Kyrgyz lakes to Uzbek forts

Today you’ll fly to Bishkek. Upon arrival your driver will bring you to your hotel for the check in. Rest of the day at leisure.
If you have time in the afternoon, enjoy some sightseeing in the streets of Bishkek, and visit the museum of fine arts as well as the National museum. Bishkek has the best preserved Soviet Union architecture in all of the -stans countries.

After your breakfast you will drive to Issyk Kul Lake – the pearl of Kyrgyzstan, on the north shore. En route you will visit Burana Tower, an 11th century minaret built on the ruins of the ancient Karakhanid Empire. Then you’ll stretch your legs with a 3h walk in the beautiful Konorchek canyon. Finally you’ll reach your destination for the night and stay in Tamchy, on the shores of Issyk Kul lake, at 1600m high with a Kyrgyz family.

This morning, you will reach Karakol town and start a tour of the city, visiting the Dungan Mosque and Karakol’s cathedral. In the afternoon, you will drive to Jety Oguz small village and go for a walk in its old streets. You’ll stay for the night in a small guesthouse at the foot of the Jety Oguz, the “seven bulls”.

Today you will get up for a beautiful walk around Jety Oguz stone formations. You will meet many semi-nomadic locals in their yurts and start discovering their way of life. After 6h trek and a 650m elevation gain, enjoy an evening at the hot springs before staying in your guesthouse for the night.

After breakfast you will visit Skazka canyon that looks like the decor of another planet. You’ll take a break on the shores of Issyk Kul lake for a picnic and some bathing if you like, before looking for the old petroglyphs and nomads tombs on the hills. Finally you will drive to a family yurt camp closer to the mountains, almost 2400m high. Here lives one of the rare true eagle hunters in the country. He will show you how he traditionally and passionately trains his eagles.

This morning, you’ll discover the traditional Kyrgyz yurts making in order to know more about them. Later in Kochkor, you’ll also learn about local felt craftswork at the women’s cooperative. Then you’ll drive to the shores of Son Kul lake and stay with a family in their yurts, at an altitude of 3450m.

Today, just enjoy a horse riding day in the surroundings, in those vast high altitude grassland grounds that lay around Son Kul lake. Meet families and their cattle herds on the way. If you don’t feel like riding a horse, you can go on foot for a walk around the camp.

Today, you will drive back to Bishkek. Upon arrival, enjoy a dinner in town before leaving for Uzbekistan the next day.

Today, you will fly to Tashkent. Upon arrival, you will be transferred to your hotel. Free time at leisure to rest or start discovering the city.

Today, you will discover Tashkent with your guide: visit the Khast Imam complex which has a rich Islamic Library and posesses the biggest Othman Quran, dating back to the 8th century. Go to the Chorsu bazaar, one of the oldest markets in Central Asia and discover the Kukeldash madrasah (16th century), the most important old Koranic school in Tashkent. You will also see the Independence (Mustaqillik) Square, relating to a much more recent part of history.

Today, you will take the train to Samarkand. Upon arrival, your driver and guide will first take you to the famous Registan Square, the centerpiece of Central Asia, a majestic site with the three madrasahs surrounding it. Visit the Shah-i-Zinda necropolis with its mausoleums dating from the 11th to the 19th century. Admire also the amazing Bibi Khanum mosque, built for Timur’s return from India. Finally, explore the streets of the Siyob bazaar.

Today you will keep visiting Samarkand, one of the oldest cities in the world, where the East meets the West. You’ll visit the Afrosiyob museum, dedicated to the city that was destroyed by the Mongols in the 13th century. Discover Saint Daniel’s tomb, as well as the Ulugbek Observatory, one of the best in the islamic world when it was built in 1420. Finally you’ll visit a silk paper fabric, a traditional and local production.

Today you will drive to Bukhara. On the way, you will stop at Gijduvan, a small trading town, to visit a ceramic crafts fabric and the local ceramics museum. In the evening in Bukhara, you’ll enjoy a traditional dance show.

Today you will explore Bukhara: the Samanid dynasty mausoleum (Iranian dynasty from the 9th and 10th centuries), Chashma Ayub mausoleum, the Arc fortress (the oldest traces of which date back to the 5th century BC), and the Kalon minaret, highest tower in town, that was erected in 1127 and used as a death penalty sentence until 1884. You’ll also discover the city’s madrasahs: Miri-Arab, Magoki-Attori, Oulougbek, Abdulazizkhan, Kosh, Chor-Minor, as well as the Lyabi Hauz complex.

Today you will drive to Khiva. On the way, enjoy a panoramic view of the Oxus (old name for the Amou Daria river). After a day drive, check in at your hotel.

Today you will discover Khiva, a museum city but still a living one. Visit the inner old town and the Ichan Kala fortress with its famous buildings: the Allakulikhan and Mohammed Amin Khan madrasahs, Kalta Minor and Islam Khodja minarets, Pakhlavan Makhmoud mausoleum, Juma mosque and its 218 wood columns, as well as the Tash Khovli palace, built in the beginning of the 19th century.

Today you will reach Urgench and fly to Tashkent. Upon arrival, free time at leisure for the last afternoon of your trip.

Today is the end of your trip on the Silk Road. Your driver will bring you to the airport for a flight to your next destination.