Common dishes in the region include shish-kebabs and plov (rice usually with mutton, onions, carrots, spices, raisins and peas). The kebabs can be from different meats, including lamb and beef, while plov is a rice-based dish (variants elsewhere are known as pilaf or pilau rice).

Another main staple is bread, especially in Uzbekistan where it is freshly baked and sold everywhere; in Turkmenistan, churek is a flat, round bread baked in clay ovens. Other traditional dishes include chorba, a meat and vegetable soup; manty, steamed dumplings filled with lamb; qu’urma, a lamb dish; ichlekli, a meat and onion pie; and gutap, a pie filled with meat, potatoes, spinach and pumpkin. There are normally a couple of opportunities to try home-cooked meals. Tea is also plentiful, both black and green, and drunk with most meals and throughout the day.

Please note, vegetarian food choices are limited. If you are vegetarian or have any special dietary requirements, please notify us well in advance. In this region, the availability of certain specialised products for restricted diets, eg gluten-free or dairy-free, is minimal or non-existent and we strongly recommend you bring such specialised dietary items from home.

Drinking water is included and where possible will be provided in large containers for you to refill your bottle from – please bring a reusable bottle with you.

Visit Uzgen’s Karakhanid minaret and adjoining brick mausoleums, whose patterned facades narrate a golden chapter of medieval Ferghana. Your leader interprets inscriptions and motifs that link courtly patronage to the caravan trade.

At the local market, explore stalls piled with spices and devzira rice, the aromatic grain behind celebrated Uzbek plov. This compact stop balances architectural detail with living culinary traditions along one of Central Asia’s oldest corridors.

Visit the 11th-century Burana Tower, a Karakhanid minaret rising from the ruins of medieval Balasagun. Those who wish can climb the steep interior stair for sweeping views across the Chuy Valley’s fields and foothills.

Explore the small site museum and outdoor exhibits of balbal stone figures, petroglyphs and foundations of mausoleums. The ensemble places Central Asia’s early Islamic architecture within a living landscape, where caravan routes once threaded between orchards and distant passes.

Survey Turkmenistan’s past at the National Museum, where artefacts from Merv and Nisa connect Bronze Age settlements to medieval polities and desert trade routes. Curators highlight coins, ceramics and statuary that bridge eras.

Nearby, step into the Ertogrul Gazi Mosque, an Ottoman-inspired sanctuary whose white facades and four minarets contrast with the capital’s futuristic skyline. The pairing sets archaeology beside living faith in the modern city.

Ride high above Almaty to glide by cable car over the spruce-lined slopes of Medeu and the ski runs that climb into the Zailiysky Alatau range. Pause to view the city’s mudflow defences and the legendary high-altitude skating rink nestled in a dramatic glacial valley.

Later, soar to Kok-Tobe Hill for sweeping views across Almaty and the steppe beyond. The crisp mountain air and broad skyline offer superb vantage points to pause for photos and reflection on the region’s meeting of alpine nature and urban energy.

Explore the wind-carved galleries of Charyn Canyon, where ochre ramparts and hoodoos line the course of the Charyn River. Wander marked viewpoints and take a gentle walk for close-up textures of rock, sage and steppe light in a landscape often compared to Utah’s canyon country.

From the “Moon Canyon” spurs to silent side gorges, the scenery reveals the slow choreography of erosion. Expect sculpted cliffs, misty mountain passes on the horizon, and time to pause for photos and reflection amid the silence of the Kazakh badlands.

Walk Karakol’s wide, Tsarist-era streets to join a guided panoramic tour of its multi-faith landmarks. Admire the nail-free, Chinese-styled Dungan Mosque and the log-built Holy Trinity Russian Orthodox Church whose painted iconostasis glows with local craftsmanship.

At the bustling bazaar, traders hawk nuts, spices and mountain honey. Your leader shares how merchants, settlers and nomads shaped this Issyk-Kul crossroads, where timber architecture and communal courtyards preserve the atmosphere of a frontier town on the Silk Road’s rim.

Skirt the cobalt waters of Issyk-Kul to witness a traditional eagle-hunting demonstration in Bokonbaev. Learn how berkutchi train golden eagles, the craft’s role in nomadic life, and the precise signals between handler and bird.

Continue to Kyzyl-Tuu village to watch artisans assemble a yurt’s wooden frame, steam-bending lattice and crown in time-honoured fashion. Against a mountain backdrop, this cultural double-bill reveals Kyrgyz heritage through skilled hands, close partnerships with animals, and portable homes designed for the open steppe.

Set out to join a guided panoramic tour of Kyrgyzstan’s leafy capital. Stand on Ala-Too Square amid marble-clad ministries and civic monuments, then stroll the irrigation-lined avenues where shade trees cool the city grid.

Call at the State History Museum and National Museum of Fine Arts to connect nomadic heritage with socialist-era iconography. In Oak Park, sculpture and quiet paths add a contemplative note to a city where mountain views and modern life meet.

Walk through the ancient groves of the Arslanbob walnut forest, believed to be among the world’s largest. Follow gentle village paths and orchard tracks with views of limestone ridges and terraced fields.

During the outing, pause for a simple picnic and stories of how seasonal harvests, traditional irrigation, and transhumance shape local life. The scent of crushed leaves and the click of shepherds’ staffs bring an alpine rhythm to this Fergana Valley foothold.

Ascend Sulayman-Too Sacred Mountain, a UNESCO-listed pilgrimage site rising over Osh. A paved path and steps lead to panoramic viewpoints over the city and the Fergana Valley’s cultivated patchwork.

Visit the small cave museum to learn why saints, scholars and travellers have venerated this limestone outcrop for centuries. Rock niches, wish ribbons and distant call-to-prayer combine into a resonant portrait of faith on the Silk Road’s spine.

Step inside a working atelier to see ikat silk come to life, from mulberry cocoons to hand-tied resist patterns and natural dyes. Craftspeople guide you through pattern design, warping, and the rhythmic shuttle of the loom.

Margilan’s workshops preserve techniques that once clothed khans and merchants. The soft rustle of fabric and bright skeins reveal how Central Asian atlas and adras textiles continue to define regional identity and pride.

Meet master potters in Rishtan, famed for tableware glazed with the turquoise-green hues of local ishkor. Watch wheel-throwing, carving and the brushwork of pomegranate and floral motifs that recur across Ferghana homes.

As kilns fire and shelves fill, discuss clay sources and centuries-old exchanges along the Silk Road. This hands-on look at living craftsmanship offers the chance to handle pieces fresh from the studio and understand the heritage behind their glow.

Explore the ornate halls of Khudoyar-Khan’s Palace, where painted ceilings and carved portals reflect Kokand’s 19th-century ascendancy. Your visit continues to Norbuta-Biy Madrassah and Modari Khan’s mausoleum, weaving together scholarship, power and piety.

From palace courtyards to tiled facades, the ensemble illustrates how the Kokand Khanate asserted style and sovereignty on the cusp of Russian imperial expansion, leaving a distinctive architectural signature across the Ferghana oasis.

Discover Khujand’s layered past at the Fortress Museum of Archaeology, where finds trace routes from Alexander to the Samanids. Visit the Sheikh Muslihiddin Mosque complex before wading into the colour and clamour of Payshanba Bazaar.

Stalls brim with melons, walnuts and zestful spices, while domed halls echo the footsteps of traders. If time permits, pass by the neoclassical Arbob Palace, a reminder of early Soviet ambition amid orchards and canals.

Stroll Istaravshan’s old quarter—known for knife-making and woodcarving—to meet artisans in their workshops. Under mudbrick arches, you’ll see how steel is tempered and handles are inlaid with horn and bone.

In the local bazaar, fruit sellers and spice merchants animate lanes planned since Sogdian and Persian times. The close-knit lanes, domed stalls and courtyards sketch a small but telling chapter of Tajik town life on a historic route.

Head into the Shing Valley to explore the Seven Lakes, where mineral-rich waters shift from jade to cobalt. Walk along lakeside paths toward Hazorchashma, taking in scree slopes, junipers and stone hamlets tucked against the hills.

A simple picnic and village encounters reveal mountain rhythms: spring torrents, summer pastures and winter quiet. It’s a day of Alpine light and reflection pools in the storied Fann range.

Walk the excavated streets of Ancient Penjikent, a Sogdian city of merchants, citadels and Zoroastrian fire temples. Mudbrick walls, street plans and fresco fragments hint at a cosmopolitan centre lost after the Arab conquests.

At the Museum of Rudaki, discover the life and verses of the Persian poet born nearby, placing Penjikent within a literary heritage that still shapes language and identity from Tajikistan to Iran.

Visit Sarazm, a UNESCO-listed settlement dating back more than five millennia. Among protective shelters, learn how early farmers and metallurgists built one of Central Asia’s earliest townscapes, long before the Silk Road thrived.

Artifacts and site plans sketch trade in obsidian, copper and tin, revealing a deep-time crossroads on the Zarafshan plain. The low walls and platformed rooms are quiet, but the story they tell is vast.

Stand in the heart of Samarkand at Registan Square, framed by the madrasahs of Ulugh Beg, Sher-Dor and Tilya-Kori, their facades alive with turquoise domes and starry mosaics. Your leader unpacks the astronomy, theology and power encoded in these portals.

Continue to Gur-Emir Mausoleum, where Timur rests beneath carved onyx and a shimmering ribbed dome. Here, Timurid ambition and artistry meet in an intimate, contemplative space of dynastic memory.

Walk the glazed-ceramic corridor of Shah-i-Zinda, a hillside chain of mausoleums whose lapis and teal tiles glow even in shade. Each portal reveals calligraphy and floral arabesques of remarkable delicacy.

Nearby, step into the courtyards of the once-colossal Bibi-Khanym Mosque, restored in fragments that still convey its scale. The interplay of ruin and revival frames Samarkand’s enduring role as a pole of Islamic learning and art.

Visit the 15th-century Ulugh Beg Observatory to see the remnant of a vast sextant and hear how a scholar-king mapped the skies with startling precision. The site anchors Samarkand’s blend of science and statecraft.

At the lively Siab Bazaar, sample the scent of non bread and dried apricots before a stop at a paper workshop where mulberry bark becomes smooth sheets. The craft connects today’s artisans to manuscripts that once filled Timurid libraries.

Wander through Sitorai-Mokhi-Khosa, the emirs’ summer retreat where painted salons, mirrored niches and filigreed woodwork mix Central Asian aesthetics with Russian influence. Halls and courtyards reveal a taste for spectacle and seclusion.

From porcelain displays to lacquered ceilings, the palace presents a late royal world at ease, poised between tradition and empire. Gardens, pools and pavilions set a languid rhythm away from the bustle of Bukhara’s old town.

Enter the clay ramparts of the Ark Fortress, Bukhara’s royal citadel where khans ruled and caravans paid tribute. Nearby, the brick-banded Samanid Mausoleum showcases early Islamic geometry in perfect, compact form.

Visit Chashma Ayub (“Job’s Spring”), a shrine built over a sacred source, to explore the city’s blend of folklore and faith. Together, these sites capture Bukhara’s 1,000-year arc of authority, artistry and devotion.

Stand within the vast courtyard of the Kalyan Mosque and take in the brick latticework and domed arcades that ring this sacred space. Gaze up at the Kalyan Minaret, the 12th-century “Tower of Death” spared even by Genghis Khan.

Across the square, the Miri-Arab Madrassah anchors living scholarship. The ensemble evokes medieval Bukhara at its contemplative height, where prayer, teaching and civic pride converged.

Unwind by the mulberry-shaded pool of Lyabi-Hauz, a 17th-century oasis ringed by khanakas and caravanserais. Teahouses ripple with conversation as locals linger over green tea and samsa.

Nearby, the brick bulk of Kukeldash Madrassah and the ornamented Nadir Divan-Begi structures present Bukhara’s urban theatre at a human scale—a place to watch city life flow as it has for centuries.

Traverse the Kyzylkum to climb the ramparts of Ayaz-Qala, a windswept stronghold guarding the Khorezm oasis. From the walls, survey dunescapes and salt flats that once hid canals, fields and frontier watchposts.

The fort’s mudbrick battlements and eroded bastions evoke borderlands defended by horseback archers and merchants under wide skies—an arid stage for empire and trade on the Amu Darya’s northern reach.

Enter the walled city of Itchan Kala to stand by the tiled base of the Kalta Minor, then step through the courtyards of the Kunya-Ark, residence of the khans. The blue-domed mausoleum of Pakhlavan Makhmud adds a serene, devotional counterpoint.

Tilework glints, carved columns creak, and alleys reveal woodcarvers at work. This curated walk frames Khiva as a compact time capsule where craftsmanship, faith and authority still shape the urban stage.

Step into the cool interior of Juma Mosque, its roof borne by 218 carved pillars—some ancient, some newly hewn. Climb (if open) the Islam Khoja Minaret for a city panorama of domes and mud-plastered lanes.

At Tash Khauli Palace, examine tile-clad harems and festooned reception halls that speak to royal ceremony and domestic etiquette. The trio shows Khiva’s range—from communal prayer hall to vertical landmark to palatial art.

Roam the scattered monuments of Kunya-Urgench, medieval Khorezm’s onetime capital. The slender Kutlug-Timur Minaret rises over mausoleums attributed to sultans and Sufi masters, hinting at a city once famed across Persia and India.

Brickwork patterns, stalactite cornices and austere domes speak of architectural ideas that travelled with conquerors and craftsmen. In this open-air archive, silence and horizon are part of the experience.

Meet the legendary Akhal-Teke horses, celebrated for their metallic sheen and endurance. Handlers introduce the breed’s lineage, training and role in Turkmen identity, often tracing stories to caravan guards and royal stables.

Up close, observe the fine coat and long, graceful lines that define the “golden horses of the steppe.” This is a proud encounter with a living emblem of national heritage and horsemanship.

Traverse Ancient Merv, from the walled ovals of Erk and Gyaur Kala to the monumental Mausoleum of Sultan Sanjar. Vast earthen ramparts and crumbling towers sketch a metropolis that astonished medieval travellers.

Back in Mary, view the Juma Mosque and a small Orthodox church to sense the region’s pluralist fabric. The day contrasts imperial scale with contemporary town life on the edge of the Karakum.

Survey the capital’s emblematic sites, from the gleaming Turkmenbashi Ruhy Mosque to the Neutrality Arch and Independence Park. Broad avenues, marble facades and fountains stage a city rebuilt with theatrical ambition.

Pausing by the Earthquake Memorial and monumental statues, trace the narrative of disaster, recovery and statehood that shapes Ashgabat’s skyline. A viewpoint near the Wedding Palace offers a wide-angle finale of white stone and gold trim.

Explore the mudbrick ramparts and vaulted halls of Nisa, a UNESCO-listed Parthian capital. Excavated storerooms and audience spaces hint at banquets, diplomacy and worship in a cosmopolitan court 2,000 years ago.

Amid shattered wine rhyta and column bases, your leader links Nisa’s power to trade flowing between Iran and Central Asia. The echoing fortress channels an empire that once matched Rome.

Take an evening circuit to see Ashgabat lit up after dark, when white marble, gilded domes and fountains turn theatrical under spotlights. Landmarks from the Alem Ferris Wheel to monumental arches glow against the desert sky.

This short drive reframes the daytime city as a luminous stage set, inviting you to photograph reflections, neon hues and symmetrical vistas that define the capital’s nocturnal personality.

Gather to meet your Tour Director and fellow travellers over a hosted Kazakh dinner. Sample dishes such as beshbarmak, grilled kebabs and pillowy baursak, alongside salads, pickles and fragrant tea poured in generous tradition.

Between toasts and introductions, hear an overview of the route from the Tien Shan to the Karakum. The evening sets a convivial tone, pairing regional flavours with stories of Silk Road exchange and contemporary Central Asian hospitality.

Join a guided panoramic tour of Almaty, framed by the snow-lined Tien Shan. Stroll the leafy promenades of Panfilov Park to see its moving war memorial and the wooden Ascension (Zenkov) Cathedral, built without nails. Continue past Republic Square and the city’s grand boulevards that echo its late–Imperial and Soviet chapters.

Visit national history collections and the intimate Museum of Folk Musical Instruments to hear stories of the dombra and kobyz. This orientation blends architecture, memory and music, tracing Almaty’s evolution from Russian Turkestan to Soviet Almaty and today’s cultural capital.