We'll begin this tour in Kyrgyzstan's capital city of Bishkek. Venturing through the famously spectacular countryside of Kyrgyzstan, we'll sleep in yurts, ride in a Soviet 4x4 up a dry riverbed, wind through spectacular canyons and valleys, and explore some abandoned Soviet gems.
Crossing the border in the beautiful Karakara Valley, we'll take in the famous Charyn Canyon, and Kolsai and Kaindy Lakes, before arriving in Central Asia's most cosmpolitan and developed city - Almaty.
We'll hop on a flight to Tashkent, from where we'll do a few SAIGA favourites, including the world's second largest solar furnace and a Soviet mountain resort town.
Winding our way through the Fann Mountains in Tajikistan through Khujand, Iskanderkul Lake, and Dushanbe, we'll re-enter Uzbekistan to visit the ancient cities of Samarkand and Bukhara.
Crossing the land border into Turkmenistan, we'll fly on Turkmenistan Airlines to join up with the Turkmenistan Independence Day Mega Tour , taking in the magical Independence Day events in Ashgabat, followed by an extensive tour of parts of Turkmenistan that very few (including Turkmens!) ever see.
This tour can be done as a 4 Stans Tour or a 5 Stans Tour. For those doing all 5, you can choose from the Whirlwind , Original or Mega Tours.
If you like the look of this tour but the dates don't work for you, or you'd like to do part of the tour, please get in touch and let us know. All our tours are able to be split into smaller sections, we're always scheduling new tours and your dates might work for one of them, or we can always organise an independent tour.
Start | End | Days | Price | Single Sup. | |
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Sep 6 Bishkek |
Sep 24
|
19 | $2830 | $900 | |
Sep 6
Bishkek |
Sep 29
|
24 | $3825 | $1150 | |
Sep 6
Bishkek |
Oct 3
|
28 | $4325 | $1350 | |
5 Stans Mega |
Sep 6
Bishkek |
Oct 8
|
33 | $4945 | $1600 |
INCLUSIONS:
ā | Letter of Invitation for Turkmenistan |
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Accommodation in twin share at roughly 3 star hotels, breakfast included, except when other accommodation is mentioned in itinerary |
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Where itinerary mentions yurt or homestay accomodation, single supplement and twin share may be affected |
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Transport as per itinerary |
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Entrance fees to most sites (as per itinerary) |
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SAIGA guide and local guides |
SINGLE SUPPLEMENT: $1600
EXCLUSIONS:
āØÆ |
Visa fees if necessary |
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Visa support if necessary, other than Turkmenistan |
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Some activities, eg. treatments at sanatorium (as per itinerary) |
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Meals other than breakfast |
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Transport to and from the start and end of tour |
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Personal expenses such as souvenirs or any optional activities |
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Any COVID related expenses |
Explore some little-known Soviet relics in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan
Navigate the moutains, valleys and lakes of Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan
Go back in time in the Silk Road gems of Samarkand and Bukhara
Experience the unique and epic Turkmenistan Independence Day events.
We'll start the day by doing a walking tour of Bishkek, a quintessential Soviet city with an amazing mix of Stalinist and Brezhnev era architecture. The wide boulevards and Brutalist apartment blocks, in stark contrast to the snow-capped mountain backdrop.
Weāll start with the Frunze Museum, dedicated to Mikhail Frunze, whom the city of Bishkek used to be named after (and why the airport code is still FRU!).
Making our way past Victory Square, the circus and Tsum, we'll visit the Lenin Statue and Ala Too Square, home to the National Museum of Kyrgyzstan and a large Kyrgyz flag. Although this flag isn't quite as famous as their world-record holding neighbours, Tajikistan and Turkmenista n, it is still impressive and every hour, on the hour, there's a changing of the guards.
We'll continue on to Osh Bazaar, passing the White House on the way, and weāll finish off the day learning about some of the weird and wonderful produce and delicacies youāll find in the market.
In the afternoon there will be some free time so you can do some exploring yourself.