Hey everyone,
Would be keen to tap into your collective knowledge and experience of Central Asia. I'm spending 10 days in June in that part of the world, meeting a friend who's traveling up from Dubai. We're flying in/out of Almaty (for nothing more than convenience) and have to plan an outline itinerary across 2-3 of the Stans. From everything I've read it looks like Samarkand and Bukhara in Uzbekistan seem obvious designations but would love to hear recommendations from other members, based on your travels to that part of the world, particularly the classic 'off the beaten path/outside the Lonely Planet' recommendations.
Cheers!
Phil
Replies
Hi all - thanks again for the guidance. Turkmenistan is indeed - as you all promised - utterly bonkers and yet one of the most memorable places you could ever go to, only had 2 days there (Mary - Ashgabat - Darvaza) but the visa hassle and cost was well worth it. The $10 camera fee in the National Museum to get pictures of the President's megalomaniac trophy collection and self-portrarture was worth it alone!
Bukhara was also a very special place - I preferred to Samarkand but just my taste - and generally found it a fascinating part of the world.
Thanks everyone - you've confirmed my desire to get to Turkmenistan at all costs ;-)
I spent 3 weeks in the 5 stans as well - I used a great company called Kalpak travel to organize drivers/tours/hotels but my friend and I had a big hand planning the itinerary (it wasn't a pre planned organized group tour).
Personally I think Almaty is the most boring place we visited of all the Stans, but we were really using it for rest between homestays and holed up at the Ritz for a lot of it haha. Highlights for us were:
1. Hiking into Yagnob Valley and staying in a village where the people still speak Sogdian (this is definitely off the beaten path) in Tajikistan
2. Samarkand and Khiva in Uzbekistan (we didn't have time for Bukhara)
3. Staying in a yurt in Kyrgyzstan (would totally skip Bishkek given your limited time)
4. Camping at the gates of hell Turkmenistan and going to Ashgabat. As everyone else mentions, Turkmenistan is NUTS! :)
Have a wonderful time!
Ashgabat is the ''Twilight Zone.'' It seems that you have the whole city to yourself Most of the city was rebuilt of Turkish White Marble with gold plated statues of the late leader Niyazov. The visas are quite stingy, I had a five day trip there, the Embassy gave me exactly five days on my visa which is date set to when you propose entry into the country. Movement is difficult in Turkmenistan as well even on a ''Transit Visa;; you must adhere the routing given to cross the country. Don't overstay the visa no matter what in Turkmenistan. In Kyrgyzstan you will have the easiest time formality wise of the Stans , Visit Issyk-Kul a large lake a few hours drive from Bishkek Karakol is another place in the mountains to venture. Should you get adventurous then head to Osh then head out to Kashgar China in the Far West of China.Uzbekistan would be better to take a train perhaps out of Almaty,
One of the most interesting places in Uzbekistan I went to was Nukus. From there you can find a driver to take you to Moynaq where you can see the abandoned ships out in the desert in what was once the Aral Sea. Nukus itself is known for the Savitsky Art Museum--well worth a visit.
Start in Kyrzguistan, drive from Bishek to Osh, from there drive the Pamir (even better if you do the Wakhan corridor) and then enter in Uzbekistan through Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva. You might do it in 10 days....
Hope it helps
It is difficult to suggest what to limit yourself to in the Stans. I did a 21 day trip through the five Stans and wished it had included a few other places I learned about as we traveled. Almaty is a good place to start, and a nice city in its own right. And Samarkand and Bukhara are the "big names" of the area. They are indeed must see destinations for the mosques, madrassas, markets, etc. Do realize though that they are also tourist magnets, so expect crowds and things priced with tourists in mind. One country I found fascinating for how different it is, is Turkmenistan, especially Ashgabat. Turkmenistan visas are somewhat difficult to get, because they routinely reject applications simply to limit the number of visitors, not because there is something wrong with your application, so you may have to apply, re-apply, etc. Use an experienced visa service (I recommend passportvisasexpress.com, as they have individuals with expertise and embassy contacts to improve probability of getting the visa. They got mine on first try). Also, to visit Turkmenistan you must use a local tour guide, by law. Even if you are going in a group visiting other Stans, once you clear Turkmenistan immigration that group tour will have a local guide join and take over group leadership. If you have time, I highly recommend MIR Corp's Journey Through Central Asia: The Five Stans, which is the 21-day group tour I took (limited to 16 people). They have been doing the Stan tours over 20 years so they have it well understood and organized, and had very good guides (one group manager who stayed with us for the duration, plus a different local guide in each country). Even if you decide to go on your own or use a different tour company/guide, take a look at the MIR tour brochure to get a good overview of things to see and do there: https://www.mircorp.com/trip/journey-through-central-asia-the-five-... For most of my travel, I organize the trip and travel on my own, not take a group tour, but sometimes I use a local guide in and around certain cities. But frankly the Stans have enough logistical challenges getting in/out and through five countries that I think it is worth taking a small group tour there instead.
Thanks Margo, Mongolia is definitely one for the bucket list so will look into it.