Central Asia Five Stans Odyssey: 18 Days — Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan & Tajikistan Silk Road Private Tour

Tour Overview

Itinerary Highlights

Day 1-3: Kazakhstan — Almaty, the Apple City

Arrive Almaty — named from the Kazakh “Alma” (apple), the region where the domestic apple (Malus sieversii) was first cultivated. Almaty was Kazakhstan’s capital until 1997, and remains its cultural and commercial heart. Explore Panfilov Park with the Zenkov Cathedral (1904, one of the world’s tallest wooden buildings, built without a single nail), the Green Bazaar, and take the cable car to Kok-Tobe hill for panoramic views of the Tien Shan mountains. Day trip to Charyn Canyon — Kazakhstan’s “Grand Canyon,” a 12-million-year-old gorge 150-300m deep, with the dramatic Valley of Castles rock formations. Overnights in Almaty.

Day 4-5: Kyrgyzstan — Bishkek & Issyk-Kul

Drive to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan’s leafy capital named after the churn used to make kumis (fermented mare’s milk). Visit Ala-Too Square and Osh Bazaar. Continue to Issyk-Kul, the world’s second-largest alpine lake (6,236 km², “Warm Lake” — it never freezes despite being at 1,607m altitude, due to its salinity and depth of 668m). The lake was a stop on the ancient Silk Road’s northern branch; the 14th-century Armenian monastery and Nestorian Christian gravestones found here testify to the region’s once-cosmopolitan nature. Overnights in Bishkek and at Issyk-Kul.

Day 6: Fly to Tashkent

Morning flight from Bishkek to Tashkent. Afternoon tour of Uzbekistan’s capital: Khast Imam (the 7th-century Uthman Quran), Chorsu Bazaar, and Amir Timur Square — where a statue of the great conqueror now stands where Marx, then Stalin, then a giant map of the USSR once stood. Overnight in Tashkent.

Day 7-11: Uzbekistan — Khiva, Bukhara & Samarkand

Five days in the three great Silk Road cities. Khiva: the mud-brick fortress city of Itchan Kala (UNESCO), 50 monuments within 26 hectares of 10m-high walls. Bukhara: 140 monuments from the 9th-16th centuries, the Ark fortress, Kalyan Minaret, Samanid Mausoleum, and the living bazaars of the old city. Samarkand: the Registan, Gur-e-Amir, Shah-i-Zinda, and Bibi-Khanym — the Pearl of the East in all its turquoise glory. Day trip to Shakhrisabz, Timur’s birthplace. Each city adds a layer to the Silk Road narrative: the remote desert khanate, the holy city of scholars, and the imperial capital of the world-conqueror.

Day 12-14: Tajikistan — Dushanbe & the Fann Mountains

Cross the border into Tajikistan at the Jartepa-Sarazm checkpoint near Samarkand. Continue to Dushanbe, the capital in the Varzob Valley — named from the Tajik word for “Monday,” the day of the weekly bazaar that gave birth to the city. Visit the impressive National Museum of Tajikistan (home to the 13m reclining Buddha of Ajina Tepe, the largest Buddhist statue in Central Asia, testament to the region’s Buddhist past before the Islamic period), Rudaki Park, and the Hissar Fortress (18th century, the last emir of Bukhara’s summer residence). Tajikistan is the most mountainous of the five Stans — 93% of the country is mountains, and the Pamir Highway is one of the world’s greatest road trips. Overnights in Dushanbe.

Day 15-16: Khujand & the Fergana Valley

Drive north through the Fann Mountains to Khujand — one of Central Asia’s oldest cities, founded as Alexandria Eschate (“Alexandria the Furthest”) by Alexander the Great in 329 BC at the easternmost point of his empire. Visit the reconstructed fortress, the Panjshanbe Bazaar (one of the largest in the Fergana Valley), and the Sheikh Muslihiddin Mosque. The Fergana Valley — shared by Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan — is the most fertile and densely populated region of Central Asia, the agricultural heartland since the Bronze Age. Return to Tashkent.

Day 17-18: Tashkent Farewell & Departure

Free day in Tashkent for last-minute exploration: the Museum of Applied Arts (housed in a beautifully decorated traditional mansion), the Minor Mosque (2014, white marble and turquoise domes), and the Tashkent Metro (each station a unique Soviet-era artwork). Farewell dinner at the Central Asian Plov Center. Day 18: transfer to airport for departure.

Inclusions

• 17 nights accommodation
• Daily breakfast, 6 dinners
• All domestic flights within Central Asia
• All ground transportation
• Professional English-speaking guide in each country
• All monument and museum entrance fees
• Visa support for Turkmenistan and Tajikistan

Exclusions

• International flights
• Travel insurance (mandatory)
• Visa fees (varies by nationality)
• Lunches and some dinners
• Personal expenses and tips