“The Five Stans” Part 2 of 2 ~The Detailed Itinerary for All Five-Country Visits

• August 26, 2019
• By Pen
• 0 Comment

*Our Five Stan Itinerary*

In Total, we explored:
Kazakhstan 🇰🇿  Kyrgyzstan 🇰🇬 Tajikistan 🇹🇯 Uzbekistan 🇺🇿 Turkmenistan 🇹🇲 

Day 1: Monday, August 19, 2019:
Arrive in Almaty, Kazakhstan (we arrived earlier on the 15th)
*You will be met by our driver *Overnight at the hotel

Day 2: Tuesday, August 20  Almaty, Kazakhstan
….Start sightseeing tour in Almaty. You will visit:         

Panfilov Park
Zenkov Cathedral
Republic Square
Almaty City Museum
….Continue to Chimbulak; 15 miles. Take a ride to the mountain ski resort on the cable car. Enjoy amazing views of the snow peaks and the Tian Shan mountains.
….Later, transfer to Sunkar the Falcon Farm, where you will enjoy a spectacular show, with specially trained hawks.  Hunting with them is one of the most unique features of the Kazakh way of life.  
*Free time*
*Duration: 6 hours

Day 3: Wed, August 21   Almaty, Kazakhstan to Bishkek, Kyrgyzsta….Transfer to Almaty Airport, and fly to Bishkek
*Tour the Oak Park
*Ala-Too Square
*Statue of Manas
*National Museum of Fine Arts
*Philharmonic Hall
*Victory Monument
(bright examples of Soviet architecture)
*Duration of sightseeing tour: 3-4 hours

Day 4: Thursday, August 22 Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan to Burana to Don Aryk, then back to Bishkek – and on to Tashkent, Uzbekistan                           ….Start the trip from Bishkek. Firstly, you will stop at Burana tower. This is a historical complex, which marks the original site of Balasagun, the Karakhanid town
….After, you will watch Kyrgyz national horse game “Ulak Tartysh” (goat pulling). Ulak Tartysh (a.k.a Kok Boru) is a fight between two teams of riders for a goat carcass.
….Transfer to Don Aryk Village, where you will have lunch at the home of a local Kyrgyz family. You will have a chance to watch a demonstration of a putting up a yurt (nomadic dwelling) and even take a part in it, if you wish. A Local Kyrgyz woman will tell the meaning and use of the each part of the yurt.
….Transfer back to Bishkek; 68 miles to Airport for                                                                             evening flight to Tashkent
Duration of sightseeing is around 3-4hours
*Duration of transfers is also 3-4 hours

Day 5: Friday, August 23 Tashkent to Samarkand, Uzbekistan
….Begin Tashkent city tour. You will visit Old City part of Tashkent that includes
Khast-Imam Complex and Chorsu bazar and Chorsu Station Met
….After, continue to the city center to promenade at:
*Amir Timur Square *Independence Square *Applied Arts Museum
….Transfer to railway station. Fast-speed train “Afrosiyob” departs Tashkent, and arrives in Samarkand after 286 miles
*Duration of sightseeing tour: 4-5 hours

Day 6: Saturday, August 24
Samarkand, Uzbekistan to Seven Lakes in Tajikistan ….Transfer from Uzbekistan-Tajikistan border; Jartepa; 31 miles and 1 hour/Customs and passport control on both sides; cross the border ….Meet Tajik local guide and driver.
*Drive to Seven Lakes; 50 miles and 1.5-2h. The Seven Lakes are located in the west of Fann Mountains; each of them has its own color which varies from calming turquoise to mesmerizing purple. ….after lunch at the homestay of a local Tajik family, you will hike to the last lake, called Khoazorchashma
*Overnight in “Homestay” “Jumaboy”guesthouse (Seven lakes); Village Nofin
*Duration of sightseeing is around 3 hours
*Duration of transfers is 2 hours

Day 7: Sunday August, 25 Seven Lakes in Penjikent, to Samarkand, Tajikistan to Bukhara, Uzbekistan
….Drive to Penjikent, a major Sogdian city in the 5th century, destroyed by Arab conquerors in the 8th century.
….Sightseeing in Penjikent: *Rudaki Museum
*Local Bazaar and mosque.
*Duration of sightseeing tour is 2 – 3 hours

Day 8: Monday August 26
Samarkand to Bukhara, Uzbekistan                                                                                                                     ….Start city tour
*Visit spectacular Registan Square
*Gur Emir Mausoleum; authentic shrine of Tamerlane
Remains of:
*Bibi Khanum Mosque
*Shakhi-Zinda Necropolis.
….Drive to Koni Ghil Village to explore traditional way of making Samarkand paper from mulberry                                                                                                                                                                                        ……Early evening, transfer to the railway station. Take “Afrosiyob” train for 270 miles
*Duration of sightseeing tour: 6-7 hours

Day 9: Tuesday, August 27 Bukhara, Uzbekistan
…..Enjoy a walking sightseeing tour with a guide in the Old City.
*Visit Lyabi Hauz Ensemble *Magoki-Attori Mosque
*Chor-Minor morning was oMadrasah, trade domes
*Kalyan Minaret
*Kalyan Mosque
*Miri-Arab Madrasah
*Ulugbek and Abdulazizkhan madrasahs
*Ark Fortress
Bolo-Khauz Mosque
*Ismail Samani Andong *Chashma-Ayub Mausoleums ….In the evening, visit the National Folklore show at Nodira Devon Begi mmadrassah.                         

 *Duration of sightseeing tour is 6-7 hours

Day 10:  Wed, August 28 Bukhara to Mary to Merv Uzbekistan to Ashgabat, Turkmenistan                                                

….Drive to Uzbekistan -Turkmenistan border point Farap to Alat for 62 Miles; 1 hour 30 minutes.
*Go through border formalities at both checkpoints
*Cross the 1,641 yards of neutral zone (transportation may not be available)
*Meet your Turkmenistan guide
….Continue to Merv; 186 miles; 5h 30min to an ancient city that was a major center of international trade and crafts on the Silk Road
….Discover the historical park:
*Sultan Sanjar Mausoleum *Large and Small Gyz Gals
*Erk Gala
*Gyaur Gala
*Keshk Fortress and others
….Transfer to Mary Airport; 24 miles; 30min to get the evening flight to Ashgabat *Duration of sightseeing is around 3 hours
*Duration of transfers is around 6 hours

Day 11: Thursday, August 29
Ashgabat to Darvaza Gas Crater in Turkmenistan                                                   ….Start sightseeing tour in Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan that has recently been noted by the Guinness Book of World Records as having the most white marble-clad buildings in the world.
….During the city tour, you will explore an archeological site of Old Nisa (included in UNESCO World Heritage list) and Spiritual Mosque; one of the biggest mosques in Central Asia
….You will visit:
*The National Museum of History
*Monument of Neutrality
Presidential Square    *Ertugrul Gazi Mosque
*Newly built Independence Park
….In the afternoon, drive to Darvaza gas crater located in the middle of Karakum desert; 173 miles; 4h      

*Arrive at the crater
*Set up the camp
*Enjoy a delicious fire-cooked meal for dinner near the burning gas crater
*Overnight in yurts                                                                                                  *Duration of sightseeing tour is 6 hours

Day 12: Friday, August 30. Darvaza Gas Crater, Turkmenistan to Khiva, Uzbekistan                             

…Drive to Turkmenistan-Uzbekistan border point Dashoguz to Shavat, through Karakym desert; 167 miles; 4h *Go through border formalities at both checkpoints
*Cross 1641 yards of neutral zone (transportation may not be available)
*Meet your Uzbekistan driver
*Continue to Khiva; 37 miles; about 1h
….In the evening enjoy Master class on cooking tukhumbarak (unusual Khiva ravioli stuffed with raw eggs) at national house of Zaravshan-opa ….Duration of tour day: there will be just transfers; around 5 hours in total. From Darvaza gas crater to Turkmen-Uzbek border, then from the border to Khiva.
*In Khiva, you will have free time.
*The border crossing will takes around 1 to 2 hours

Day 13: Saturday, August 31 Khiva to Urgench, Uzbekistan to Tashkent, Uzbekistan
*Start guided walking sightseeing tour
*Spend a day in UNESCO World Heritage site;      

 Ichan-Kala Fortress
….Visit Mukhammad Amin Khan Madrasah   *Mukhammad Rahimkhan Madrasah
*Kalta Minor
*Kunya-Ark
*Juma Mosque
*Toshkhovli Palace    

*Pakhlavan Makhmud *Mausoleum
*Minaret of Islom Khodja ….In the evening you will be transferred to Urgench airport for flight /Tashkent 679 miles; 1h 40min
*Duration of sightseeing tour is 5 hours

Day 14: Sunday, September 1 Tashkent, Uzbekistan departure day
….Transfer from hotel to Tashkent International Airport

*End of the tour*

We flew back to Almaty, Kazakastan to properly catch our breath. We were both pooped! After about five days, we flew into Ulaanbaater, Mongolia 🇲🇳