Travel styles
Culture & history
Silk Road cities, living crafts and the stories behind the monuments.
Central Asia’s great draw is the human story of the Silk Road: cities of tiled madrasahs, bazaars that have traded for centuries and crafts still handed down in families. A cultural journey here is about more than ticking off monuments.
We pace these trips to leave time for a master potter in Rishtan, a silk workshop in Margilan, tea with a family in Khiva or a long evening at Lyabi-Hauz in Bukhara.
- Tours in this style
- 12
- Best season
- Varies by region
Tours
Culture & history itineraries
Pearl of the Orient: classic Uzbekistan in 9 days
Tashkent → Khiva → Bukhara → Samarkand → Shakhrisabz
Desert Castles of Uzbekistan & the Seven Lakes of Tajikistan
Bukhara → Desert fortresses of Khorezm → Khiva → Samarkand → Seven Lakes (Haft Kul) → Shakhrisabz → Tashkent
Ancient civilisations: Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan in 11 days
Tashkent → Khiva → Darvaza gas crater → Ashgabat → Ancient Merv → Bukhara → Samarkand
Mangystau, the Aral Sea and classic Uzbekistan in 14 days
Mangystau → Karakalpakstan → Muynak & the Aral Sea → Nukus → Khiva → Bukhara → Samarkand → Tashkent
Uzbekistan and Tajikistan in 8 days: desert castles and the Seven Lakes
Khiva → Desert fortresses of Khorezm → Bukhara → Samarkand → Seven Lakes (Haft Kul) → Tashkent
Uzbekistan and Tajikistan in 12 days: from Khujand to Khiva
Tashkent → Khujand → Dushanbe → Penjikent → Seven Lakes (Haft Kul) → Samarkand → Bukhara → Khiva → Urgench
Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan in 10 days: Astana, Almaty and Issyk-Kul
Astana → Almaty → Charyn Canyon → Karakol → Issyk-Kul → Ala Archa National Park → Bishkek
Kazakhstan in 10 days: Almaty, Charyn, the Silk Road cities and Astana
Almaty → Charyn Canyon → Kaindy Lake → Shymkent → Turkistan → Astana
Where to go
Best places for this style
Experiences
