The Legendary Silk Road

Day 1 Arrival in Almaty

Depending on your flight connection, arrival in Almaty during the day and transfer to your centrally located hotel. Your room is ready for check-in around 3pm.

Day 2 Almaty – "Father of Apples"

Should your flight arrive early in the morning, you will be taken to your comfort hotel, where your room is already ready for check-in. Enjoy your delicious breakfast!

After a morning of relaxation, you will meet your tour guides and fellow travellers in the afternoon. An impressive start to your voyage is a trip to Medeo, where the highest ice-skating rink in the world is located. From here, you take the cable car to a ski resort at 2,200 m and continue to the Talgar peak at 3,200. You enjoy the crisp air and the breath-taking view before ending the day with a welcome dinner.
(BD)

Day 3 Almaty

In the morning, a city tour with Russian Orthodox wooden cathedral, wedding palace, circus and central mosque (from the outside). Lunch at the local yurt restaurant. In the afternoon, your journey with the special train begins. A welcome drink and a short lecture await you on board.
(BLD)

Day 4 At Issyk Kul Lake (Kyrgyzstan)

This morning you will reach the breathtaking Issyk Kul Lake. A visit to the Center of Nomadic Culture will bring you closer before you have time for a walk, or perhaps a small swim in the Issyk Kul. After a boat trip on the Issyk Kul, your train makes its way to Bishkek. (BLD)

Day 5 Bishkek

After breakfast on board you will reach the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek. On a tour, you will discover their numerous sights. With about 100m² of green space per inhabitant, Bishkek is one of the greenest cities in the world! And of course the Ala-Archa National Park is also part of the programme. You spend the night in a comfort hotel in Bishkek. (BLD)

Day 6 Train Day

Enjoy a relaxing day of lectures as your special train travels to Samarkand. (BLD)

Day 7 Samarkand

Today, you will experience the sights of this renowned and historic site, which was known under the rule of Timur as the most beautiful and important city in the world: the burial town of Shah-i-Zinda (“The Living King”), the excavation sites of Afrasiyab (with museum tour) and Registan Square were certainly the most impressive construction ensemble in Central Asia. Registan Square is surrounded by three mighty madrasas. The huge and magnificent portals impressive in terms of decoration and colour. In the background, the domes of the mosques glitter like in the Middle Eastern fairy tale. In 1917, the women of Uzbekistan burned their face veils at this historic site and embarked on a new era. Here in Samarkand you will spend the next two nights in a mid-range hotel. (BLD)

Day 8 Samarkand the Splendid

Today, you visit a silk carpet manufactory and a Uzbek artisan family that makes paper from mulberry tree bark, you will see the Ulugh Beg Observatory and the ruins of the Bibi-Khanym Mosque. The palace-like Gur-i-Amir mausoleum complex can be visited from the inside. It houses the tomb of Timur, who made his capital a paradise as a famous builder, but also went down in history as a feared conqueror. (BLD)

Day 9 Time Travel

After breakfast, your special train will continue on its way. Today, you will see a folklore show of the unique tradition of this region that seems to have fallen out of time. Afterwards you will go to Shahrisabz in the birthplace of Timur. In the evening, you travel with the special train to Duschanbe. (BLD)

Day 10 Dushanbe

After arriving in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, in the morning, you will discover numerous sights on a tour. Among the many parks in the city, a visit to Rudaki Park is a great way to relax in the countryside. In the late afternoon you will return to your special train and head towards Bukhara. (BLD)

Day 11 Noble Bukhara

Located in the middle of the Kyzylkum Desert, Bukhara has about one thousand monuments that recall the glory days of the Great Silk Road. In the old town you can see the almost 50 m high Kalyan minaret and the Lab-i Hauz ensemble at the pond. In front of the Nasreddin monument listen to some of his stories and legends.
In the courtyard of a madrasa you will experience a folklore show with music, local dances and a presentation of colourful national costumes. Overnight at a mid-range hotel in Bukhara. (BLD)

Day 12 The Samanid Mausoleum

Today, you explore Bukhara during a full-day tour. The entire city seems like a large, unique, and authentic architectural museum that has retained its old Middle Eastern countenance. In the morning we will take you to the magnificent Mir-i-Arab and the most valuable building in Central Asia, the Samanid Mausoleum. Then take a tour through the mighty fortress of Ark, a city in the city that was once the seat of government of the rulers of Bukhara. Overnight on board. (BLD)

Day 13 Khiva Fairy Tale from 1001 Nights

Today, visit the Khiva Oasis, from one of the best-known fairy tales from 1001 Nights. You will stand in front of the mighty city wall of Khiva with its gates and bastions of clay bricks, you will think you’ve been transported to another world: Around the Kalta Minor Minaret, life still pulsates today just as it did in ancient times. During a walking tour you can enjoy all the sights: Palaces, mosques, minarets, mausoleums and madrasas form one of the best-preserved ensembles of medieval Middle Eastern town planning. You will spend the night on board. (BLD)

Day 14 Tashkent

In the early afternoon your special train arrives in Tashkent. City tour of Kukeldash Madrasah, the Kavoj and Amir-Timur monuments, and the typical clay houses. After the goodbye dinner, you will spend the night in a mid-range hotel. (BLD)

Day 15 Return

Transfer to airport.

(B) = Breakfast, (L) = Lunch, (D) = Dinner

Encounters with land and people, delicious specialties and pleasant travel in the wagons of the comfortable Orient Silk Road Express on the otherwise difficult to explore Silk Road in Central Asia make you the protagonist of this wonderful fairy tale.

Rates Include

• 7 nights on board the special train in the booked category
• 7 nights in good mid-range and comfort hotels in a double room with bath or shower
• Meals according to the itinerary (B = Breakfast, L = Lunch, D = Dinner)
• Excursion and sightseeing program incl. entrance fees according to the itinerary
• All transfers in the destination area according to the itinerary
• Permanent bilingual tour guide during the train ride in the destination area and English-speaking tour guide for a maximum of 26 guests each
• English speaking local guide
• Doctor on board
• Welcome with traditional folklore at Bukhara and Samarkand train stations
• Visit an Uzbek family
• Vodka and wine tasting

Not Included

• Visa fees
• Invitation letter for Kazakhstan (Please allow a processing time if necessary)
• Gratuities
• International flights
• Personal expense

Entry Requirements

• Passport and visas required
• No vaccinations are prescribed