Trip on Silk way of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan.

“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step” 

Lao Tzu.

The short description of the tour route on Central Asia:

Almaty - Big Almaty Lake - Targap village – Samsy village – Check Point “Korday” – Issyk-Kul Lake - petrogliphs in Cholpon-Ata – Grigoryevskoe gorge - Karakol town – Djety-Oguz gorge - Southern coast of lake Issyk-Kul – Tamga village – Balykchi town – Boom gorge – Tokmok village – Bishkek - Taraz – Shymkent - Temirlan – Ekpindy – Shaulder – Otrar – Arstanbab – Turkestan - Shymkent – Check Point “Zhibek Zholy\Gysht Kuprik” – Tashkent - Syrdaryo - Gulistan - Djizak – Samarkand - Shakhrizabs – Karshi town – Bukhara - Gazli village – Tortkol village – Beruni town – Urgench – Khiva - Urgench – Check Point “Shavat” (turkmen\uzbek border) – Dashoguz – Kunya-Urgench - Ashgabad.

Distance of the route: 2300 km.
Season: from 15 of April to 30 of September.
The best time for an excursion: June - September.
Duration of the tour: 21 days and 20 nights.

The program day by day on unique natural and historical places of interest Central Asia:

Tours in Kazakhstan from Uzbekistan.

1 Day. Almaty.
Arrival in Almaty. Meeting at the airport, transfer to the hotel “Kazzhol”, accommodation. Rest. Breakfast. After breakfast city sightseeing: visit to the 28 Panfilov’s guardsmen park, Cathedral, Museum of national musical instruments, National museum, Medeo gorge, Republic square. Lunch in the local restaurant. Visit to mountain “Kok-Tyube” by cable way. Dinner in the local restaurant. Overnight at the hotel.
2 Day. Walk on cable-way Almaty.
Breakfast. Transfer to cable-way station "Kok-Tobe" at palace of Republic. Ascent on cable-way on mountain Kok-Tobe 1130 meters located at height above sea level (1,7 km, 5 min). Walk in vicinities of mountain Kok-Tobe.
From viewing platform, the kind on city Almaty from height of the bird's flight opens. Visiting: zoo (birds of prey, pheasants, peacocks, deers, llamas both other animals and birds), monument to group "The Beatles", shop of souvenirs, art gallery. The ending of visiting Kok-Tobe. Descent from mountain Kok-Tyube on bus station.
Transfer to valley Medeo (20 km, 30 min). Ascent on the second cable-way from valley Medeo to high-mountainous ski resort «Shymbulak» (4,6 km, 15 min). It is the second in the world cable-way on extent. With cable-way on Shymbulak, the magnificent kind on mountains Northern Tien-Shan with tops Chkalova 3800 meters located at height above sea level Abaya, Shkolnik, Komsomol 4376 meters located at height above sea level opens.
Below we see ice skating rink Медео, dam in gorge Small Almaty, valley Gorelnik, river Small Almaty, road, from Almaty on resort Shymbulak. Arrival on resort Shymbulak. Walk on a viewing platform, a kind on mountains and to Almaty.
Continuation of ascent on cable-way on pass Big Talgar 3168 meters located at height above sea level (here Cable-way consists of two part) (3,2 km, 30 min). Arrival on pass Big Talgar. Walk in vicinities of pass. From pass the panorama on city Almaty, Small Almaty gorge, on mountains Zailiyskiy Alatau opens. Picnic with champagne.
Returning in Almaty. Transfer to hotel. A free time, dinner and overnight.  
3 Day. Almaty - canyon Charyn - Kegen village - Check Point «Kegen» - Pass San-Tash - Tyup village - Karakol town (410 km).
Breakfast. Transfer: Almaty - canyon Charyn (200 km). Our way lays through villages which are length ways Kuldjinskiy a path. In a way at will it is possible to make short excursion in a small museum berkutchi in village Nura, here it is possible to see golden eagles and hunting dogs - tazy. Further the way lays through 11 kilometer gorge Kokpek and soon road leaves in Sygaty a valley, from here up to canyon Charyn of 11 kilometers on a country road. Walk in canyon Charyn and its vicinities. Picnic on Charyn.
Further transfer through village Kegen up to a Check Point «Kegen» (the Kazakh-Kyrghyz border) (101 km). Passage of frontier terminal-customs formalities on the Kazakh-Kirghiz border.
Thansfer: check point «Kegen» - pass San-Tash - Stones Tamerlana (20 km). Walk on a hill from stones - Stones Tamerlan.
Transfer: Stones Tamerlan - village Tyup - Karakol town (90 km). We have arrived in Issyk-Kul valley and to the town of Karakol, center Issyk-Kul of area of Kyrgyzstan. Transfer to hotel “Amir”, accommodation, dinner, overnight.
4 Day. A trip to gorge Dzhety-Oguz (39 km). Excursion across Karakol.
Breakfast. Transfer: Karakol - Dzhety-Oguz village - resort Dzhety-Oguz – valley Kok-Zhaiyk (39 km). Walks and excursions by the nature in gorge Dzhety-Oguz. Beautiful gorge with red rocks «Seven bulls» and «The Broken heart». Lunch in yurt. Walk on gorge up to «The Valley flowers». Returning to Karakol. Excursion across Karakol: wooden Dungan mosques, Christian orthodox church, local market. Dinner in local cafe. Overnight in hotel.
5 Day. Karakol - lake Issyk Kul - gorge Grigorevskoe – village Bulan-Sogotu (135 km). Walk on boat on lake Issyk Kul.
Breakfast. After a breakfast on a way we continue excursion and visit museum Przhevalskii. The museum is in 12 kilometers on the north from Karakol, here we shall examine a tomb, a monument and museum to the great traveller of XIX century Nikolay Przhevalskii.
After visiting museum we move on northwest along northern coast of lake Issyk Kul. Following our excursion in gorge Grigorevskoe (115 km). In village Grigorevka we turn aside gorges Grigorevskogo. On the big glade at the river Chong-Aksu, we shall visit yurts shepherds, we take walk in vicinities of gorge.
Transfer: gorge Grigoryevskoe - village Bulan-Sogotu (25 km), arrival in village Bulan-Sogotu, transfer to hotel "Issyk Kul" (Aurora), accommodation. Lunch at restaurant of hotel.
After lunch trip in local yachts-clubs in the town of Cholpon-Ata (22 km) for walk on boat on lake Issyk Kul, walk on lake. Returning in hotel "Issyk Kul" (Aurora). Dinner, overnight in hotel.
6 Day. Bulan-Sogotu - Bishkek (317 km). Excursion on petroglyphs in Cholpon-Ata, and architectural complex Tower Burana.
Breakfast. Transfer: village Bulan-Sogotu - Chpolpon-Ata - petroglyphs (23 km). Excursion on petroglyphs under the town of Cholpon-Ata. Transfer: Cholpon-Ata - village Balykchi - village Tokmok - architectural complex Tower Burana (X - XII c.c.) (222 km), excursion on ruins of ancient city of an empire karakhanids. Transfer to Bishkek (72 km), arrival in Bishkek, transfer to hotel “Climber”, accommodation to hotel, dinner, overnight.
7 Day. Bishkek - Taraz town (298 km). Site of ancient settlement Akyrtas.
Breakfast. Transfer: Bishkek - Check Point «Novovoskresenovka/Chaldavar» (92 km). Passage of formalities of boundary and customs service Kazahsan and Kyrgyzstan.
Transfer: Check Point«Novovoskresenovka/Chaldavar» - Merke village - site of ancient settlement Akyrtasс (248 km). Excursion in museum Akrtas, visiting of site of ancient settlement. In ancient written sources specify, that already in the beginning of XIII century Akyrtas was a legend. Lunch on the way.
Transfer: Akyrtas - Taraz town (50 km), arrival in Taraz, transfer to hotel, accommodation. Excursion on city - visiting of mausoleum Karakhana - Shamsura (XI century), mausoleum Daut-Beka (XIII century), visiting of a history-study museum (in museum more than 30 000 exhibits, in territory of museum are a unique collection in Kazakhstan stone sculptures (XV - X c.c.), a city market. Dinner, overnight in hotel.
8 Day. Taraz - Sairam - Shymkent - Turkestan (424 km).
Breakfast. Transfer: Taraz - Aisha-Bibi village - mausoleums Aisha-Bibi and Babadji-Khatun (18 km). Excursion on monuments of architecture - mausoleums Aisha-Bibi and Babadji-Khatun (XI - XVII c.c.).
Further transfer mausoleum Aisha-Bibi - Aksu village – Sairam village (169 km). Village to Sauran ancient settlement in territory of Southern Kazakhstan. It is located on the river to Sairam-Su in 15 kilometers to the east of city of Shymkent. In the early Middle Ages (IX - XII с.с.) on place Sairam there was a city of Isfidzhab - the center, a part Mavarennakhra.
Excursion on monuments of settlement, visiting masars parents of an outstanding poet and religious mysticism Akhmet Khodja Yassavi Karashash ana (XVIII c.), Ibragim ata (XIII - XIX c.c.), Abdel Aziz Baba (XV - XIX c.c.), Khodja Talig (XIII - XIX c.c.), Mirali Aziz Baba (the end XIX - XX c.c.), medieval minaret Khyzr (XIII - XIX c.c.) .
Transfer to Shymkent (15 km), arrival in Shymkent, lunch in local restaurant. Transfer: - Temirlan village (48 km), visiting of museum Khadji Mukan, an exposition of museum tells about well-known Kazakh fighter Mukan Munaytpasov become by the first world champion on the French wrestling.
Transfer: Temirlan village – Ekpindy village (22 km), excursion of the Red bridge in village Ekpindy on the river Bogen, constructed in 1886. Transfer: Ekpindy village – Tortkol village – haulder village (78 km). Arrival in village Shaulder. Lunch in local cafe.
Excursion in museum «Otrar» where there are archeologic exhibits from excavation of site of ancient settlement Otrar. The termination of excursion, transfer: Shaulder village – Kogam village - site of ancient settlement Otrar (X - XII c.c.) (14 km), visiting of site of ancient settlement Otrar, archeological excavations - a medieval bath, a mosque, inhabited quarter, a fortification.
Transfer: site of ancient settlement Otrar - mausoleum Arstanbab (3 km), visiting of the mausoleum. Transfer to mosque Arstanbab (1 km), visiting of a mosque. Transfer: mosque Arstanbab - Turkestan town (56 km), transfer to hotel, accommodation. Dinner and overnight.
9 Day. Turkestan – Shymkent – Check Point “Zhibek Zholy” – Tashkent (285 km).
Breakfast. After breakfast excursion to Akhmed Yassawi maussoleum complex: gallery of stone statues, arheological museum, historical (cultural reserve) museum “Azaret-Sultan”, gates (Darvaza) (XIX c.), Esimkhan mausoleum  (XVI c.), Rabia Sultan Begim mausoleum (XV c.), Akhmed Yassawi mausoleum (XII - XIV c.c.), “Zhuma” mosque (1878), underground mosque Khilovat (XII-XV c.c.), oriental baths (XV - XVI c.c.). Transfer: Turkestan – Shymkent Check-point “Zhibek-Zholy” (Chernyaevka) (Kazak-Uzbek border) (285 km). ).
After Kazakh border and customs formalities meeting for Uzbek guide on the Uzbekistan border. Border and customs formalities on the Uzbekistan side. Transfer to Tashkent (8 km). Arrival in Tashkent, transfer to hotel, accommodation, overnight.
10 Day. Tashkent.
Breakfast. Full day city tour. Visit Kukeldash Madrassah, Khast Imam Square, consisting of Barak Khan Madrassah, Tilly Sheykh Mosque and Kafal Shashi Mausoleum. Lunch in local restaurant. After lunch continue city tour. Visit to Chorsu market, Peoples Friendship Square, Abul Kasym Madrassah and applied art museum. Dinner and overnight at hotel.
11 Day. Tashkent – Syrdaryo - Gulistan - Djizak - Samarkand (350 km).
Breakfast. After breakfast transfer: Tashkent - Samarkand (350 km). On way - stops for photographing at picturesque scenic markets which are located at road. Arrival in Samarkand, transfer to hotel, accommodation in hotel. Lunch at local restaurant. Walk on the area Registan, survey of the area Registan - ensemble majestic madrasah (XV - XVII в.в.). The ancient market square Registan today from three parties is decorated with majestic buildings: madrasah Ulugbek (1417 - 1420), madrasah Sherdor (1619 - 1636), madrasah Tilly-Kari (1647 - 1660). Dinner and overnght.
12 Day. Samarkand.
Breakfast. After a breakfast full day of excursions across Samarkand. Visiting Gur Emir (on farsi - tomb of emir) - Timur mausoleum and Timurids (XV century), mosques Bibi Khanum (XV century) - huge cathedral mosque, Siab market, Shakhi Zinda - necropolis of the Samarkand governors and the nobility, observatory Ulugbek (1420) - the rests huge (30 m. of height) astrolabes, ruins Afrasiabs and museum with fragments of frescos of VII century. Dinner in the national house. Overnight in hotel.
13 Day. Samarkand - Chirakhi - Shakhrizabs – Karshi – Mubarek - Bukhara (270 km). 
Breakfast. After breakfast transfer in Shakhrizabs (270 km). Arrival in the town of Shahrizabs. Excursion on town, survey Ak Sarai (the White Palace) - years residence Tamerlan (XIV century); Kook Gumbaz (the Blue dome) - the Friday mosque (XV century), constructed Ulugbek for the father, Dorut Tillyavat (the House of calmness) - memorial complex of ancestors Tamerlan. Visiting of crypt Tamerlan - the underground room opened in 1963. Lunch in the national house. Transfer to Bukhara (300 km), accommodation in the hotel. Dinner and overnight.
14 Day. Bukhara.
Breakfast. Full day of excursion across Bukhara, excursion on complex Poi Kalon with minaret Kalyan, madrasah Mir Arab and mosque Kalon Djumi, three markets (Taki Zargaron (1570), or “Jeweller market” Taki Telpak Furushon or “Market of headdresses” and Taki Sarrafon or “Market of currency exchange”, mosque Magok-I-Attori, ensemble Lyabi House consisting from Медресе Nadir Dianbegi, Khanaka Nadir Divanbegi and Madrasah Kukeldahs. Dinner at local restaurant. The folklore program in madrasah Nadir Divan Begi. Overnight in hotel.
15 Day. Bukhara.
Breakfast. After breakfast continue city tour. Visiting of fortress Ark which within many centuries was residence of governors of Bukhara, mosques Bolo Lhauz («The Mosque near to pool») (1712), mausoleum Ismail Samani, complex Chashma Ayb («Jacob's Spring»), summer  palace of last emir - Sitora-I-Mikhi Khosa and Tchor Minor (Four Minarets) (1807). Lunch at local restaurant. Dinner and overnigh.
16 Day. Bukhara – Gazli village – Tortkol village – Beruni town – Urgench – Khiva (450 km).
Breakfast. Transfer: Bukhara – Urgench – Khiva. Drive through Kyzyl Kum desert. Short stop at stroll of Amu Darya river for taking pictures. Arrive in Khiva and transfer to hotel, accommodation, overnight.
17 Day. Khiva.
Breakfast. After breakfast the beginning of excursion in Khiva, visiting of minaret Ichan Kala (inner city). Visiting madrasah Mukhamad Amin of Khan (1852 - 1855), Kelte the Minor («The Short minaret»), Kunya the Arch (The Old Fortress) - the residence of Khivan regents, mausoleum Paklavan Makhmud, madrasah and the Minaret Islam Khodja (1908), Djuma mosques (Friday mosque) (1788), Tosh Khovli (The Stone house), madrasah Ala Khuli Khan (1835), market and caravanserai. Lunch at local restaurant. Dinner and overnight in hotel.
18 Day. Urgench – Check Point “Shavat” (Turkmen\Uzbek border) – village Shavat - Dashoguz – Kunya-Urgench - Ashgabad.
Breakfast. Transfer: Khiva - check point «Shavat» (The Turkmen-Uzbek border) (50 km). Service of formalities of boundary and customs service of Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. The further transfer: check point «Shavat» - town Dashoguz - historical and cultural memorial estate «Kunya-Urgench» (141 km).
Our way lays on northwest from Dashoguz, on desert to monuments of the ancient town of Kunja-Urgench. Visiting of monuments in ancient Kunya-Urgench: mausoleum Nadzmetdina of Kubra (XII - XIII c.c.), the mausoleum of the Mongolian princess Turabek-Khanum (Turabekhhanum, XII - XIV c.c.), minaret Mamun (X - XI c.c.), Kutlug Timur minaret (XII - XIV c.c.), mausoleum Kirk-Molla (II century B.C. - III century of our era), the mausoleum Sultan Ali (1580), mausoleum Tekesha-Khorezmshakh (XII century) with minaret of XIV century, fortress Ak-Kala (Agkala) (I - III c.c.) .
Lunch in Kunya-Urgench. Returning in Dashoguz (94 km). Transfer to the airport of the town of Dashoguza. Flight: Dashoguz - Ashgabad (50 mines). Arrival in Ashgabad, meeting at the airport, transfer to hotel, accommodation in the hotel. Dinner and overnight in the hotel.
19 Day. Ashgabat – Mary.
Breakfast. Transfer to airport for flight to Mary T5 – 127, departure at 07.00, arrival in Mary  07.20, meeting in airport. Transfer: airport of Mary - village Bairam-Ali - the state historical and cultural park «Ancient Merv» (30 km).
Excursion and visiting of architectural monuments of ancient Merv, at once for village Bairam-Ali we visit site of ancient settlement Abdulla-Khan-Kala. Further our way lays to historical and cultural park «Ancient Merv», visiting - citadels Erk-Kala of epoch Akhamenidov site of ancient settlement towers building on monolithic platform, around - adobe wall:  Early medieval fortress Gyaur-Kala with ruins of Buddhist and Christian monasteries, and also two-storeyed locks of grandees: site of ancient settlement Sultan-Kala - capital the Turk-seldjuks, to the west Gyaur-Kala: citadel Shakhriyar-ark with ruins of barracks and palace constructions: the mausoleum of Sultan Sandzhar, Mohammed-ibn-Zeiada mausoleum.
Trip for lunch in local restaurant in town Mary (31 km). After lunch continuation of excursion in ancient Merv. The termination of excursion, trasfer to the airport of town Mary (30 km). Flight to Ashgabad (40 mines). Arrival in Ashgabad, meeting at the airport, trabsfer to hotel. Dinner and overnight.
20 Day. Ashgabad excursions. Visit to Sunday market.
Breakfast. After breakfast visiting of Sunday market "Second-hand market". Returning in city. Lunch at local restaurant. After lunch of excursion on city, visiting: historical and cultural reserve «Nisa - sites of ancient settlement of III century B.C. - III centuries: monument "Memories of victims Ashgabad earthquakes of 1948" of museum Turkmen - based in 1993 in museum are collected some hundreds the best samples of carpets, oldest of which concerns to XVII century, here there is second-largest carpet in the world of manual work - «The Golden Age Great Saparmurad TUrkmenbashi» which area makes almost 301 meters square, and weight - more than ton. Dinner with a folklore concert. Transfer to hotel, overnight.
21 Day. Departure from Ashgabad.
Transfer to airport. Departure from Ashgabat.

Note:
Author program of Alexander Petrov. Copying and introduction -  from the sanction of the author.

Photos by
Alexander Petrov