Orient Silk Road Express

Today you fly to Tashkent.

In the early morning you arrive in Tashkent and are taken to your comfort hotel. After a morning of relaxation, you will meet your tour guide and fellow travelers in the afternoon. An impressive start to your trip is provided by a city tour with the Kukeldash madrasah, Kavoy and Amir Timur monuments and the typical mud houses. 

After breakfast this morning, you will leave for the Amirsai ski resort through the narrow valleys of the Chimgan Mountains. You then travel by cable car and enjoy a fantastic view. After you have enjoyed your lunch with a view, your journey continues to the Charvak reservoir with a photo stop, revealing its most photogenic side during a short stop. After the return journey, you will move into your compartment on the Orient Silk Road Express in Tashkent in the afternoon. Your journey on the legendary Silk Road begins! A welcome drink and a short lecture await you on board.

Explore the oasis of Khiva - a fairytale from 1001 nights in stone. Standing in front of the mighty city wall of Khiva with its gates and bastions made of mud bricks, you will feel as if you have been transported to another world: around the Kalta Minor Minaret, life still pulsates as it did in ancient times. Take in all the sights on a tour: Palaces, mosques, minarets, mausoleums and madrasas form one of the best-preserved ensembles of medieval oriental urban architecture. You will spend the night on board. 

Situated in the middle of the Kysylkum desert, Bukhara has around a thousand monuments reminiscent of the glory days of the Great Silk Road. In the old town, you can see the almost 50-metre-high Kaljan Minaret and the Labi-Hauz ensemble by the pond. In front of the monument to Nasreddin, an oriental version of Till Eulenspiegel, you can listen to some of his jokes and legends. In the courtyard of a madrasah, you will experience a folklore show with music, local dances and a presentation of colorful national costumes. You will spend the night in a middle-class hotel in Bukhara.

If you have booked today's excursion package, you will experience Bukhara as part of a full-day sightseeing program including lunch. The city presents itself to you as a large, unique and authentic architectural museum that has retained its ancient oriental appearance. In the morning, we will take you to the magnificent Mire-e-Arab madrasah and the most valuable building in Central Asia, the Samanid mausoleum. Afterwards, you will take a tour of the mighty Ark Fortress, a city within a city, which was once the seat of government of the rulers of Bukhara. You will spend the night on board the train.

Overnight you have traveled through the mountains. Experience the unique traditions of this region that has been lost in time at a folklore performance today. You will then travel to Shahrisab, the birthplace of Tamerlane. In the evening, you will depart on your special train to Dushanbe.

After arriving in Tajikistan's capital Dushanbe in the morning, you will discover numerous sights on a sightseeing tour. The city's many parks provide relaxation in the countryside: take a break in the idyllic Rudaki Park. In the late afternoon, you return to your train and set off in the direction of Samarkand. 

Explore the sights of this historically famous city, which was considered the most beautiful and important city in the world under Tamerlan: the Shah-e-sende tomb city (a name that paradoxically means the living ruler in Persian), the excavation sites of Afrosiab with a guided tour of the museum and Registan Square, which is certainly the most impressive architectural ensemble in Central Asia. Registan Square is surrounded by three mighty madrasahs. Impressive in terms of decoration and color: the huge magnificent portals. In the background, the domes of the mosques glitter like something out of an oriental fairy tale. In 1917, the women of Uzbekistan burned their face veils at this historic site and embarked on a new era. Here in Samarkand you will stay in a middle-class hotel for the next two nights. 

Enjoy free time today. If you have booked the excursion package, you will visit a manufactory for silk carpets and an Uzbek family of craftsmen who make paper from mulberry tree bark, you will see the observatory of Ulug Beg and the ruins of the Bibi Khanum mosque. You will also visit the interior of the palatial Gur Emir mausoleum. It houses the tomb of Tamerlan, a famous builder who turned his capital city into a paradise, but who also went down in history as a feared conqueror and the subject of many poems - the most famous of which was written by Edgar Allen Poe.

After breakfast, your train sets off in the direction of Kyrgyzstan. Enjoy a relaxing day on the Orient Silk Road Express and listen to the exciting presentations on board!

After breakfast on board, you will reach the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek. Discover its numerous sights on a round trip. With around 100m² of green space per inhabitant, Bishkek is one of the greenest cities in the world! And of course the Ala Artsha National Park is also part of the program. Spend the night in a comfortable hotel in Bishkek.

After breakfast, your train sets off for the breathtaking Issykkul Lake. After visiting the Center for Nomadic Culture, you will have time for a walk, or perhaps a short swim, along the Issyk-Kul. After a boat tour on the Issyk-Kul, your train sets off for Almaty. 

Arrival after lunch. Explore this beautiful city on a tour of the Russian Orthodox wooden cathedral, wedding palace, circus and central mosque. During your farewell dinner in a typical local yurt restaurant, you can chat with your fellow travelers about all the fairy tales you have been at the center of on your journey before spending a last short night at the hotel. 

Flight to Switzerland - the end of a magical journey!

This trip can also be booked in the opposite direction.