Khiva Tours & Trips

Highlights

• Follow ancient traders to the Silk Road cities of Samarkand, Khiva and Bukhara
• Admire avant garde art once hidden from Soviet authorities at the Savitsky Museum
• Sleep in a yurt close to Aydarkul lake
• Experience life in a remote mountain village with a night in a homestay
• Stroll leafy boulevards and discover Soviet architecture in Tashkent

Highlights

• Explore the UNESCO-protected town of Khiva – steeped in Silk Road history and immortalised in many great tales, this town is as photogenic as it is legendary.
• Witness the eternal flames of the Darvaza Crater, aka the 'Gates to Hell' as you camp nearby – one of the strangest, most mesmerising geological oddities on earth.
• Stay at a local guesthouse in a rural village in Turkmenistan – a rare opportunity to get up close to local people’s life – and visit a local horse breeder who preserves the precious breed that is the national treasure of Turkmenistan – Akhal-Teke horses.
• See the sprawling ruins of Mary, Merv and other ancient kingdoms and contemplate the remnants of empires that once ruled these vast lands.
• Learn how Ashgabat rose from the devastation of an earthquake in 1948 and has enjoyed a surreal and futuristic makeover since. Witness its often bizarre, but certainly memorable architecture on a city tour with a local leader who has all the insights.

Highlights

• Walking within the Inner Walls of a ‘Living Museum’ Town Called Khiva
• Having a Traditional Dinner Inside a Native’s Home
• Cruising Along the Silk Road
• Familiarizing with Central Asia’s Arguably Most Spiritual City, Bukhara
• Getting a Massage at a Traditional Bathhouse (a.k.a. Hammam)

Highlights

• Bukhara
• Khiva
• Samarkand
• Tashkent

Highlights

• Travel with a local leader who will share the magic of Uzbekistan's ‘holiest city’ in Bukhara, tell the ancient tales of historic Khiva and guide you through the extraordinary architecture of Samarkand.
• Uncover Tashkent’s Soviet legacy and its contemporary culture. Explore the vast Chorsu Bazaar and embrace the hustle and bustle of one of Asia's oldest markets.
• Stay within the walls of Uzbekistan’s history during a historical Feature Stay in an old Jewish house converted into a boutique hotel in Bukhara.
• Understand local life through food by joining a local family in Samarkand for a cooking class, where you’ll learn about the popular Central Asian rice dish of plov. Then, enjoy a taste of Khorezmian culture during a family cooking class in Khiva.
• Dig into Samarkand’s cultural heritage on a visit with a local artisan – one of the few people in Central Asia who continues to produce paper using a 1000-year-old method. Then, indulge in a few drops at the Bagizagan winery, considered the best wine producer in Uzbekistan.

Highlights

• Explore the remote old Silk Road halt of Khiva
• Discover the fine Islamic architecture of Bokhara and Samarkand
• Stay in a yurt camp and enjoy wild landscapes of Central Asia

Highlights

• Explore Central Asia – a fascinating and unique mix of ancient Silk Road culture, post-soviet culture and redefined nations living in post-independence.
• Discover the history of the Silk Road – see the much-photographed Registan in Samarkand (one of the true pinnacles of Islamic architecture), spend time in World Heritage-listed Bukhara (a 6th-century city), visit the UNESCO-protected town of Khiva and explore the sprawling ruins of Mary.
• Be treated to traditional hospitality and get a unique insight into the daily life of locals during a Kyrgyz homestay, a night in a guesthouse in Uzbekistan and the rare chance to stay with a local family in Turkmenistan.
• Marvel at the beautiful natural landscapes in this ever-changing land – see Son-Kol Lake’s flocks of sheep, goats and horses, witness the majesty of the Kyrgyzstans Mountains, visit Issy-Kul Lake, watch the ever-burning flames of ‘The Gates of Hell’ and take in the vast desert of Turkenistan.
• Rub shoulders with locals, bargain in the bazzars and sit down for a homemade plov meal – with your expert leader by the side, you’ll really get into the local insight and learn what’s common and what’s different between these three stans.

Highlights

• Discover the contrast between mountainous Kyrgyzstan and the plains of Uzbekistan
• Overnight in a yurt by alpine Song Kul Lake like the nomads of Central Asia
• Discover Silk Road ancient cities of Khiva, Bokhara and Samarkand