Silk Road tours, overland adventure
| country: | China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan |
| location: | Silk Road |
| departures: | 2010: 28 Apr, 23 May, 30 Jun, 25 Aug 2011: 11 May, 5 Jun |
| price: | From £3118 - £3184 (25 days) including flights from the UK. From £2394 - £2507 excluding flights. Optional single supplement £270. Price includes accommodation, 20 breakfasts, 1 dinner, transport, tour leader and local guides. Group size, 14-18 |
| vouchers: | Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday |
the amazing things you'll be doing
Suitable for anyone in reasonable health, you should be prepared for a number of long road and rail journeys which are an integral part of this epic overland journey.
Treasures of China:
Our journey begins in Beijing, visiting the Great Wall and Forbidden City; the latter a maze of palaces and gardens, 'laid out like a chessboard', as Marco Polo wrote. In Xian, we discover the tomb of Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi (210 BC) home to an awesome 'buried army' of life size terracotta figures. Continuing north to Dunhuang we visit the vast Buddhist shrine at Mogao, where hundreds of paintings decorate the cave walls. At Turpan, relax at this famed oasis town close to the ruined citadel of Jiaohe.
Across the Taklamakan Desert:
In the remote far west of China, Xinjiang Province is a vast steppe region populated by Moslem Uighurs with their own distinctively different customs, traditions and lifestyle. We cross the mighty Taklamakan desert by train to Kashgar, once a powerful trading post on the Silk Road, and now home to the famous and colourful Sunday Market where we find ourselves haggling alongside fur-clad Uighur and Kyrgyz tribesmen.
Discover the Stans:
As we cross the Torugart Pass we enter Kyrgyzstan. Our journey continues through the open steppe and rugged mountains of this beautiful country; then takes us to Uzbekistan and the historic cities of Bokhara and Samarkand. Here we find some of the most dazzling architecture on the Silk Road; elaborately decorated mosques, ornate mausoleums and fabulous madrassas.
Highlights include:
Discover China's Great Wall & Terracotta Army Mingle with the locals at Kashgar's famous Sunday Market Journey across Kyrgyzstan's mountains to fabled Bokhara & Samarkand
Treasures of China:
Our journey begins in Beijing, visiting the Great Wall and Forbidden City; the latter a maze of palaces and gardens, 'laid out like a chessboard', as Marco Polo wrote. In Xian, we discover the tomb of Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi (210 BC) home to an awesome 'buried army' of life size terracotta figures. Continuing north to Dunhuang we visit the vast Buddhist shrine at Mogao, where hundreds of paintings decorate the cave walls. At Turpan, relax at this famed oasis town close to the ruined citadel of Jiaohe.
Across the Taklamakan Desert:
In the remote far west of China, Xinjiang Province is a vast steppe region populated by Moslem Uighurs with their own distinctively different customs, traditions and lifestyle. We cross the mighty Taklamakan desert by train to Kashgar, once a powerful trading post on the Silk Road, and now home to the famous and colourful Sunday Market where we find ourselves haggling alongside fur-clad Uighur and Kyrgyz tribesmen.
Discover the Stans:
As we cross the Torugart Pass we enter Kyrgyzstan. Our journey continues through the open steppe and rugged mountains of this beautiful country; then takes us to Uzbekistan and the historic cities of Bokhara and Samarkand. Here we find some of the most dazzling architecture on the Silk Road; elaborately decorated mosques, ornate mausoleums and fabulous madrassas.
Highlights include:
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Fly London/Beijing. |
| Day 2: | Arrive Beijing. |
| Day 3-4: | In Beijing; Forbidden City and Great Wall. |
| Day 5: | Fly Xian;city tour. |
| Day 6: | Visit 'Terracotta army'. |
| Day 7: | In Xian; overnight train Jiayuguan. |
| Day 8: | Arrive Jiayuguan. |
| Day 9: | Visit Great Wall, Fort and Xincheng Tombs. |
| Day 10: | Drive Dunhuang; visit Buddhist Mogao Caves. |
| Day 11: | Visit Mingsha Dunes; overnight train to Turpan. |
| Day 12: | Visit Jiaohe Old City. |
| Day 13: | Visit Gaochang and 1000 Buddha Caves; overnight train to Kashgar. |
| Day 14: | Arrive Kashgar. |
| Day 15: | Visit Sunday Market. |
| Day 16: | Optional trip along Karakoram Highway. |
| Day 17: | Drive via Torugart Pass to Tash Rabat. |
| Day 18: | Drive to Bishkek. |
| Day 19: | In Bishkek. |
| Day 20: | Fly to Tashkent. |
| Day 21: | Drive Samarkand; city tour. |
| Day 22: | In Samarkand. |
| Day 23: | Drive Bokhara; walking tour. |
| Day 24: | In Bokhara; overnight train to Tashkent. |
| Day 25: | Arrive Tashkent; fly London. |
small group adventure holiday
Typically you will be sharing your experiences with between 4-20 like minded travellers (depending on the trip, operator and how many others are booked on the trip) and you'll have a group leader with you. Whether you are travelling alone or with friends its good value, and a great way to meet new people! While itineraries are pre-planned there is some flexibility and you'll have plenty of privacy. This trip will appeal to travellers of all ages who enjoy meeting new people as well as seeing new places. award winner
This tourism business won an Award in our 2008 Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Awards - organised by responsibletravel.com in association with The Daily Telegraph, World Travel Market, Geographical Magazine, of the Royal Geographical Society and BBC World News.Since 2004, the Awards has recognised individuals, companies and organisations in travel making a big commitment to the culture and economies of local communities and helping to conserve biodiversity.
how this holiday makes a difference
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Community:
By using local guides we get a great insight into local history, customs and culture; anything from learning about the education system, to making sure we don’t fall foul of any taboos! Employing local people is consistent with our policy of generating economic benefits in the areas we travel to. This we also do by shopping in local markets, not just the government emporia, and using a variety of local restaurants, and it is a pleasure to support these small businesses. Travelling by train is also a great way to mix with local people. Though it is difficult in China to source accommodation which is particularly community benefiting, our hotels in Uzbekistan are generally smaller family run places. At Tash Rabat we stay in a beautiful yurt camp which enjoys a stunning location. The camp was established to benefit the local community. Environment: Travelling by train for the majority of our long journeys means we reduce our reliance on specially chartered vehicles on this tour and thus our carbon footprint. We support a variety of charities and projects worldwide which support vulnerable communities and habitats including Friends of Conservation, Hope Worldwide and Send A Cow. We are also actively engaged with UK travel industry bodies which promote best practice in responsible tourism, such as Tourism Concern, The Travel Foundation and AITO. Our commitment to responsible tourism is not limited to our overseas operation and we have measures to ensure our UK office operates according to our responsible tourism policy. Carbon offsets for all flights booked with us are included in the tour cost. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |