Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
If You Like...
Tash Rabat Caravanserai
Singularly romantic refuge for
caravans and traders, hidden in
a high mountain valley near the
Chinese border. (p284)
wildlife-watching and hiking.
(p85)
Nuratau Mountains
Uzbekistan's only community-
tourism efort ofers homestays,
hiking and horse riding south of
Lake Aidarkul. (p186)
Silk Road
Architecture
Nothing connects Central
Asia to its storied past
quite like its mosques,
minarets and medressas.
Uzbekistan is the place for
some of the world's great-
est Islamic architecture.
The Registan, Samarkand
A
jaw-dropping ensemble of not
one but three medressas. Climb
the corkscrew minarets for
views over Timur's showcase
city. (p171)
Kalon Minaret, Bukhara
This
towering minaret is so impres-
sive that it stopped Chinggis
(Genghis) Khan in his tracks
800 years ago. (p192)
Shah-i-Zinda, Samarkand
Central Asia's head-spinning
turquoise-blue Timurid tilework
doesn't get any better than this
sublime street of royal tombs.
(p173)
Ichon-Qala, Khiva
An entire
walled city of royal palaces,
blue-tiled tombs and mud-
baked city walls, frozen in time
in the Khorezm oasis. (p205)
Community-Based
Tourism
CBT, Kyrgyzstan
Pioneering
countrywide network of home-
stays and service providers that
can arrange everything from
felt-making to horse trekking.
(p247)
Eastern Pamirs
Yurtstays are
the only way to really see the
herding communities, mountain
lakes and archaeological sites
of the high Pamir mountain
range. (p338)
Jizeu (Geisev) Valley, western
Pamirs
This network of
homestays allows hikers to trek
to a scenic chain of mountain
lakes without the need for bulky
camping equipment or food.
(p342)
Aksu-Zhabagyly Nature
Reserve
Kazakhstan's best
ecotourism project is great for
Trekking
Central Asia's best-kept
secrets are its remote Tian
Shan and Pamir ranges,
hiding some of Asia's most
sublime mountain trails.
Fan Mountains, Tajikistan
Jewel-like azure blue lakes,
rugged peaks and homestays
make this the region's most
popular trekking spot. (p326)
Tian Shan, Kyrgyzstan
Behind
Karakol lies a network of lush
forested alpine valleys, hidden
lakes and snowcapped peaks,
linked by treks of two to seven
days. (p272)
Khan Tengri & Inylchek
Glaciers
Central Asia's most
beautiful peak is set in a high
amphitheatre of glacier and
rock, making it a serious moun-
tain adventure. (p77)
Zailiysky Alatau, Kazakhstan
Hiking trails and short trek
routes lead from the Almaty
city limits through Ile-Alatau
National Park to picturesque
Ozero Bolshoe Almatinskoe
lake. (p74)
IF YOU LIKE... ROAD TRIPS
Tajikitan's Pamir Highway (p351) ofers one of
the world's great mountain drives, especially if you
continue over the mountains into the deserts
around Kashgar in China.
