-Attori Mosque, madrasahs of Ulugbek and Abdulazizkhan, trade domes, Lyabi Hauz Ensemble, Chor-Minor Madrasah. Overnight at the hotel.
Today you will visit Ichan-Kala Fortress, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The tour features visits to Mukhammad Amin Khan Madrasah, Mukhammad Rahimkhan Madrasah, Kalta Minor, Juma Mosque, Toshkhovli Palace, Pakhlavan Makhmud Mausoleum and Islom Khodja Minaret, the highest minaret in Uzbekistan.
Free time in the afternoon. In the evening you will be transferred to Urgench airport (30 km, 35 min) for flight to Tashkent (1093 km, 1 h 40 min). Upon arrival transfer to the hotel. Overnight at the hotel.
Return to Baku. Overnight at hotel.
Continue driving to Sheki. On the way, visit the first Albanian church in Caucasus in the village Kish dating back to the 1st century AD. Arrival in Sheki for overnight.
We will pass through the beautiful landscapes of vineyards and wine-producing villages. First stop will be at unique Winery Khareba located in the tunnel carved out of the rock. Originally built for military purposes, today the tunnel is used to store Kakheti’s finest wines. Wine tour and wine tasting. Continue to Gremi architectural complex, 16th century royal residence and the capital of Kakheti Kingdom. Then reach Telavi, administrative center of Kakheti region. Have a short drive around the town. Overnight at the hotel.
Additional meals: dinner
Drive to Lori region and visit Haghpat Monastery, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This stunning example of Armenian traditional architecture erected in 10-13th centuries stands on a hillside beautifully overlooking the Debed River. Drive to Lake Sevan, “The Jewel of Armenia” and one of the largest high-mountain freshwater lakes in the world. The coastline of Lake Sevan is rich with thick woods, white bare steep rocks, mountain steppes and Alpine meadows. Stop at Sevanavank to visit the remnants of the monastery that include two temples – Surb Arakelots and Surb Astvatsatsin standing among numerous khachkars - carved cross-stones. The buildings were constructed from black tuff which probably gave the monastery its name Sevanavank – “the Black Monastery”. The view from there is simply magnificent: the mountains surround lake from all sides and snow tops are seen almost on the entire perimeter and disappear behind the horizon. Reach the capital of Armenia for overnight at the hotel.
* The site is presently under renovation works.
Continue to Areni, a city known for producing famous Armenian wine from pomegranate and apricot. Have a wine degustation in a local winery.
Drive to Tatev Monastery (9-13 cent.). Approaching the jewel of medieval Armenian architecture on the longest aerial tramway in the world you will see the monastery, the powerful impregnable stronghold towering on a rock. The remote location of the monastery was strategically favorable as the monastery played the role of religious and political centre of the region. Standing on the edge of the rock, the monastery takes your breath away: somewhere down below the river flows in the valley and crowded velvet green hills stand in silence…
Arrival in Goris at 18:00, accommodation at hotel.
Arrive in Yerevan, check-in to hotel. Free time. Overnight at hotel.
- All transfers: 1-2 pax on sedan type car, 3-6 pax on minivan/van;
- Accommodation based on double/twin room sharing, breakfasts included;
- Sightseeing tour program in each country with local guides (in China, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, different guides in each city);
- Entrance fees to sights as per itinerary;
- All regional flights in economy class cabin: Urumqi-Kashgar, Almaty-Dushanbe, Mary-Ashgabat, Urgench-Tashkent, Tashkent-Baku;
- Business/Economy class ticket for train Tashkent-Samarkand as per option (on rare occasions when the high-speed train is unavailable, we will replace this with the most-comfortable class of regular train);
- Azerbaijan tourist e-visa;
- Visa support letter for Uzbekistan visa;
- Visa support letters for Chinese, Turkmenistan, and Tajikistan tourist visas;
- Permits to cross Torugart pass (China to Kyrgyzstan);
- Camp style dinner and breakfast at Darvaza crater (Turkmenistan), as well as utensils and necessary equipment for staying in tents (sleeping bags, sleeping mats, pillows, dining table, chairs);
- Felt carpet workshop in Kochkor, Kyrgyzstan;
- Wine tasting in Kakheti region, Georgia;
- Additional meals as per itinerary.
- One person accompanying the travellers for the whole tour as a tour leader;
- Full board (lunches and dinners);
- Hotel charges for additional services;
- A tax of 2 US$ per night in Turkmenistan, paid to the hotel upon check out;
- Consular fees for tourist visas and Turkmenistan migration tax (12 US$);
- Visa support for Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Armenia tourist visas;
- Personal travel insurance;
- Tips are not included, but would be appreciated;
- International flight tickets before and after the tour.
Accommodation:
Urumqi - 2 nights | |
Hotel 3* | Hotel 4* |
Turpan - 1 night | |
Hotel 3* | Hotel 4* |
Kashgar - 2 nights | |
Hotel 3* | Hotel 4* |
Tash-Rabat - 1 night | |
Yurts (4-5 people in one yurt) | Yurts (4-5 people in one yurt) |
Son-Kul - 1 night | |
Yurt (2 people in one yurt) | Yurt (2 people in one yurt) |
Bishkek - 1 night | |
Plaza, Park, Ambassador or similar | Orion |
Almaty - 2 nights | |
Novotel | Rixos Almaty |
Dushanbe - 1 night | |
Atlas B&B or similar | Hilton Dushanbe or similar |
Khujand - 1 night | |
Khujand Deluxe (mansard room) | Khujand Grand, Khujand Deluxe |
Tashkent - 3 nights | |
Ateca, Navruz, Praga, Grand Capital | Wyndham Tashkent, Courtyard by Marriot, Hampton by Hilton, Mercure |
Samarkand - 1 night | |
Usman, Meros, Asia Samarkand or similar | Dilimah, Sultan, Grand Samarkand Superior, Grand Samarkand, Platan or similar |
Bukhara - 2 nights | |
Minzifa, K.Komil, Bibikhanum, Amulet, As-Salom, Fatima, Kavsar or similar | Paradise Plaza, Omar Khayam, Minor, Asia Bukhara, Zargaron Plaza or similar |
Mary - 1 night | |
Mary | Mary |
Ashgabat - 1 night | |
Sport, Ak-Altyn, Grand Turkmen | Oguzkent, Nusay |
Darvaza - 1 night | |
Tents (optional alternative: yurt shared with other group members) | Tents (optional alternative: yurt shared with other group members) |
Khiva - 1 night | |
Muso Tura, Polvon Qori, New Star, Orient Star or similar | Zarafshan Boutique, Asia Khiva, Erkin Palace, Bek Khiva or similar |
Baku - 2 nights | |
Azcot, Amber, Central Park or similar | Holiday Inn, Sheraton Baku Intourist, Park Inn or similar |
Sheki - 1 night | |
Ruma Qala, Issam | Sheki Saray, Sheki Palace, Marxal or similar |
Telavi - 1 night | |
Telavi Inn, Wine Hotel Telavi, Alazani Valley, Old Telavi | Holiday Inn Telavi, Savaneti, Hotel & Wine Cellar ARGE |
Tbilisi - 3 nights | |
Old Kopala, Ramada By Wyndham Tbilisi Old City, Tiflis, Brigitte, Abanotubani Hotel | Ambassadori, Tiflis Palace, Wyndham Grand, Rooms Hotel |
Yerevan - 4 nights | |
Cascade, Ani Central Inn, Hrazdan or similar | DoubleTree by Hilton Yerevan, Opera Suite, Grand Yerevan, Tufenkian or similar |
Goris - 1 night | |
Mirhav, MonteBello or similar or similar | Mirhav, MonteBello or similar or similar |