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CENTRAL ASIA TOUR
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Uzbekistan & Turkmenistan
20 days / 19 nights

Central Asia Countries and highlight

Day 1: Almaty
Arrive KAZAKHSTAN, Almaty Airport and transfer to your hotel. Overnight Almaty
Day 2: Almaty
Full day sightseeing in Almaty. Visit the Zenkov Cathedral, the Central State Museum. Go up the Kok Tube Mountain by cable railway to view of Almaty. Visit the Museum of Kazakhstan National Musical instruments. Overnight Almaty
Day 3: Bishkek
Enroute to Bishkek, KYRGYZ REPUBLIC visit to the nearby mountains to view petroglyphs at Tamgaly-Tas. Overnight Bishkek
Day 4: Bishkek
Excursion to Burana tower to see remains of the Karakhanid minaret and nearby collection of Turkish stones grave markers. Overnight Bishkek
Day 5: Bishkek
Visit the Historical Museum, Fine Arts Museum. Overnight Bishkek
Day 6: Fergana
Fly to Osh and visit the Osh market. Continue to Dostuck/Duslik border check point where you will meet your UZBEKISTAN guide and continue on to Fergana for overnight.
Day 7: Tashkent
Travel to Marghilan, visit Silk Factory, Continue to Rishton, private pottery ceramic studio, lunch at his house. Continue to Kokand and visit the Khan’s palace museum.
Drive to Tashkent for overnight.
Day 8: Tashkent
Visit State Art Museum and the Museum of History. Visit Abdul Khasim Medrassah. See a performance by the Tashkent Puppet Theatre. Visit the Museum of Applied Arts and visit the Imam Al-Bukhari Islamic Institute, the Chor-Su market. Overnight Tashkent
Day 9: Samarkand
Depart for Samarkand. Visit the central square of Samarkand, the Reghistan.
Overnight Samarkand
Day 10: Samarkand
Visits to Gur-Emir, Bibi-Khanum Mosque and also visit the nearby market. Visit Shaki -Zinda Mausoleums, Ulugbek Observatory, Afrosiab and the Afrosiab Museum. Overnight Samarkand
Day 11: Bukhara
Continue to Shakrisabz - visit Ak Saray White Palace, the Jehangir mausoleum, the Kok -Gumbaz mosque, Dorus Tilavet and Shamseddin Kulyal Mausoleums. Continue to Bukhara.
Overnight Bukhara
Day 12: Bukhara
Visit to Ismail Samani Mausoleum, Chashma Ayub - the Spring of Job, the Fortress Ark. Visit Poi-Kalon and Magoki - Attori mosque, Medrasahs of Ulug Bek and Abdul-Asis Khan, and market. Visit to Lyabi-Khaus. Overnight Bukhara
Day 13: Bukhara
Visit the Paikent ancient settlement and the Chor-Bakries and Sitorai Mohi Hosa.
Overnight Bukhara
Day 14: Khiva
Depart for Khiva, driving through the Kizyl-Kum. Overnight Khiva
Day 15: Khiva
Full day visits in Khiva. Overnight Khiva
Day 16: Ashgabad
Meeting at Dashoguz, TURKMENISTAN border check point. Meet your Turkmen guide and continue to Kunya Urgench, the original capital of the Khorezm Kingdom. Visit the tallest minaret in Central Asia, the beautiful blue-tile mosaic domed Turabek Mausoleum, the tomb of Tekesh and the huge portal of Karavansaray.  Continue to Tashauz. Late afternoon flight to Ashgabad.  Overnight Ashgabad
Day 17: Ashgabad
Full day sightseeing in Ashgabat, including the vast and exciting Sunday market. Afternoon visit to the History Museum with its superb collection of carved ivory drinking horns from Nissa, from the 1st and 2nd century BC. Overnight Ashgabad
Day 18: Ashgabad
Visit the site of ancient Nissa, going back to the time of the Parthians in third century B.C. This ancient city is located at the foot of the Lopet Dag Mountains which divide Turkmenistan from Iran. Stop for a visit of the famous stud farm of the Ackhal Tekke houses. Visit the Carpet Museum. Overnight Ashgabad.
Day 19: Ashgabad
Morning flight to Mary (Merv). Excursion to Ancient Mary, visit to Museum of History. Return flight to Ashgabad. Overnight Ashgabad.
Day 20: Transfer to Ashgabad Airport.

TOUR INCLUDES:
Accommodation per itinerary
Breakfast daily
Tours and transfers with private air-conditioned vehicles (non-air-conditioned vehicle on Day 6 Osh)
Local English-speaking guides
Entrance fees
Economy class air tickets: Bishkek –Osh / Tashauz - Ashgabad / Ashgabad-Mary-Ashgabad

PER PERSON BASED ON DOUBLE OCCUPANCY:
Minimum 2 persons

HOTEL	Tourist /Superior
Double	$5100.00
Single supplement	$615.00

About our tours and price

CENTRAL ASIA COUNTRIES AND HIGHLIGHTS

KAZAKHSTAN Kazakhstan is a country comparable in size to the whole of Western Europe and would cover half of the United States. It stretches from the Volga Delta to Mongolia. Nin-tenths of the country is grassland, but for the southeastern fringe, where magnificent scenery is formed by the Tian Shan and the Altair, mountain ranges with 2700 glaciers and over 48,000 lakes. Kazakhstan's ethnic diversity, from the minority Uzbeks of Chimkent to the Korean businessmen of Almaty and the Russian nuclear technocrats of Kurchatov is concentrated in the southeast range of the country. The history of Kazakhstan is the history of Central Asia. Ethnic Kazaks, are descended from Genghis Khan's hordes and are mainly rural. This vast, bleak, yet beautiful country awaits the most adventurous traveler. Almaty the capital is the largest city of the largest "Stan" with a population of over 1.5 million. Panfilov Park is dominated by one of the world's tallest wooden buildings, the Zenkov Cathedral was constructed in 1904 without the use of a single nail. The Museum of Kazak National Instruments has a unique collection of traditional musical instruments each with a recording of its sound. The State Art Museum carries rare traditional Kazak rugs and jewelry.
	UZBEKISTAN From the west came Alexander the Great; Genghis Khan came from the east, while Tamerlane, the last nomadic emperor to shake the world, made his home, the heartland of Central Asia. The remarkable historical and architectural legacy left by these men is inherited by modern-day Uzbekistan. Wherever travelers tread they will follow the footprints of some of the greatest travelers in history. Uzbekistan is endowed with some of the most magnificent buildings in the Islamic world, breathtaking monuments created by these ancient rulers in an attempt to ensure their own immortality. It is a journey through oasis, river valley, desert and grassland to the foothills and mountains of the western Tian Shan and Gissaro-Alay Ranges. Uzbekistan as a tourist destination is in its infancy but for the adventurous and well-traveled it holds the architectural gems of Central Asia.
Bukhara sites include the mausoleum of Ismail Samani, the Ark Fortress, the summer residence of former Emirs, the famous Kalyan Minaret and Labi-hauz. Urgench is a typical Soviet town located on the Delta of the Amu Darya river and is the entry to Khiva which is located 40 minutes away. Khiva is one of the most ancient human settlements in the world dating back 6,000 years. Sites include Ichon-Qala gates, Muhammad Amin and Rakhim Khan's Medressa and Minarets. Samarkand beauty with a sense of nobility and elegance is this ancient city of Tamerlane. Most of the magnificent sites are works of Tamerlane and his grandson Ulughbek including Registan Square, Bibi Khanum Mosque and the Mausoleum of Tamerlane. Shakhrisabz is the birthplace of Tamerlane, and offers the Ak-Saray Palace, Kok-Gumbuz Mosque, Dorut Tilyovat and the Khazarati Imam. KYRGYZSTAN The landscape of Kyrgystan is by far the most magnificent in all of Central Asia. It is a country of great contrasts from the West-Siberian plain to the mountain ranges of Tien-Shan. The mighty peaks of Pobeda and Khan-Tengri; the Ynylchek glacier which passes by these two mountains is one of the longest glaciers in the world. From the majestic world of Tien-Shan to the pristine Issyk-Kul Lake in the Karako Valley. This huge sweet-water lake is second to only Titcaca Lake in South America. This is a land of mighty gorges, powerful waterfalls, mountain passes and lush summer grasslands which are dotted with traditional yurtas, home to the nomadic tribes of the region. The hospitality of the Kygyz people is legendary and the scenic splendor of the land is breathtaking and for those who enjoy the great outdooors, fishing, trekking, camping, horseback-riding Kygyzstan is the ultimate destination.
	TURKMENISTAN A country that is as much a culture as a country. It has a history that dates back 2500 years, yet there is little architectural beauty in Turkmenistan; the beauty is in its people. The Turkmens are warm and friendly and are very proud of their nomadic culture and their ancient ceremonies. The world knows Turkmenistan for its magnificent carpets, for its exquisite clothes and its wonderful Akhal Teke horses, the ancestor of the Arabian racehorse. Ashghabat the capital, is the home to the Mosque of Khezxrety Omar and the ancient fortress of Ashghabat. Nisa Parthaunissa is a short distance from Ashghabat, once the capital of the Parthians it dates back to the 3rd century BC. Merv (Mary) was once Central Asia's most civilized city and the "Pearl of the East" and between the 8th and 13th centuries was the second city of Islam after Baghdad. Sites include Sultan Sanjar Mausoleum and Kys Kala, an unusual windowless castle outside the city.
TAJIKISTAN Tajikistan is the "stan" which stands alone - its people are of Indo-European rather than Altaic stock and it language is Iranian, not Turkic. Nine-tenths of this untamed country is mountain the domain of the yak, eagle and snow leopard and as the mountain-dwellers solemnly attest, snezhny chelovyek -the yeti (abominable snowman). Tajikistan is best accessible from Samarkand in Uzbekistan. The city of Penijikent was founded in the 5th century, close by are the ruins of Bunjikath, a major Sagdian town that offers the Zoroastrian Temples, the Rudaki Museum and a wonderful city bazaar.