10 days in Central Asia

Monday. Bishkek – Ala-Archa park (45km / 1hr). Arrival to Bishkek, meeting at the “Manas” airport, transfer to the hotel. In the morning we will have a small city tour. Today we will see National Philharmonic, Government building, Victory monument and Manas monument. This day after having lunch in the town we will have an excursion to the national park of Ala-Archa where we will spend our time seeing a great Kyrgyz nature.

Ala-Archa is translated from Kyrgyz language as “motley juniper”. The gorge got its name due to a great amount of juniper covering its slopes. As different kinds of juniper have different colors and the gorge seems to be very colorful. Here in the gorge we will hike to a beautiful waterfall, have picnic and then drive back to Bishkek for rest.

Tuesday. Bishkek – Issyk-Kul Lake – Karakol (400km / 5.5 hrs). Morning drive to Issyk-Kul Lake by its southern shore. This beautiful alpine lake is considered a sacred place for Kyrgyz people as well as one of the best summer places for rest. On the way, we will see an amazing array of landscape diversity replacing each other with a kaleidoscope. To begin with, we will stop in “Skazka” (fairy-tale) gorge which is decorated with unusual sand characters which seem to appear from different fairytales. Further we will continue the way to the Djeti-Oguz gorge, where we will have lunch in yurts. Djeti-Oguz gorge is located 60 km to the west of the city of Karakol on the northern slopes of the Terskey Ala-Too Range in the homonymous gorge over 40 km long. Djeti-Oguz gorge is one of the most beautiful places in Kyrgyzstan. For almost 25 km on both sides of the gorge the Tien Shan spruce grows, first settling in picturesque groups, and then by continuous forest tracts.

The Djeti-Oguz gorge extends into the wide valley of Kok-Jaiyk, overgrown with spruce forests almost to the very top of the ridge. Above the forest zone (about 3000 m), in a wide valley, about 15 km wide, there are magnificent subalpine and alpine meadows - jailoo. During the spring and the summer Djeti-Oguz gorge turns into a kind of flower holiday, among which you may see the silver stars of Edelweiss flowers, alpine daisies and asters, and nard (golden root). In the Autumn the gorge is being a colorful canvas as it’s covered not only by coniferous forests but also by the leaf trees. Here you will see the huge stone formations called “Seven Bulls” and “Broken heart”. We will overnight in Karakol town in the hotel.

Wednesday. Karakol – Cholpon-Ata (150km / 2hrs). Karakol is the administrative center of the Issyk-Kul region. It is located 12 km from the shore of Lake Issyk-Kul at the foot of the Teskey-AlaToo Ridge. The city has a strict rectangular layout and is buried in the greenery of the gardens. Since it was decided to build a garden city, each developer was charged with planting trees in front of the house. The buildings in this city also looked a little different than in other cities of Central Asia. Until 1887, mainly clay houses were built, but after a strong earthquake, the city began to be built mainly of wooden houses with porches, decorated with rich intricate carvings. Here we will visit the wooden "Church of the Holy Trinity" and the Dungan Mosque, as well as the Przewalski Monument.

After lunch, we will arrive in the city of Cholpon-Ata, where we will visit a unique monument of the Bronze Age - the museum of petroglyphs (ancient rock paintings) under the open sky. We will visit the historical museum of the city and the cultural complex “Rukh-Ordo”, which has a very interesting collection of all the most important world religions. Evening free to wander along the beach or swim in the blue waters of the lake. Dinner and overnight at the hotel.

Thursday. Cholpon-Ata – Bishkek (250km / 3.5 hrs) – Tashkent 21:00-21:20. This morning will be free. Rest on the shore of Issyk-Kul. After lunch you will drive to the capital of Kyrgyzstan – Bishkek. En-route you may visit historical architectural complex of Burana Tower (XI century). On arrival to Bishkek transfer to the airport for your flight to Tashkent. Overnight at Hotel 4*

Friday. Tashkent – Bukhara . Morning transfer to the railway station for the train to Bukhara. On arrival transfer to hotel. Check in. Full day sightseeing in Bukhara: Visit – Lab-i-khauz ensemble, the pool and chaikhana of which is the modern centre of traditional Uzbekistan. Visit Madrassah Nadirkhon Devanbegi, Khanaga, Mogaki Attari mosque, Poi Kalon minaret and mosque, See Madrassahs Aziz Khan and Ulugbek. Visit Hunarmand UNDP Assisted workshops near Lyabikhauz. We see block printing, metal chasing, suzani embroidery, carving and miniature painting. Gold Embroidery Later visit Ark Fortress, Balakhauz mosque, mausoleum of Ismail Samanid, Chashma Ayub. Overnight at Hotel 4*

Saturday. Bukhara. After breakfast half day sightseeing tour in Bukhara: Morning half day excursion to Sitora-i-Mokhikhosa, the summer residence of the former emir of Bukhara where you can see unique mixture of traditional Russian style of architecture harmoniously mixed with local oriental traditions. Famous thrown white hall decorated with carved alabaster resembles halls in Petergof Palace in the suburb of St Petersburg Excursion to Bahauddin Naqshbandi Mausolem famous Sufi spiritual leader of this region in 14th century. Bahouddin Naqshband's cult was highly venerated among folks. The rulers, too, paid a considerable attention to this architectural ensemble. Later drive back to Bukhara. Some free time will be provided for tour own exploration. Overnight at Hotel 4*

Sunday. Bukhara – Shakhrisabz – Samarkand (370 km / 4hrs). Morning drive to Samarkand en route excursion to Shakhrisabz - the birthplace of the Great Amir Temur visit: Ak Saroy Palace ruins, Dorus Tilavat seminary, Kok Gumbaz mosque, Dorus Saidat and the Friday mosque. Continue on to Samarkand with a visit to a family of carpet weavers in a small village en route. Upon arrival check in at your pre booked Hotel. Overnight at Hotel 4*

Monday. Samarkand. Full day city tour of Samarkand to visit: Registan Square which was for many centuries the heart of Samarkand. The word "registan" means "a sandy place", and is derived from the sand left behind after a river running through the region had dried up. See the three beautiful madrassahs: the Ulug-Bek Madrasah built in the fifteenth century; the Tillya-Kori Madrasah built in the seventeenth century; the Sher-Dor Madrasah, also built in the seventeenth century. Visit Gur Emir - another famous point of interest on the tour of Central Asia and of Uzbekistan. The name means "Tomb of the King", and this is the mausoleum of the Asian conqueror Tamerlane and his descendents.

Later see the grandest structure of Amir Temur’s times - the chief Friday Mosque called Bibi-Khanum, the Silk Road bazar nearby. Also visit the Shahi Zinda necropolis. We will also visit wine testing centre at the Central Asia's oldest Hovrenko winery to taste genuine Samarkand wines and brandies. The winery is among one of the outstanding sites of Samarkand. Overnight at Hotel 4*

Tuesday. Samarkand – Tashkent by “Afrosiab” train 17:00-19:15. Morning drive to Konigil village (10 km from Samarkand) to visit a paper-making workshop. For a long time Samarkand has been famous as a center of a high-quality paper manufacture. In the workshop of a talented master you will see how the rind of the mulberry tree turns into a paper.

Return to Samarkand and visit the Shahi Zinda necropolis. Continue our tour with a visit of excavations and museum of the ancient city Afrosiab and Ulugbek’s observatory located in the entrance to Samarkand. Among historical monuments of Samarkand observatory takes particular place, constructed by Ulugbek (Grandson of the Great Amir Temur) in 1428-1429. Late afternoon transfer to the railway station to catch your train to Tashkent. On arrival transfer to hotel. Overnight at Hotel 4*

Wednesday. Tashkent – departure flight. Morning transfer to the airport for your departure flight home. End of service