Overland Between Istanbul And Xi'an

Overland Between Istanbul And Xi'an

Follow in the footsteps of the traders who travelled this ancient route linking east to west on our hugely popular Silk Route overland trip. Starting in Istanbul, the cosmopolitan Turkish city which bridges Europe and Asia, you’ll overland through Turkey, through Cappadocia’s Goreme Valley, before crossing through little-visited (but one of our favourite countries) Iran. Mosques, souqs and bazaars pepper this desert country, as well as Persian splendours, and you’ll spend time in local villages, in oases and at a caravanserai, learning about local life as well as visiting the towns and cities of Tehran, Esfahan, Shiraz and Yadz. From there, it’s into Central Asia ‘proper’: Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. Haggle at Sunday markets, visit remote desert communities, discover amazing National Parks, stay with local families in yurts, visit the UNESCO world heritage site of Khiva and explore the gems of the Silk Route – Bukhara and Samarkand. The mountain kingdom of Kyrgyzstan is for many, a highlight of this route – and you’ll stay in traditional yurts at Song Kul Lake to learn about nomadic life. Crossing through the Tian Shan mountains, through the awesome Torugart Pass, you’ll reach Western China, to explore Kashgar before overlanding skirting the edge of the Taklamakan Desert, to Turpan and Dunhuang; experiencing Tibetan culture in Xiahe, one of the main pilgrimage sites for Tibetan Buddhists and crossing the Tibetan Plateau. The trip ends in Xi’an, with a visit to the world-famous Terracotta Warriors.Istanbul is the crossroads of East and West. Here the cultures of Europe and Asia mingle. It is the hub on the end (or start) of the Silk Route. We explore this magnificant city and then head into the central Anatolian plains to the amazing Capadoccian Valleys. Heading north and further east we come to perhaps the most fascinating country on our route, Iran. Policitially at odds with the West, this ancient ciivilisation is as welcoming as any en-route and the wealth of things to do and see is staggering. Crossing the ancient Touragat Pass we enter Chinese Turkenstan, in modern day western China. We then climb into the Karakoram Mountains and from the oasis trading city of Kashgar head to the Taklimarkan Desert and onto Xi'an. From Xi'an we head north to the great city of Beijing, to the Great Wall and the wealth of imperial palaces.