Silk Road Railway

Departing: Istanbul - 30 days
Countries visited: Turkey, Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakstan & China

A true Silk Road journey of discovery from the spectacular palaces and wonderful bazaars of Istanbul by rail to the blue domes of Isfahan’s famous mosque and along the ‘Golden Road to Samarkand’ then across the steppe and mountains of Kazakstan and over the Tien Shan into China’s vast western provinces and by rail to its capital.

Itinerary

Days 1-5. Istanbul - Gateway to the Silk Road
Early Silk Road explorers set out from Constantinople to follow the “golden road” of trade to Central Asia and the distant empire known as Cathay. Today the journey is far more comfortable, but no shorter! Following our time in Istanbul (as Constantinople is now known) we join the trans-Asia Express for our 3-night journey across the breadth of Turkey to the capital of Iran, Tehran. Our comfortable sleeper berths provide a wonderful opportunity to witness the wild and changing landscape as we travel to the lands of ancient Persia.

Days 6-10. Incredible Iran
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. 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. Reluctantly leaving this incredible city, we climb aboard the train destined for our final stop in Iran - 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 11-18. The “golden” cities of Central Asia - Samarkand & Bukhara
Leaving Iran we cross the Kopet Dag mountains to Turkmenistan and its capital Ashghabad. We explore the city before boarding the Trans-Caspian railway across the Kara Kum Desert to 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 Lyabi-Hauz. Across the Kyzyl Kum Desert lie the fabulous monuments of Samarkand. 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.

Days 19-23. Through the Dzungarian Gate to Xinjiang
We leave Samarkand for the Uzbek capital, Tashkent and the border with Kazakstan where we join the train to Almaty. Nestled in the foothills to the mighty Tien Shan Mountains, Almaty offers an enjoyable change from the endless desert landscapes of Central Asia. These soaring peaks were a formidable obstacle for the camel caravans and only a few passes provided access between Central Asia and China. The long delayed Sino-Soviet Peace Railway project was finally completed, and the railway now traverses the mountains through the Dzungarian Gate to China’s Xinjiang Province. Snow-capped peaks can be seen for most of the year at the border post of Druzhba (Peace) before the downhill run to Urumqi.

Days 24-27. China’s Silk Road
Beyond Urumqi lie the fabled oases of the Taklamakan Desert: Kashgar, and the overland route to India to the south, while to the east lie Turpan, Hami, Dunhuang and Xian. We explore the oasis of Turpan, which still reflects life as it was along the Silk Road and the faces in the bazaar recall the four corners of Asia. Finally, we board the train for our final two-night journey which carries us westwards across the Taklamakan Desert to Jiayuguan, and the bastion ramparts of the Great Wall's most westerly garrison and onwards to Xian. At the height of Silk Road prosperity 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. Finally our overnight train carries us from the gateway of the great Silk Road to the nation’s capital, Beijing.

Days 28-30. Beijing - the adventure is complete
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.

Essentials

Group Size
15 maximum, plus Group Leader

Accommodation
Hotels/Guesthouses - 18 nights (twin share)
Train - 11 nights (4-berth)

Meals
18 in total. Breakfast (18)

Travel by
Train: Comfortable 4-berth sleepers.
There are 7 rail sectors on this journey
- Istanbul to Tehran (3 nights)
- Tehran to Isfahan (1 night)
- Isfahan to Mashhad (1 night)
- Chimkent to Almaty (1 night)
- Almaty to Urumqi (2 nights)
- Turpan to Xian (2 nights)
- Xian to Beijing (1 night)
Other: A variety of private chartered vehicles (China, Uzbekistan, Kazakstan, 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: Beijing, 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). Sundowners Overland will provide all required invitation letters and full visa support, including detailed visa guidelines.