15-day special train tour on the Orient Silk Road Express through Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan

starting at 0 €

Upon arrival in Aktau, you’ll check into your centrally located comfort hotel. In the morning, you’ll drive to a necropolis in a desert-like setting that’s virtually unknown in the West and rarely visited by international guests! This excursion is followed by a city tour of this somewhat quirky city—despite having 200,000 residents, there are no street names! A stroll through the city ends at one of the small sandy beaches, where you’ll stop for a drink at a local pub. You’ll spend the night at the comfortable hotel in Aktau. (MA)

In the morning, you’ll take a trip through the region’s spectacular natural landscape, including the Valley of the Balls, the legendary Mount Sherkala, and the Jurassic clay formations of Kokkala with their prehistoric rock formations dating back to the age of the dinosaurs. This afternoon, you’ll board your special train, the Orient Silk Road Express: Over a hearty Kazakh tea party, you’ll feast on traditional nomadic snacks. You’ll spend the night in your compartment on board as your train continues across the border into Uzbekistan. (FLA)

In the morning, you’ll take a bus tour from Kungrad. After a drive of about 90 km, you’ll reach Mujnjak, once the most famous fishing port in the USSR. From the panoramic hill, you’ll look out over parched sandy plains stretching to the horizon and the eerie ship graveyard. Your tour guide will explain the former state of the lake and the scientific reasons behind the drying up of the once-mighty Aral Sea. You’ll spend the next two nights in your compartment on the Orient Silk Road Express. (FMA)

Today you’ll visit the oasis of Khiva—a fairy tale from *One Thousand and One Nights* turned to stone! Standing before Khiva’s imposing city walls, with their gates and bastions made of mud bricks, you’ll feel as if you’ve been transported to another world. Life around the Kalta Minor Minaret still pulsates today just as it did in days of old. On a walking tour, you can take in all the sights: palaces, mosques, minarets, mausoleums, and madrasas come together to form one of the best-preserved examples of medieval Oriental urban architecture. (FMA)

Located in the heart of the Kysylkum Desert, the city boasts around a thousand historical monuments that serve as reminders of the heyday of the Great Silk Road. Exotic spices, furs, and—above all—silk fabrics were stored and traded in the caravanserais back then. In the Old Town, you’ll see, among other things, the nearly 50-meter-high Kaljan Minaret and the Labi-Hauz complex by the pond. In front of the monument to Nasreddin on his donkey—the region’s equivalent of Till Eulenspiegel—you’ll listen to some of his tall tales and legends. In the courtyard of a madrasah, you’ll experience a traditional artistic performance featuring musical accompaniment, local dances, and a display of colorful national costumes. Tonight you’ll stay at a mid-range hotel in Bukhara. (FMA)

If you booked the excursion package today, you’ll experience the city as part of a full-day sightseeing program that includes lunch. The city of Bukhara—also known as Sharif (the Noble)—presents itself as a vast, unique, and authentic architectural museum that has preserved and maintained its ancient Oriental character. In the morning, we’ll take you to the magnificent Mire-e-Arab Madrasah and to the most beautiful and valuable structure in Central Asia, the Samanid Mausoleum. Afterward, you’ll take a tour of the imposing Ark Fortress, a city within a city that was once the seat of government for the rulers of Bukhara. There, you’ll see the Coronation Hall and then visit the summer residence of the last emir, with its incomparable alabaster decorations and a colorful blend of Japanese, French, Russian, and Oriental stylistic elements. You’ll spend the night on your special train as it sets off for Shahrisab. (FA)

An artistic performance will give you a glimpse into the unique traditions of a region that seems to have been left behind by time. Afterward, you’ll travel to Shahrisabz, the birthplace of the feared ruler Tamerlane, to whom none other than Edgar Allan Poe dedicated one of his most famous poems. In the evening, you’ll depart for Samarkand on your special train. (FMA)

Today you’ll explore the sights of this historic city, which under Tamerlane was considered the most beautiful and important city in the world: the burial city of Shah-e-Sende (which, ironically, means “the living Shah”), the archaeological sites of Afrosiab (including a guided museum tour), and Registan Square, undoubtedly the most impressive architectural complex in Central Asia. The Registan is surrounded by three imposing madrasas. The huge ceremonial portals are striking in their ornamentation and colors. In the background, the domes of the mosques glisten like something out of an Oriental fairy tale. In 1917, at this historic site, the women of Uzbekistan burned their face veils and set out on the path to a new era. You will spend the next two nights at a hotel in Samarkand. (FMA)

Today you have free time. If you’ve booked the excursion package, you’ll visit a silk carpet workshop and an Uzbek artisan family that makes paper from mulberry bark, and see the Ulug Beg Observatory and the ruins of the Bibi Khanum Mosque. You’ll tour the interior of the palace-like Gur-e Amir Mausoleum. It houses the tomb of the man who, as a famous builder, turned his capital into a paradise of the East, but who also went down in history as a feared conqueror. (FA)

After breakfast, your train will continue on to Tashkent, where you’ll explore the city on a guided tour. A green oasis in the steppe awaits you! Highlights include the Kukeldash Madrasah, the Navoi and Amir Timur monuments, and the traditional mud-brick houses. Tonight you’ll stay at a comfortable hotel in Tashkent. (FMA)

After breakfast, your special train will set off toward Kyrgyzstan. Enjoy a relaxing day on the Orient Silk Road Express and listen to the fascinating presentations on board! (FMA)

After breakfast, your special train will set off for the breathtaking Lake Issyk-Kul. A visit to the Center for Nomadic Culture will give you insight into their unique way of life before you have time for a walk along (or perhaps even a quick dip in?) Lake Issyk-Kul. After a boat tour on the lake, you’ll board the train again as it embarks on the final leg of your journey—on to Bishkek. (FMA)

After breakfast on board, you’ll arrive in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, and discover its many sights on a sightseeing tour. With about 100 m² of green space per resident, Bishkek is one of the greenest cities in the world! And, of course, Ala-Artscha National Park, with its impressive high-mountain panoramas, is also part of the itinerary. Tonight you’ll stay in Bishkek at a comfortable hotel. (FMA)

Today, your journey along the Central Asian Silk Road comes to an end with your return flight from Bishkek to Germany.