Heart of the Silk Road. 14 days escorted from Auckland

HEART OF THE SILK ROAD     12 - 21 September, 2020 

Day 1. Thursday September 10.   Auckland Depart               

Join your escort at Auckland airport and depart. Free home pickup and return from any home between Whangarei and Hamilton/Taupo/Tauranga.

Day 2. Friday September 11. Tashkent arrive.

Arrive Tashkent tonight. Tashkent was once an ancient oasis, now a bustling metropolis. So much to explore. For now, you relax in your first-class hotel. Tomorrow, you’ll board the Orient Silk Road Express.

Overnight: Grand Mir Hotel (or similar)               

Day 3. Saturday 12 September.   Tashkent.

Today we will relax and recover from our flight and explore some of the local sights not on our official itinerary.

Day 4. Sunday 13 September.  Tashkent, the Green Oasis

Under immense blue skies, you tour vibrant Tashkent, the Uzbek capital along the ancient Silk Road. History comes to life through the city’s impressive sepia and turquoise architecture as caravanserai, fortresses, museums and madrasas rise from the desert.

In the cool dusk, you visit a music hall to enjoy a performance (schedule permitting). Later amid the pillars and chandeliers of Tashkent station, you board your private train to continue your discovery of the legendary Silk Road.

Overnight: On board (BLD)

Day 5. Monday 14 September.  Shahrisabz, the Mighty

Today you explore Shahrisabz, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and birthplace of Timur, a fourteenth-century Mongol conqueror who filled this once mighty city with majestic testaments to his earthly power. His palaces surround you in the city’s bustling markets. Later you enjoy a folklore performance and meet some local villagers. Before night closes in, you depart on your private train, joining fellow travelers for an Uzbek wine tasting in the dining car.

Overnight: On board (BLD)

Day 6. Tuesday 15 September. Bukhara, the Noble

Beneath the impressive design of the Kalyan Minaret, you gaze at the intricate tilework of the magnificent city gates of old Bukhara. ThisUNESCO World Heritage Site is a virtual city museum of a thousand monuments, every single one a testimony to the glory days of the legendary Silk Road. At Lyab-i Hauz you learn about the 500-year-old technology that keeps a pool from evaporating in the heat of the Kyzylkum Desert. Later in the courtyard of a madrasa, you discover the stories of Sufi poet Nasreddin Hodja, local dances, Uzbek music and dazzling national costumes.

Overnight: Hotel Asia Bukhara (or similar) (BLD)

Day 7. Wednesday 16 September.  Mausoleum of the Samanid

It’s another glorious day in the desert devoted to the rich sights and history of Bukhara—the magnificent design of the Mir-i Arab madrasa; the Samanid Mausoleum, one of the most revered buildings in Central Asia; the gigantic, 1,500-year-old Ark of Bukhara; and a unique women’s mosque. Standing on the immense ramparts of the city wall, you take in spectacular panoramic views of Bukhara, its turquoise and yellow surfaces glimmering in the bright afternoon sun.

Day 8. Thursday 17 September.    A Fairy Tale from the Thousand and One Nights

Today you arrive in Khiva, an ancient walled city now a thriving, living museum. Beneath the vivid glazed blue mosaic of the Kalta Minor minaret, you set out through the sun and shade of winding streets on a dreamlike tour of the city’s palaces, mosques, mausoleums and madrasas. You enjoy lunch in the old Summer Palace of the Emir.

Overnight: On board (BLD)

Day 9. Friday 18 September. Samarkand, the Ancient

The stunning sites of Samarkand, one of the oldest settlements on Earth, take you through an amazing history of conquest, culture and faith. At the time of Timur, the city was considered the most beautiful in the world. It’s almost impossible to suppress your sense of wonder as you stand among the ornate marble pillars and vaults of Registan Square or the exquisite glazed mosaics of the Shah-i-Zinda necropolis. Throughout the day you discover more and more, including the Afrasiyab excavation site, where you untangle the roots of this astonishing civilization.

Overnight: Registan Plaza Hotel (or similar) (BLD)

Day 10. Saturday 19 September. Crossroads of Cultures

Today you observe Uzbek craftsmen skillfully weave silk into carpets and press paper from mulberry bark before visiting the magnificent Ulugh Beg Observatory, the ruins of Bibi-Khanym Mosque and the Gur-e Amir mausoleum.

Overnight: Registan Plaza Hotel (or similar) (BLD)

Day 11. Sunday 20 September. The Tracks to Tashkent

On a last bright morning in Samarkand, you breakfast, wander the city, and board your private train by noon.

The green hills, ancient rock and distant mountains of the spectacular steppe scroll past your window. By afternoon, you arrive in Tashkent, to discover another historic Silk Road city.

Overnight: Grand Mir Hotel (or similar) (BLD)

Day 12. Monday 21 September. The Journey Home

After breakfast you head to the airport via private transfer service, marking the end of your unforgettable adventure on the legendary Silk Road. On the way, you look back at the time you spent on the world’s most famous trade route. Images play in your head—civilizations rising and falling in the desert; silk, spice and other wares being traded across continents; all made unforgettable by the ease and extravagance of rail travel on the Orient Silk Road Express. (B)             

Day 13. Tuesday 22 September    EN ROUTE 

Day 14. Wednesday 23 September    ARRIVE AUCKLAND                            

Transfer home (Whangarei to Taupo ) with many great memories of ancient empires.

(B) = Breakfast, (L) = Lunch, (D) = Dinner