Silk Road Railway

31 days - from $0

Itinerary:

 Days 1-3. Beijing- the adventure begins Beijing is an incredible contrast of sights, sounds and smells, explore the backstreets (Hutongs) of the old town with their food stalls and street vendors for a taste of ‘old Beijing’. Our ‘Scheduled Sightseeing’ takes in the "must see" sights: the Great Wall, Tiananmen Square and Temple of Heaven, while your Group Leader is on hand for some relaxed ‘City Exploring’ to the Silk Market, Summer Palace and Forbidden City. Finally our overnight train carries us south to the gateway of the great Silk Road, Xian.
Days 4-6.& Xian Gateway to the Silk Road& For centuries the great caravans set forth through Xian's West Gate bound for the Taklamakan Desert, the passes of the Tien Shan Mountains and the fabled cities of Central Asia. It was a period of trade and prosperity and Chang'an, as Xian was then known, was the glittering capital of ancient Cathay. Today the old city walls, towers, pagodas and incredible Terracotta Army reveal the city's long and turbulent history.
  Days 7-9. The Silk Road Railway to Turpan Our two-night journey carries us westwards to Jiayuguan, and the bastion ramparts of the Great Wall's most westerly garrison, across the Taklamakan Desert to the far-flung frontiers of Xinjiang Province. The oasis of Turpan still reflects life as it was along the Silk Road and the faces in the bazaar recall the four corners of Asia. Leaving the desert we travel to Urumqi and join the international express train to Almaty.
  Days 10-12. Dzungarian Gate to Tashkent The towering Tien Shan Mountains were a formidable obstacle for the camel caravans and only a few passes provided access to the markets of Central Asia. The long delayed Sino-Soviet Peace Railway project was finally completed, and the railway now traverses the mountains through the Dzungarian Gate to Kazakstan. Snow-capped peaks can be seen for most of the year at the border post of Druzhba (Peace) before the downhill run to Almaty and beyond to Tashkent.
Days 13-18. The cities of Central Asia Samarkand & Bukhara No city is so evocative of the ancient Silk Road than ‘golden’ Samarkand, Tamerlane's turquoise-spangled capital. We explore Central Asia's most spectacular architectural ensemble; the Registan, plus many other highlights including the Shah-i-Zinda complex, Bibi Khanym Mosque and the Ulug Bek Observatory. Across the Kyzyl Kum Desert lie the mud-brick monuments of Bukhara. Once known as ‘holy’ Bukhara, it was home to more than 2000 mosques, today its monuments are some of the oldest on the Silk Road; the Ark Fortress, Samanid Mausoleum and, spared the destruction of Genghis Khan, the Kalyan Minaret - one of central Asia's tallest. Explore the old town and enjoy one of the many chaikhanas (tea-houses) in Labi-Hauz.
Days 19-21. Across the Kara Kum Desert to Iran Beyond Bukhara and across the Kara Kum Desert to Ashghabad. We explore the city before crossing the Kopet Dag Mountains to the most holy of Iran's cities Mashhad. The incredible shrine complex of Emam Reza, the eighth grandson of the prophet Mohammed, is one of the great architectural wonders of the Islamic world, and is said to receive more than 5 million pilgrims each year.
  Days 22-24. To beautiful Isfahan We join our overnight train to the beautiful city of Isfahan with its wonderful blue tiled buildings and covered bazaar. Our sightseeing includes the stunning Masjed-e Emam Mosque, one of Iran's great architectural ensembles, with time to explore the Grand Bazaar and discover some of the cities renowned tea-houses.
 
  Days 25-31. Tehran and the trans-Asia Express and Istanbul Tehran is a busy, crowded metropolis with few historic sights to reward the visitor, however it boasts some excellent museums many housed in former palaces. Our sightseeing includes the excellent National Museum and Palace Museum, while the carpet, coin and ceramics museums offer more specialised displays. On our last evening we board the trans-Asia Express for the three night journey across western Iran and Turkey to Istanbul.

Details:

• Group Size 15 maximum, plus Group Leader Accommodation Hotels & Guesthouses - 19 nights (twin share) Train - 11 nights (4-berth) Meals 21 in total
• Breakfast (19), Lunch (2) Travel by Train: Comfortable 4-berth sleepers
• There are 7 rail sectors on this journey - Beijing to Xian (1 night), Xian to Turpan (2 nights), Urumqi to Almaty (2 nights), Almaty to Chimkent (1 night), Mashhad to Isfahan (1 night), Isfahan to Tehran (1 night) and Tehran to Istanbul (3 nights)
• Other: A variety of private chartered vehicles (China, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan & Iran are used on the non-rail overland sectors).  For 'Scheduled Sightseeing' we generally use small minibuses, and for 'City Exploring' we use local taxis, public transport and go on foot
• Sightseeing Scheduled Sightseeing is part of the itinerary and includes all transport, entrance fees and English speaking local guide
• While too numerous to detail here, extensive "Scheduled Sightseeing" is provided in the following cities: Xian, Turpan, Almaty, Tashkent, Samarkand, Bukhara, Ashghabad, Mashhad, Isfahan, Tehran, and Istanbul
• Full details in the Trip Dossier
• City Exploring is further sightseeing outside the itinerary guideline but with the Group Leader
• Local Payment Your Local Payment is the final balance payment of your tour price and is to be paid directly to your Group Leader at the Pre Departure Meeting on day 1 of your tour
• The Local Payment is utilised by your Group Leader to pay for various locally provided services
• Visas Required for China, Kazakstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Iran and Turkey (depends on nationality)
• Adventure Center will provide all required invitation letters and full visa support, including detailed visa guidelines
• Experience in the region Adventure Center have been operating tours to all the regions visited for more than 15 years
• Trip Dossier Our dossier provides further information about this journey and is available on request
• Call Adventure Center or your agent, or visit www.sundownersoverland.com What impresses our travellers Crossing Asia from the Far East to Istanbul - by rail, and the incredible architectural highlights of Uzbekistan and Iran.