Silk Road to Samarkand via Kashgar
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Overview
Highlights
- Marvel at The Great Wall at Mutianyu
- Explore Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City and Summer Palace in Beijing
- Visit Xian and the famous Terracotta Warriors
- Cross the Torugart pass in the Tian Shan mountains on one of the world's most remote high altitude roads
- Take in the magnificent Labrang Monastery and Jiayuguan frontier fortress
- Venture to the Mogau Caves & Dunhuang
- Immerse yourself in the Sunday Markets in Kashgar
- Drive spectacular mountain scenery & visit Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan's capital.
- Journey to the fabled Silk Road cities of Samarkand, Bukhara & Khiva
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Max Group Size
Trip includes
- 26 breakfasts, 13 lunches, 15 dinners
- Comfortable well located hotels and guesthouses on a twinshare basis
- Local sightseeing, including entrance fees to monuments as listed in itinerary
- All internal transport by A/C 2nd Class train or private air conditioned vehicles
- Internal flights Urumqi/Kashgar, Bishkek/Tashkent/Khiva valued at approx. USD$481
- National tour leader in China and Central Asia plus local specialist guides throughout
- Emergency medical kit
- Group airport transfers on first & last days
- Assistance in arranging visas
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Itinerary
If you are arriving into Beijing today you will be collected from the airport and transferred to the group hotel. This evening you will meet with the rest of the group in the hotel lobby for a trip briefing (your guide will advise you of the meeting time) before you head out for a group welcome dinner. Overnight: Dong Fang Hotel or similar
meals : D
This morning we visit the beautiful Forbidden City, which is a masterpiece of 5000 years of Chinese civilisation and still vividly displays the power and prestige of the former dynasties. Sprawling over acres, the City is a magnificent group of palaces, pavilions, cou...
We will make an early start this morning and head north out of the city to explore the Great Wall at the Mutianyu. Whilst this section is a slightly longer drive, at around 1½hrs, than the Badaling Gate section, it is significantly less busy and therefore worth the dr...
This morning has been set aside for leisure time to rest or catch up on shopping. Our local guides will be happy to make suggestions and organise arrangements as required. In the afternoon, we transfer to the train station for our overnight journey to Xi’an. Overnight: Sleeper train - 4 berth cabin
meals : B,D
Xi'an is the traditional starting point of the Silk Road, the point from where traders departed on their long cross continental voyages. The walled city of Xi'an, the capital of Shaanxi Province, is a vivid example of old meets new China. The modernised new city bustl...
The thousands of Terracotta Warriors who stand outside the tomb of Qin Shihuang, were uncovered in 1974 by peasants digging a well. Each warrior stands over six feet tall and has individual features and characteristics. Some stand in a vanguard with crossbow and lon...
This morning we transfer to the station to catch the high speed train to Lanzhou. Camel caravans traversed the rugged and barren Province of Gansu, as they threaded their way along the Silk Road. The capital Lanzhou is one of the oasis towns the caravans stopped in al...
This morning we transfer by bus and boat to Bingling Temple which are a series of grottoes filled with Buddhist sculpture carved into natural caves and caverns in a canyon along the Yellow River. After visiting these fascinating grottoes we transfer on to the remote ...
Within Xiahe is the enormous Tibetan Monastery of Labrang, an important place of pilgrimage for Buddhist monks and is second only in size to the Potala Palace in Lhasa. Tibetan nomads dressed in their finest traditional clothing mingle with monks in bright pink robes ...
Jiayuguan is the western most point of the Great Wall. Built during the Ming dynasty, the wall is guarded by the famous Jaiyu Fort, known as “the most Impregnable Pass Under Heaven”. It was the last major stronghold of the empire to the west and remains an impressiv...
We leave the Great Wall and follow the snaking Silk Road into the desert through the Hexi (pronounced “Hersh”) Corridor. The drive from Jiayuguan to Dunhuang, another of the Silk Road’s oasis towns takes around five hours with the geographic boundaries of the Gobi Des...
Dunhuang is home to China’s most magnificent Buddhist grottos. The grottos are set amidst mountainous towering sand dunes. The Mogao Caves, also known as the Thousand Buddhist Grottos, are 1,000 metres long, and are filled with superb Buddhist art, dating from 366AD. ...
The province of Xinjiang lies at the heart of the Eurasian continent. Skirting the hostile Gobi Desert it is a region of endless grassland, the Taklamakan Desert, snow peaked mountains, lakes, and primitive forests. We enter the Turpan basin, home of the Uighur (pro...
The Bezeklik Thousand Buddha Caves are picturesquely located on a cliff face overlooking a river valley. We visit them before driving on to Urumqi (approx. 3hrs). Situated at the foot of the Tian Shan Mountains, Ürümqi is the capital of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous R...
From Urumqi we drive to one of the most impressive sights in China - Tianchi, or Heaven’s Lake. Set amid the Tian Shan Mountains below the imposing Bogda Peak (5445m). The deep blue lake is framed by fir trees and mountain peaks, and it is sprinkled with yurts and Kaz...
Kashgar is a bustling market town which is prominent on the Silk Route, and is at the junction between the two main north/south arteries. Traders come from all over to sell their livestock, amongst thousands of different types of produce. Being populated by an overwhe...
We may have to say goodbye to some of the people in our group today as they will remain in China. This morning we will make an early start for the long day of travel ahead. Our bus will make the 63km journey to the new border post in about 2 hours. On arrival we must ...
Today we drive to Lake Issyk-Kul, the second largest alpine lake in the world after Lake Titicaca in South America. Measuring 182 km long by 58 km wide, the lake appeared as a result of volcanic activity. It is heated from below by thermal springs and never freezes ev...
Today we drive further through spectacular mountain scenery where the peaks are like knife edges, to the quaint capital of Bishkek. Overnight: Plaza Hotel Bishkek or similar
meals : B,L
Weather permitting, this morning we drive to the Ala-Archa National Park, where we can see magnificent scenery as we walk through the national park and enjoy a picnic-lunch. Later today we fly to Tashkent. Overnight: City Palace Hotel or similar
meals : B,L
This morning we board a morning flight to Urgench, so we can enjoy a full day of sightseeing in Khiva. The ancient walled city of Khiva is a stunning monument to the rich history of the region. Slave caravans, wild tribesmen and a harsh and unrelenting desert are all ...
We continue our exploration of the maze of mosques, tombs, alley ways, palaces, fortresses and medressas (Muslim centers of learning). This afternoon there is time to relax, shop or simply wander the streets and observe the local way of life. Overnight: Malika Khiva Hotel or similar
meals : B,L
This morning, following breakfast, we depart Khiva. We'll board the train bound for Central Asia’s holiest city, Bukhara. This journey across the desert will take around 5hrs, but we will be in the comfort of the air conditioned train. Upon arrival in Bukhara, we tran...
Bukhara is an ancient city boasting 2500 years of vibrant history. It has been a centre of world learning, succumbed to Ghengis Khan and Tamerlane, and after the Silk Road waned, was a capital for despot Bukhara emirs. Today we have a full day tour of the mosques, med...
This morning we visit the Sitora-i Mokhi Khosa: the Summer Palace of Bukharan Emirs. The summer palace consists of 3 buildings, set in rose gardens and surrounded by courtyards, a Persian-influenced style that harks back to Timurid days. Located in the outskirts of th...
Today we'll commence our sightseeing with the tomb of Tamerlane who made Samarkand his capital. He set about making it the richest city on earth by pillaging and destroying all other cities and removing their wealth and skilled traders to Samarkand. We will also visit...
We have a very early start today, to catch the morning train from Samarkand to Tashkent, the capital city of Uzbekistan. The journey north will take around 2½hrs. Upon arrival, we'll begin our sightseeing tour of Tashkent. Tashkent is a modern city of three million pe...
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Dates & Availability
Check Current Availability, prices, specials with World Expeditions.
The total tour cost includes the tour price (regular or promotional) and the compulsory local payment. The promotional price is subject to change. Check directly with the operator for the latest price offer. The tour operator requires you to pay only the tour price to purchase your travel. The compulsory local payment will be paid when you join the trip. All prices are based on double, twin or triple share occupancy. Solo passengers will be accommodated in a double, twin or triple room according to availability with a passenger(s) of the same gender. Single supplement only needs to be paid if the passenger does not want to share and requests their own room. Discounts can only be applied at the time of booking and cannot be added at a later date, regardless of any changes made to the original booking.
Prices may vary due to local taxes and trip seasonality. Click "Request Info" to inquire directly with the tour operator for the final trip price.
World Expeditions Reviews & Ratings
Absolutely wonderful
I am reborn! Simply the best holiday I have ever been on! Absolutely wonderful, a once in a life time experience and all the guides were extremely knowledgable, funn...
It was a great journey, a once in a lifetime experience
It was a great journey, a once in a lifetime experience. An extraordinary mixture of culture, history, treking, city-sightseeing and art, with local food and mostly ...
This was an absolutely amazing trip
We recently completed the Silk Road to Samarkand via Kashgar tour. This was an absolutely amazing trip with knowledgeable guides in all three countries. A special me...
Truly wonderful in making the trip so memorable
Our Silk Road trip took in China, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. Each country has an unbelievably rich and vast history, sometimes going back thousands of years. Every d...
This was an absolutely amazing trip
We recently completed the Silk Road to Samarkand via Kashgar tour. This was an absolutely amazing trip with knowledgeable guides in all three countries. A special me...
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Logistics
What's excluded
- Meals not indicated in the program
- Any optional tours, and entrance fees and permits during free time
- Expenditure of a personal nature such as drinks, souvenirs and laundry
- Visas – Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan (plus an administration fee), China – note visa costs subject to change without notice and may vary according to group size.
- Tips and gratuities
- International airfares and taxes
- Personal travel insurance (compulsory)
- Excess luggage charges
Accommodation
- 2 nights overnight train
- 22 nights hotel
- 2 night local guesthouse / yurt
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