The Central Asia region consists of 5 countries: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. Since the budget option to visit Turkmenistan is a 3 to 5 days transit visa, I decided to travel in the country in a next opportunity. I spend around one and a half months in the region, since I came back and forward. One week per country is a good amount of time to have a glimpse on what is Central Asia. Here is what to do in One Month Itinerary Central Asia.
Kazakhstan
The country is enormous, but visiting the capital Nur-Sultan (Astana) and Almaty region can give you a good glimpse about Kazakhstan.
The capital, that used to be called Astana was renamed in tribute to the president Nur-Sultan. This city has modern buildings and some interesting architecture designs. A highlight of my visit was the Expo 2017 Astana, an International Exposition which took place from June 10 to September 10, 2017 in the capital. The main building of the festival, a glass globe is a museum about future, technology and sustainability.
Other sights include the National Library, the National Museum, a Mosque and a Museum in shape of Pyramid.
Almaty continues as the major commercial and cultural centre of Kazakhstan, as well as its most populous and most cosmopolitan city. It was the capital of Kazakhstan until 1997. There are a few sights in the city such as the Pavlov Cathedral but the favorite spots by tourists are out of town.
The first is Almaty Lake. To get there you must take the bus 28 from President’s Park. The journey takes about 30 minutes. From the final stop you can hike about 14 kilometers or get into a shared taxi to the Lake. Hitchhiking is also possible, specially in weekends where local tourists go there.
The other two sights are Charyn Canyon and Kolsai Lakes. A big range of tour offers from budget to luxury are available for to visit those places. I would strongly recommend KAZAT TOURS a reliable company in the country.
Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgystan is a good country for a hiking trip. In case you are short on time I would focus to visit the capital, the city of Karakol, that offer high range of hiking options and Osh, the starting point of Pamir Highway. If you have more time to spend, many hikes are available around the Issik-Kul Lake. This is the seventh deepest lake in the world, the tenth largest lake in the world by volume, and the second largest saline lake after the Caspian Sea.
Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan is a nice city to use as a base for traveling. Mini vans between Almaty and Bishkek run daily and hourly. The highlight for me in this city was out of center, the Supara Ethno-Complex, accessible by Matshrutka (local transport) number 318 and 373. This place is a presentation of all things traditionally Kyrgyz, from way of living to gastronomy. Costumed waiters serve a full range of authentic and original Kyrgyz meals, in comfortably furnished yurts and wooden patio seating.
Karakol is the hub for hikers, many treks from day trips to week hikes are available in the region. In the city center information center is possible to buy a trail map and rent camping gear.
From Bishkek to Osh you can take a cargo bus.
Osh in a very interesting city with a big mountain and a strange soviet museum on the side.
This city is the beginning of your trip in case you plan to travel the Pamir Highway in Tajikistan. In Osh I rented a 4×4 Toyota LandCruiser with other 4 travelers, from where we started our Tajikistan Adventure. Is also possible to join tours in this city. Many hostels have boards where feature people willing to share costs of cars or tours. That’s how I found other travelers to share the costs of the car rental.
Tajikistan
If you have just visited the capital Dushanbe, you did not even seen the tip of the iceberg. Traveling Tajikistan and not exploring the Pamir Highway and the Wakhan Corridor (Border with Afghanistan) is completely non sense.
If you don’t want to boder with car rental and issues you might have on the road, the 7 day tour cost around 900 USD and a 15 day tour starts as 1300 USD. The tours only include the driver and car costs. Accommodation is payed separately and costs around 15USD per night in Homestay’s with breakfast and dinner included. The benefit of having your own car is the flexibility to go and stay whenever you want. In our third night for example we chose to camp, saving one night of accommodation.
And here is our itinerary:
Day 1: Osh – Sary Tash – Border Kyrgyzstan
We started our adventure in Osh after checking the car engine, break fluid, water reserve and the condition of the vehicle. Filled up the car with 5 litter bottles of mineral water. We picked a traveler on the way in Sary Tash and headed to the border crossing from Kyrgyzstan to Tajikistan. Took us around 1hour of waiting and having our paperwork checked to exit Kyrgyzstan.
After crossing it was already dark and we decided to stay in a Homestay in between the borders.
Day 2: Border Tajikistan – Karakul Lake – Akbaital Pass – Murghrab
We woke up early morning and drove to the Tajikistan border. This border took us a bit longer than one hour. A few extra cash was required by the officers to produce some more papers.
All our online visas were checked and we headed to Karakul Lake, located at an altitude of 3914 meters, its name is translated as “Black Lake”.
We had a quick swim, cooked a brunch and drove further to Akbaital Pass, which is the highest pass in Tajikistan 4655m above the sea level.
After a small hike we headed back to the car and drove to Murghrab where we stayed overnight. In the tours, this part is made in 2 days instead of one with a overnight in Karakul city.
Day 3: Murghrab – Canyon – Soviet Observatory – Alichur – Bulunkul Lake – Yashikul Lake
After leaving Murghrab we passed by a police check, common in Pamir Highway, where they check visas, passports and car paperwork. We made a stop in a beautiful Canyon and drove off road to visit an old Soviet Observatory & Village.
This place is not usually on tour routes but we added since seemed to be interesting for all of us. After that we passed by the small town of Alichur and crossed Khargush pass 4283m high above the sea level. A quick stop in Bulunkul Lake for pictures and we ended the day in Yashikul Lake where we set camp.
Day 4: Yashikul Lake – Panorama Hike – Langar
On the fourth day we wanted to make a long hike and decided to spend the day doing the panorama hike, where you can get a panoramic view of the Afghanistan range of mountains.
From there we drove beside the Afghanistan border all the way to Langar, a small and prosperous village where we overnight in well known Nigina Guesthouse. Before Langar there was another police check.
Day 5: Langar – Wrang Stupa – Yamchun Fortress – Bibi Fatima Hot Springs
The morning of the fifth day some travelers decided to rest since some were having some problems with food poison. Me and the swiss girl went hiking up the hill behind the homestay to fetch a great view in the Langar Valley. After lunch we visited Wrang Stupa and Yamchun Fortress (main picture from article).
We spent the end of afternoon in Bibi Fatima Hot-springs and overnight in a famous homestay called Chaschanbe.
Day 6: Canyon & Darshai Gorge – Kakh-Khana Fortress – Ishkashin – GarmChasma Hot Springs – Khorog
From the homestay we drove to Darshai Gorge, a small hike following the river. Longer hikes were available but by this time 4 of us had food poison, a very common problem in pamir due to contaminated water & food.
From there we drove to visit Kakh-Khana Fortress where we had a fun watermelon break around noon. From one till two pm we were wandering the town of Ishkashin getting some supplies, water and food. From there we drove to the GarmChasma hot springs based at 2325 meters and known since Silk road Merchants. We picked some hitchhikers on the way and spend the rest of afternoon soaking in the hot water.
We drove to Kohrog passing by a police check and overnight in the famous hostel called Pamir Lodge.
Day 7: Khorog – Huft-pass – Kohrog
The swiss traveler that was driving the car had to bring it back to Osh in 3 days. Since he was confident he could make it in 2 we did a day trip to Huft-pass, a famous place for nice views and hikes. We headed back to Khorog and saty one more night in Pamir Lodge.
Day 8: Khorog – Dushanbe
In the last day the swiss traveler took the car back and we booked a shared taxi to the capital of Tajikistan where we could see the second tallest flag pole in the world. Dushanbe it self has not so many attractions and is quite a boring city. From there I took a bus to Uzbekistan.
Uzbekistan
The country is famous for the Persian architecture. The cities of Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva are the highlights. Tashkent, even tough is not so mentioned also have some interesting sights to visit such as the Asian Plov Center. Fergana Valley in Uzbekistan is a good place to explore from Osh, Kyrgyzstan. I visited the Yodgorlik Silk Factory in Margilan city located in this Valley. The factory was established in 1972. Today the factory’s staff numbers about 450 people, the majority of them is women. Every month the factory produces up to 6,000 m of fabric including natural silk and half-silk fabric.
From Dushanbe (Tajikistan) I took a bus to Samarkand an ancient city in Uzbekistan. During 3 days I explored the most traditional sites such as Registan, Amir e Gur Mosque and the Bazaar.
While walking in a park nearby Registan I was suddenly invited to a local Marriage, a lot of food, drinks and dance.
I
The muslin architecture was just incredible from inside and outisde.
I visited Bukhara for 2 days and the highlight was the Ark, a museum inside a Fort.
The Chor Minor, also part of the World Heritage Historic Center of Bukhara, is a monument which name means “Four minarets”. In front of this construction a complete souvenir shop sells soviet gifts.
Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan is a big city with few sights. The most interesting ones were the Bazaar building and the Plov Center.
Giant cauldrons overflow with Uzbekistan’s favorite rice dish at this cavernous dining hall. Typical plov consists of rice, carrots, and meat cooked together, but every corner of Uzbekistan makes its own version and claims to have the best one.
If you want to get more detailed information on how to travel around the world for cheap, check out my book JUST GO [EN] [PT] [ES] [DE] [FR] available in several languages.
Check out my Instagram page where I update weekly with travel tips.
Check out my Youtube page where I update weekly with travel videos.
If you want to know how do I afford to travel the world, you can click HERE.