Home / Tours / Tours to TAJIKISTAN / EAT-TAJ-2

EAT-TAJ-2

Tour program code: EAT-TAJ-2

Trip season: 01/06/2010-31/10/2010

Duration: 14 days (Bishkek-Dushanbe-Tashkent)

Guarantee: Departures guaranteed subject to 4 people travelling.

Accommodation: 4 nts-hotels, 6 nts-homestay, 3 nts-guest houses

Meals: Full board 14 breakfasts, 13 Lunches, 13 dinners.

Transportation: Comfortable a/c vehicles: 4WD or Van.

Highlights: Explore the famous Pamir Highway with extension to Wakhan corridor, Follow the Silk Road through Central Asia, Pick up a bargain at the Afghan Sunday market, Experience local culture at homestays, get healthy at curative hot springs and enjoy numerous mountain panoramas along the way.

Group size:  No minimum set, Maximum 6

Price: On request.

Extensions:  It is possible to extend your tour to other Central Asian republics: Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan. Please inquire.

ITINERARY

Day 1. Bishkek
Arrive Bishkek. Meet agent and transfer to hotel. Free time for rest. Visit to Tajik embassy to apply for visas. Lunch in downtown. Free time to explore the environs. Receive visas. Dinner. Overnight in hotel.

Day 2. Bishkek – Osh
Breakfast. Transfer to Airport. Boarding and 40 min Bishkek-Osh flight. Sightseeing in Osh. Osh is the second largest city of Kyrgyzstan also often referred to as south capital of Kyrgyzstan. Here we visit the most interesting sites Suleiman Too (Solomon hill) – a sacred place with locals, snall history museum at the foot hills of Suleiman Too and famous oriental market. Dinner with Uzbek family. Overnight in guest house.

Day 3. Osh –  Sary Tash – Karakul Lake
Early Breakfast. Drive 190 km to Sary Tash village, lunch with local family enjoying the views of Lenin peak 7134m which dominates over the area. After lunch 50 km drive to Kyrgyz-Tadjik border “Kyzyl-Art”. Pass all formalities and continue drive 95 km to the shore of Karakul lake which at 3,915 m is too high to support aquatic life. Karakul is the largest of a range of about 800 ancient lakes in the Pamirs which were created by earthquake, tectonic activity and glaciers. By the lakeside, there are some mysterious stone circles. On arrival free time to explore the environs. Dinner with a family. Overnight in homestay

Day 4. Karakul Lake – Murgab
Breakfast. Drive to Murgab (60km) over Ak-Baital Pass – at 4,655m, the highest section of road in the former USSR. On the way up to the pass, we will stop briefly at a Great Game-era Russian military post. Murgab is a center of the most highest mountain region in CIS bordering China. Murgab is located in a valley at about 3000m above sea level and surrounded by high peaks. Also from this point you can see Muztag peak – the highest mountain in Pamirs of 7546m. Lunch on the way. Accommodation in homestay. Dinner with a family. Overnight in homestay.

Day 5. Murgab – Lyangar
Breakfast. Long day drive thru picturesque Alichur valley to Lyangar (240 km). The view is stark and desolate. At night the clear view of the Milky Way is unparalleled. Lunch on the way. Accommodation in homestay. Dinner. Overnight in homestay.

Day 6. Lyangar – Ishkashim
Breakfast. In the cool of the morning, make a steep climb above the village and see the petroglyphs carved into the rock, depicting mountain goats, caravans, horse riders with banners, and the Ismaili symbol of a hand. Drive to Ishakshim (111 km). Ishkashim is a small town at the mouth of the Wakhan corridor, where the 19th century Great Game ended. Visit to ancient fortification Yamchun and hot springs of Vrang. Lunch on the way. Continue down the north side of the river with amazing views of the Pamirs to the right and the Hindu Kush to the left; a number of peaks in view are above 6,000m. Overnight in a traditional Pamiri home.

Day 7. Ishkashim – Khorog
Breakfast. Drive to Khorog (110 km) – the center of Gorny Badahshan. Stop to bathe at the hot, mineral filled springs at Garmchashma on the way. Lunch in Khorod. Short sightseeing and visit to the most highest in the world botanical garden. Dinner is accompanied by music, singing and dancing from a local Pamiri group. Accommodation in homestay. Dinner. Overnight in homestay.

Day 8. Khorog – Kalaikhumb
Breakfast. Drive (260km) to Kalaikhumb – a small village on Pamir Highway. Follow the fascinating road along the Afghan border. On the Tajik side, the road is asphalted and buildings have metal and glass in their construction. On the Afghan side, about 100m away, everything is mud, wood and donkey tracks. Here the people are Pamiris, not Tajiks, a number of separate tribal groups with their own languages. Overnight in guest house.

Day 9.  Kalaikhumb-Dushanbe
Breakfast. Drive west from Kalaikhumb towards Dushanbe (360 km) – the capital of Tajikistan. Today’s drive is a sharp contrast to the first few days of the tour. This region is much more strongly Muslim and this can be seen in the conservative dress and beards. Over a mountain pass to Dushanbe and the scenery and people change again. On arrival accommodation in Dushanbe*** hotel. Dinner.

Day 10. Dushanbe
Breakfast. Sightseeing of Dushanbe and short drive to visit nearby Hissor Fort, former capital of Eastern Bukhara province; the site has two fine 18th/19th century madrassas. After lunch under an ancient tree, head back to Dushanbe for shopping, extra sightseeing or rest. Dushanbe*** hotel. Dinner.

Day 11. Dushanbe-Iskanderkul Lake (170 km)
Breakfast. Drive over Anzob Pass (3,373 m), descending into Varzob Gorge before leaving the main road to ascend to Iskanderkul lake. Overnight in basic chalets.

Day 12. Iskanderkul lake – Istravshan (104 km)
Breakfast. Return to the main road and descend to Aini. Drive to Istrafshan over Shahriston Pass (3,378 m). Istarafshan’s history has shaped the character of the people who live in the city. It’s a fascinating place with some of the oldest and most intact Islamic buildings in Tajikistan where the traditional street layout of the old city has been preserved. Dinner. Overnight in newly constructed hotel (min. 3*+).

Day 13. Istravshan – Khodjent – Tashkent
Breakfast. In the morning, visit the mosque and madrassa of Kok Gumbaz, the mausoleum of Chor Gumbaz . Drive to Khujand. After lunch, an exploration of the fortress by the Syr Darya river, the Khojand ethnographic museum, Panjshanbe Bazaar and the mosque/madrassa complex. Transfer to Tajik border 123 km). End of Tajik section. Hand to Uzbek partner.  Border and Customs procedures. Meet vehicle and Drive to Tashkent. Accommodation in hotel. Dinner outside.  Over night in hotel.

Day 14. Tashkent
Onward travel – Transfer to the airport for your return or onward journey.

Dates&Availability

Start date

Finish date

Places available

Price

Bookings

01/06/2010

14/06/2010

+6

Book now

28/06/2010

11/07/2010

+6

Book now

26/07/2010

08/08/2010

+6

Book now

23/08/2010

05/09/2010

+6

Book now

20/09/2010

03/10/2010

+6

Book now