Tashkent to Ashgabat

Tashkent to Ashgabat

Travel into desert landscapes heavy with romance and mysticism on this 10-day journey through Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. Watch the sun set over Technicolour minarets in Khiva, learn about life in a desert settlement in Yerbent and revel in the eastern-futurism of Ashgabat. Step off the beaten track and onto the ancient Silk Road in this revelatory tour through ancient lands.

Activities

• Khiva – Pahlavon Mahmud Mausoleum
• Khiva – Kuhna Ark
• Khiva – Islom Hoja Minaret & Medressa
• Khiva – Juma Mosque
• Khiva – Tosh-Hovli Palace
• Darvaza – “Door to Hell” Crater
• Konye-Urgench – City tour
• Yerbent – Village visit
• Ashgabat – National Museum of Turkmenistan
• Ashgabat – Nisa ruins
• Ashgabat – Anau ruins
• Ashgabat – Independence Monument
• Ashgabat – Neutrality Arch
• Ashgabat – Turkmenbashy Ruhi Mosque & Family Mausoleum of the First President of Turkmenistan
• Ashgabat – Ertugrul Gazi Mosque
• Merv – Big & Small Kizkala
• Merv – Erk Kala & Gayur Kala
• Merv – Sultan Sanjar Mausoleum

Highlights

• This incredible journey takes you through parts of Central Asia that few people can find on a map, let alone have considered travelling to.
• Steeped in Silk Road history and immortalised in many great tales, the UNESCO-protected town of Khiva is as photogenic as it is legendary.
• Explore the sprawling ruins of Mary, Merv and other ancient kingdoms and contemplate the remnants of empires that once ruled these vast lands.
• Witness the eternal flames of the Darvaza Crater, aka the ‘Door to Hell’ as you camp nearby – one of the strangest, most mesmerising geological oddities on earth.
• Ashgabat rose from the devastation of an earthquake in 1948 and has enjoyed a surreal and futuristic makeover – witness its often bizarre, but certainly memorable architecture on a city tour.