Cultural tour People of Asia in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan

Destination: Uzbekistan - Kyrgyzstan

Route:  Tashkent – Samarkand – Nurata – Kyzyl-Kum Desert – Bukhara – Tashkent – Bishkek – Issyk Kul Lake – Karakol – Tamga - Bishkek

Best time for journey – May-June, August-September

Duration: 13 days

Group size: maximum 18 pax

Meals:  half board (Russian, Asian, European meal)

Transportation with AC: subject to number of pax – Jeep 4 WD, MB Sprinter, for group size more than 10 pax we will provide the bus for 50 sits.

Guiding: English speaking guide

Itinerary:

Day 1. Arrive Tashkent On arrival transfer to hotel. Morning at leisure

Afternoon Tashkent city tour half day: visit the old town to see Barak Khana Seminary, Tila Shaikh mosque and archives known for the exhibit of a rare copy of Koran written the third Caliph Othman. Later proceed to Chorsu bazaar, Kukeldash Madrassah and Applied Arts Museum

Overnight: Hotel Grand Orzu 3*

Day 2. Tashkent – Samarkand – 330km

Morning transfer to Samarkand.

On arrival half day sightseeing tour in Samarkand:

Visit Registan Square which was for many centuries the heart of Samarkand. The word "registan" means "a sandy place", and is derived from the sand left behind after a river running through the region had dried up. See the three beautiful madrassahs: the Ulug-Bek Madrasah built in the fifteenth century; the Tillya-Kori Madrasah built in the seventeenth century; the Sher-Dor Madrasah, also built in the seventeenth century. Visit Gur Emir - another famous point of interest on the tour of Central Asia and of Uzbekistan. The name means "Tomb of the King", and this is the mausoleum of the Asian conqueror Tamerlane and his descendents. Overnight: Hotel Malika 3*

Day 3. Samarkand

Full day sightseeing in Samarkand: See the grandest structure of Amir Temur's times is the chief Friday Mosque called Bibi-Khanum, the Silk Road bazar and Shahi Zinda necropolis and Silk Road bazaar nearby. Later visit excavations and museum of the ancient city of Afrosiab and Ulugbek's observatory located in the entrance to Samarkand. Among historical monuments of Samarkand observatory takes particular place, constructed by Ulugbek in 1428-1429 on one of the hills on height, at the bottom of Chupanat altitude. Overnight: Hotel Malika 3*

Day 4. Samarkand – Nurata - Desert Camp – 320 km

Day 5. Desert camp – Bukhara – 210 km

Morning camel ride in the desert.

Later drive to Aydarkul lake to have lunch with fresh fish

Transfer to Bukhara en route visit Gijduvan to see local unique ceramic samples and process of it's production. On arrival transfer to hotel. Overnight: Private Boutique Hotel Minzifa

Day 6. Bukhara

Full day sightseeing tour: visit – Lab-i-khauz, Madrassah Nadirkhon. Devanbegi, Khanaga, Mogaki Attari mosque, Poi Kalon minaret and mosque, Madrassahs Aziz Khan and Ulugbek. Afternoon visit Ark Fortress, Balakhauz mosque, mausoleum of Ismail Samanid, Chashma Ayub. Overnight: Private Boutique Hotel Minzifa

Day 7. Bukhara – Tashkent HY-1338 20.50 - 21.50

Half day sightseeing in Bukhara: Continue the visit of Bukhara with the Mausoleum of Bahouddin Naqshband, the Chor Minor and the Necropolis of Chor Bakr. Evening transfer to the airport for flight to Tashkent. Overnight: Hotel Grand Orzu 3*

Day 8. Tashkent – Bishkek

Fly to Bishkek from Tashkent. Check in the Hotel ***. S/S program (visit Osh bazaar, the center part of the city. Full board.

Day 9. Bishkek – Issyk-Kul (250km) (North part of the lake)

Drive to the lake Issyk-Kul. On the way visit Burana Tower.

This tenth-century tower is just outside Tokmok, 13 kilometers from the main road. The word Burana is trough to derive from the Turkic word for minaret, munara. The renovation of tower you see today, banded with intricate brickwork, was completed in 1974. the ruined structure, originally 45 meters tall, was further weakened by Russian settlers, who stripped the tower of bricks as they could reach. The Burana tower marks the original site of the Karakhanid town of Balasagun, founded in 960. The loose-knit Turkic Karakhanid empire sprawled over much of central Asia, covering an area larger than modern India, and had another elegant capital at Maravannahr, now Ozgon, and a Highly cultured and scientific centre at Kashgar. The Silk Routes, sprinting through the valley, deposited a flotsam of trade and knowledge at Balasagun and busy trading town blossomed. Jengis Khan was so impressed by the settlement that he spared Balasagun and renamed it Gobilik (good city) . The fins can be seen in the small museum, which is 9am – 5 am daily.

Check in the hotel ***. Rest on the beach. Full board.

Day 10. Issyk-Kul – Karakol (170 km)

Drive to Karakol. On the way visit Prejevalsky Museum. The museum is located 12km from Karakol. It is situated just on the shore of the great lake. It was built to commemorate the famous Russian traveler and scientist Nikolai Prezhevalski, who dedicated 21 years of his life to the investigation of the Issik-Kul valley and the mountains surrounding the region. He died not far from the place where the museum and the memorial to his honor was built. Check in the Hotel ***.

The Russian Orthodox Cathedral. This pretty little church, built originally of stone in 1872, replaced the new towns first Christian place of worship, a jurt. Destroyed by an earthquake in 1890, a new cathedral was completed in 1895, of wood on a brick base. The ravages of communist secularism stripped the cathedral of its domes. Rebuilding was completed in the early 1990s for deconsecrating in 1991 and 1997. Check in the Hotel or Guest house. Full board.

And in the afternoon visit: Dungan Mosque. This distinctly Chinese building looks bizarrely out of place in Karakol. It is a masterpiece of Dungan architecture, featuring a carved frieze of fine workmanship. Inside its imagery is an eclectic mix, testament to the Dungans pre-Islamic Buddhist past, combining a pomegranate with Buddhist imagery such as the shell and wheel of fire. Completed in 1910 it was built entirely without nails using an uncommon grey-blue brick. Instead of a minaret, the mosque has a wooden pagoda.

Day 11. Karakol – Tamga village (150km) (South part of the lake)

After breakfast drive to Tamga village. On the way visit Jety-Oguz gorge. The Alpine health resort Djety-Oguz lies near the river at the altitude of 2200m.Situated in a picturesque canyon on the Northern slope of the Terskey Ala-Too range about25 km South West of Karakol. It is a lovely place for one day walk and at the same time for many day treks, starting from easy form and up to the hardest. It is the place where you can see the real life of Kyrgyz people. Walking along the gorge, visit nomad's yurt. Picnic there.

Drive to Tamga, check in the Home stay. Rest.

Day 12. Tamga – Bishkek (370km)

Drive to Bishkek along the South part of the lake Issyk-Kul. Check in the Hotel***. Farewell dinner with folk concert.

Day 13. Departure.

The price is:  

2 pax – 1346 Euro p.p.

4 pax – 1039 Euro p.p.

5-10+1 – 998 Euro p.p.

11-16+1 – 938 Euro p.p.

Single supplement – 150 Euro p.p

The above cost includes

Doesn't include: items of personal nature, tips