Tour Title: The Five Stans of the Silk Road
Tour Company: G Adventures
Tour Leaders: IIyas (days 1 to 9), Rustam (days 9 to 22), Eziz (days 22 to 26)
Cities Visited:
1 Kyrgyzstan – Bishkek, Chong-Kemin, Song Kul, Tamga, Karakol
2 Kazakhstan – Saty Village, Almaty
3 Tajikistan – Dushanbe, Gazza Village, Khŭjand
4 Uzbekistan – Tashkent, Samarkand, Nurata, Kyzylkum Desert, Bukhara, Khiva
5 Turkmenistan – Dashoguz, Darvaza, Ashgabat
Countries Visited: Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan
Dates: 09 May 2023 to 03 June 2023 (Duration 26 days)
Tour Type: Classic – Tour Itinerary (PDF)
Journal Entries
Tour Highlights
This was a stunning tour covers a huge area of Central Asia and it’s difficult to cover it all in one post. The tour started in mountain ranges and eventually ended in deserts. On my first night in a desert I recalled earlier throwing snow in Karakol (on day 6) so it was a huge change in environments.
Some highlights including:
– climbing Burana Tower
– holding a majestic eagle
– learning how Yurts are constructed and helping build one
– hiking the beautiful Jeti-Oguz Gorge
– using Soviet era transportation to get to Kolsay Lakes National Park to explore the sunken forest
– hiking in the beautiful Charyn Canyon
– the breathtaking mountains in the Sughd Province
– hiking and exploring Voru Village
– enjoying Registan Square at night and exploring during the day
– singing and dancing under the stars in the Kyzylkum Desert
– seeing the stunning Samanid Mausoleum.
– staying and exploring UNESCO recognised city of Khiva
– experiencing the amazing Darvaza Gas Crater (Gates of Hell)
There where many more highlights, really it was a rare day not to learn something new or have a good or great experience. I learnt a lot more about this region and Muslim religion and its history.
The architecture from ancient (in particular Khiva) to modern (Ashgabat) makes the trip worth it alone. Registan Square (Samarkand) is a must for those who appreciate older architecture at its highest.
Add in the landscape of the region and really Central Asia is an under visited treasure of the world.
Tour Type – Classic
Description: All of the highlights, culture, access, and I-can’t-believe-we-did-that moments, all at a great price.
Tour Leaders
This tour had multiple sections, so we had three Chief Experience Officers (aka Tour Leaders). IIyas (days 1 to 9), Rustam (days 9 to 22), and Eziz (days 22 to 26). The different CEOs had strong experience in the countries and area they were in control of us.
Rustam in particular had a lot of history and stories to share with us when we were in Uzbekistan.
Physical Rating: 3 – Average
Description: Some tours may include light hiking, biking, rafting, or kayaking in addition to walking.
Note: I found the first 9 days to require a higher physical rating of 4 for some of the more difficult hiking (which you can skip). After day 9 this was a physically easy tour.
Currencies
Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan each have their own currencies. The preferred foreign currency to exchange from is US Dollars but Euros are also possible. In Turkmenistan you can even pay at some locations in USD.
Note: Cards (debit and credit) work in all countries except Turkmenistan.
Your CEO will help you exchange money or withdraw money from ATMs when available.
In Turkmenistan our CEO already had envelopes with local currency (Turkmenistani Manat) worth approximately $50 USD worth. Our CEO organised this as 1 USD to 12 Turkmenistani Manat whereas the official Government rate was $1 USD to 3 Manat (ie official value was only 25% of what you get on the black market) so this was a great service.
Entry Visas
As an Australian I didn’t need to organise visas before arrival for the first four countries visited Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, but everyone needs a Visa for Turkmenistan.
While Tajikistan was listed by G as needing a visa before arrival as an Australian staying less than 30 days I could get approval at the border which is what 14 of the 16 in the group did.
The Turkmenistan Visa requires G Adventures to organise a letter of invitation (LOI) to visit, to do so G will need several documents in advance, notably COVID vaccination record and copy of your passport. The paperwork is submitted 40 days before entry, while the LOI isn’t an official visa I’m told they have never had anyone rejected after getting this back. At the Turkmenistan border the costs you pay (in cash not by card and MUST be USD) for most are $80 USD for the Visa and $30 USD for the COVID test. UK citizens had to pay $110 USD for their Visa.
Tour Members
This tour had several components so we had tour members joining an leaving at different points. The maximum number at any one time was 16, and the lowest was 6 (for Turkmenistan) with 4 members going from the start to the end.
Leg 1 (Days 1 to 14) – 16 members
Alicia, Andy, Adam, Anne, Rhonda, Birgitta, Mara, Glen, Sue, William, Michael, Ingrid, Nathan, Carmel, Amy, John
Left: Day 9 – Birgitta, Day 14 – Alicia, Andy, Adam, Anne, Sue, Carmel, John
Leg 2 (Days 14 to 21) – 16 members
Joined: Mark, Calum, Kyle, Judith, Brenda, Rene, Nancy, Leta
Left: Day 21 – Mark, Calum, Judith, Brenda, Rene, Leta
Leg 3 (Days 21 to 26) – 6 members
Amy, Nathan, Ingrid, Michael, Kyle and Nancy
Note: There is a bit of walking on this tour during leg 1 (days 1 to 14) so individuals with any movement restrictions should probably not book this trip unless they are willing to miss some activities.
Included Activities
- Yurt stays: Song Köl (Kyrgyzstan – mountain stay), Aydar Kŭl Camp (Uzbekistan – semi desert), Daravaz (Turkmenistan – desert stay)
- Your Local Living Moment: Tamga Village Stay, Tamga
- Your G for Good Moment: Çöp(m)adam Visit, Ayvalık
- Half-day city tour (Bishkek)
- Burana Tower visit (Bishkek)
- Przhevalsky Museum visit (Karakol)
- Yurt building presentation (Kizil Tuu)
- Saty Village stay
- City tour (Almaty)
- Charyn Canyon Visit
- City tour (Dushanbe)
- Waterfall hike (Kŭli Iskandarkŭl)
- City tour (Khujand)
- Mug Yepe Visit (Istaravshan)
- Market visit (Khujand)
- City tour (Samarkand)
- Walking tour (Bukhara)
- Chashma Complex and Holy Spring Visit (Nurata)
- Fortress of Alexander the Great visit (Nurata)
- City tour (Bukhara)
- Khiva Ancient City tour
- City tour (Tashkent)
- Felt-making workshop visit
- Guided Hikes
- Daravaz gas crater (“Door to Hell”) visit
- Erbent visit
- City tour (Ashgabat)
Accommodation
Bishkek – Grand Hotel Bishkek
Fast wifi, beautiful large room, expansive breakfast.
Chong-Kemin – Kemin Guest House
Almost like a hotel stay, nice room with ensuite attached. Fast wifi. Dinner and breakfast provided on site. Great views.
Song Kul – Almaluu Yurt Camp
Comfortable Yurts (bigger more stable tents). Dinner and lunch was very nourishing. Clean toilets. No wifi, limited power on site.
Tamga – Anyutaika Guesthouse
Similar to a hotel stay, nice room with shower facilities. Good included breakfast.
Karakol – Caravan Hotel Karakol
Business style hotel. Reasonable included breakfast. Very slow wifi. Extremely high laundry option.
Saty Village Guest House
Modest but clean and nice room with shower facilities attached. Very fast internet. Very good included dinner and breakfast. Lovely views.
Almaty – Hotel Kazzhol Almaty
Large and modern hotel. Well appointed room with free bottle of water and good internet/wifi. Massive buffet breakfast included. Nearby supermarket.
Dushanbe – Atlas Hotel
Modern hotel. 24 hour dinning room. Fast internet. Small lifts (maximum 3 people better 2). Great included breakfast. Pool onsite (didn’t use).
Homestay Gazza Village
Nice new guesthouse with 5 rooms all multi share either 3 single beds or 4 single beds. Shower facilities in each room. No internet. On-site dinning room. Basic breakfast included. Laundry offered but clothes not dried by check out time.
Khŭjand – Sugdiyon Hotel
Good location. Good rooms. Shower pressure was weak. Internet extremely slow to non useable. Walking distance to nice areas.
Tashkent – Alpha Plaza Hotel
Very nice medium size hotel. Comfortable rooms. Fast internet. Good buffet breakfast.
Samarkand – Zarina Hotel
Nice modest rooms with ensuite and mini fridge. Small pool onsite. Very close to Registan Square. Variable wifi speeds, can backup photos during the night.
Kyzylkum Desert – Yurt Camp Stay Aidarkul
Nice basic yurt accommodation in a semi desert location. The Yurt’s had a light and a few power outlets. Breakfast and dinner were provided by local hosts which was fulling. Awesome evening singing and dancing to local music under the stars by a fire.
Bukhara – Hotel As-Salam
Very nice boutique hotel on the edge of the ancient city (ideal). Fast internet, laundry service offered (very expensive but good). Very helpful and friendly staff. Full buffet breakfast included.
Khiva – Hotel Grand Vizir
Very grand looking hotel with excellent rooms and free included wifi. Included breakfast let down the feel of the hotel. You could pay to use a small indoor pool. Gym access is free.
Dashoguz – Hotel Dashoguz
Nice looking hotel but in a remote area. Slow internet (due to Government restrictions). Included breakfast had only limited breakfast options.
Darwaza Yurt Camping
Excellent location, walking distance to Gas Crater. The Yurt was comfortable and had either 2 or 3 beds (I got Yurt to myself). Included dinner and breakfast was outstanding for such a remote location.
Ashgabat – Ak Altyn Hotel
Reasonable looking hotel. Include breakfast was okay. Air conditioning still left room slightly warm. Room was large and include a fridge but was a little run down. Wifi cost $10 local currency ($1USD) considering over 60% plus of what I used was blocked by Government is line ball on paying for access. Nice pool but a little crowded with local children buying access.
Laundry
Almost every hotel we stayed at offered a laundry service (obviously not including Yurts), some are very cheap others very expensive. Usually the higher the rating of the accommodation the higher the cost. If you are nearing a time to do laundry and its cheap use the service. All items were always returned fresh and clean. just avoid the Homestay Gazza Village as they got overloaded by the group and clothes were not fully dry at the end.
Summary
This is a longer tour and at times is very full on with activities and experiences but it sure is worth it. A lot of people have concerns about this relatively unknown region, especially since they might know about two of the other ‘Stans in Afghanistan or Pakistan, or know this region is close to Iran and Russia. But what I experienced was very welcoming and friendly people who were happy to have visitors.
In Turkmenistan in particular locals went out of their way to help us and treat us as guests.
If you are interested in history, religion, landscapes, or architecture this is the tour for you. If you are interested in partying or just relaxing it’s probably not a good fit.
Nathan's Insights 
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