Silk Road Backroads & Byways

Itinerary

• Days 1-3: Dushanbe (Tajikistan)
  

  Start your journey by taking in the sights Tajikistan’s capital, Dushanbe, including a stroll through Rudaki Park, visits to both the modern National Museum of Tajikistan and the small but fascinating Gurminj Museum of Musical Instruments featuring exhibits from Afghanistan, the Pamirs, Turkiye, and China. Trace the footsteps of Silk Road traders outside of town to the 18th-century Hisor Fortress, once a great center of commerce and learning.

  HIGHLIGHTS

  • The covered Mehrgon Bazaar, which carries on Dushanbe’s traditional role as a market town
  • Exuberant demonstrations frequently performed at the Gurminj Museum of Musical Instruments
  • The imposing towers of Hisor Fortress
• Days 4-5: Termez (Uzbekistan), Sayrob, Baysun, Shahrisabz
  

  Cross the border into Uzbekistan to explore Termez, once a stronghold of Buddhism before Islam arrived here. Travel overland through Sayrob and Baysun villages, known for their handicrafts. In Shahrisabz, admire Ak-Sarai Palace, an architectural masterpiece, and one of Tamerlane’s most expansive undertakings.

  HIGHLIGHTS

  • The 11th and 12th century Sultan-Saodat complex
  • The 16th-century Kokildor-Ota Khanaka, the final resting place of a local Sufi saint.
  • Ruins of Kyrk Kyz fortified castle for the local Samanid rulers during the 9th and 19th centuries.
  • Zurmala Stupa, the largest Buddhist stupa in the region, and possibly the oldest.
  • Baysun village, one of the oldest inhabited places in Central Asia; UNESCO inscribed to the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
  • Shahrisabz, the birthplace of Tamerlane, and the ruins of Ak Sarai (White Palace), built in the 14th century and one of Tamerlane’s most ambitious projects.
• Days 6-7: Samarkand
  

  Continue to the legendary Silk Road oasis of Samarkand. Admire UNESCO-listed Registan Square, Ulug Bek’s medieval observatory, and learn about Central Asian carpets or hike in a neighboring village.

  HIGHLIGHTS

  • Samarkand’s Registan Square, bordered by three beautiful madrassahs
  • The 14th-century conqueror Tamerlane’s architectural legacy in Samarkand, including Bibi Khanum Mosque – the largest of its day – and Ulug Bek Observatory
  • Tour the gardens outside the silk carpet factory where the weavers grow indigo, coleus, and dahlias to use for dye.
  • Take an optional hike through sheep herder trails to a nearby village, and visit with a local family.
• Days: 8-9: Bukhara
  

  Continue along the Silk Road to the next desert oasis city of Bukhara. Learn about the art of embroidered suzani-making at a cooperative workshop. Stroll Labi-Hauz Place and explore the Ark Citadel, the original fortress of Bukhara. Enjoy a concert of traditional folk music at a madrassah.

  HIGHLIGHTS

  • Old Bukhara’s ageless domed bazaars and its central Lyab-i-Hauz Plaza, adorned with a reflecting pool
  • Ark Citadel – Bukhara’s huge, ancient fortress
  • Visit a village where a coop workshop offers a place for women to embroider the brilliant cloth coverlets called suzani
• Days: 10-13: Turkmenabad (Turkmenistan), Ashgabat, Darvaza
  

  We continue tracing the Silk Road crossing over the Amu Darya River, once known as the Oxus, overland across the Turkmenistan border to Turkmenabad. That evening, fly to Ashgabat, the Turkmen capital known for its monumental white marble buildings. Drive through the Kara Kum Desert to a yurt camp in the desert near the burning Darvaza Gas Crater, one of Turkmenistan’s most unusual sights, nicknamed “the Door to Hell.” Return to Ashgabat.

  HIGHLIGHTS

  • Cross through Turkmenabat, Turkmenistan’s second-largest city with unfortunately no traces of its 2,000-year-old history
  • The opulent new architecture of Ashgabat, which holds a Guinness record for highest density of white marble buildings in the world
  • Yurt camping near the Darvaza Gas Crater as it glows in the dark
• Day 14: Ashgabat, Nohur, Balkanabat
  

  Travel overland from Ashgabat out toward the coast. Journey out into the desert and up into the Kopet Dag Mountains to visit the isolated Nohur people, whose longstanding cultural traditions have felt little influence from the outside world.

  HIGHLIGHTS

  • Panoramic views in the Kopet Dag Mountains
  • A visit to a silk-weaving workshop in a Nohur tribal village
• Days 15-18: Yangykala, Turkmenbashi, Ashgabat
  

  Dedicate a day to scenic, picturesque Yangykala Canyon, where striated limestone cliffs unfold before you in a strange, strikingly beautiful high desert panorama. Then for something completely different, head to Turkmenistan’s only seaport – Turkmenbashi – and Awaza, a neighboring resort town studded with five-star hotels. Take a cruise along the Caspian coast and explore a local bazaar. The next day a one-hour flight gets you to Ashgabat, hopefully in time to visit a local market. Reminisce about your adventures that evening at a farewell dinner.

  HIGHLIGHTS

  • Unusual, and unusually photogenic, Yangykala Canyon
  • A yacht cruise along the Caspian Sea coast
  • Shopping at Turkmenbashi bazaar – a good place to find deals on Caspian caviar
  • A final farewell in Ashgabat