Our group of seven people did a Central Asia trip that covered Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan in May 2024. This blog covers the details of the trip. It is best read on a laptop or a desktop.
The participants of this trip are seen in the picture below in the beautiful Fann mountains in Tajikistan: Abhay Apte, Maithili Apte, Anjali Kothari, Yash Patwardhan, Samir Palnitkar, Anuradha Palnitkar and Sahil Palnitkar.
It was a self-arranged trip. We did all the bookings ourselves. We divided the work between ourselves. We traveled Uzbekistan -> Tajikistan -> Kazakhstan -> Kyrgyzstan. The red dots on the map below show all the places we traveled to in Central Asia.
Detailed descriptions for our trip in each country are described in the links below.
Detailed Uzbekistan Trip Blog – May 17-22, 2024
Detailed Tajikistan Trip Blog – May 22-24, 2024
Detailed Kazakhstan Trip Blog – May 24-30, 2024.
Detailed Kyrgyzstan Trip Blog – May 30-June 1, 2024
We traveled between the countries in Central Asia as follows:
- India/US -> Uzbekistan: Flight from India, US to Tashkent, Uzbekistan on May 17, 2024
- Uzbekistan -> Tajikistan: Hired car from Samarkand, Uzbekistan to Dushanbe, Tajikistan via Iskanderkul Lake on May 22, 2024
- Tajikistan -> Kazakhstan: Flight from Dushanbe, Tajikistan to Almaty, Kazakhstan on May 24, 2024
- Kazakhstan to Kyrgyzstan: Flight from Astana, Kazakhstan to Almaty, Kazakhstan to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstand on May 30, 2024
- Kyrgyzstan to India/US: Flight from Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan to Almaty, Kazakstan to India/US on June 1, 2024
Uzbekistan Trip – May 17-22, 2024
Uzbekistan is a country rich in history and the birthplace of Babur, the founder of the Mughal dynasty in India. As a country, Uzbekistan was a part of the USSR until 1991 when the USSR collapsed. The country achieved independence from the Soviet Union in 1991 and became a sovereign country with pretty much the same borders when it was a part of USSR. We spent 6 days in Uzbekistan. We covered Tashkent, Fergana Valley, Samarkand and Bukhara. There are a lot of historical sights in Uzbekistan since Samarkand and Bukhara had the Khanate kingdoms and Fergana Valley lay on the silk route. Within Uzbekistan, we traveled by train, car and flight. We used Yandex taxis within each city.
Click here for a detailed blog of our 6-day trip to Uzbekistan.
Tajikistan Trip – May 22-24, 2024
Tajikistan was a part of the USSR until 1991 when the USSR collapsed. The country achieved independence from the Soviet Union in 1991 and became a sovereign country with pretty much the same borders when it was a part of USSR. We spent 3 days in Tajikistan. We covered the Fann Mountains (Pamir Mountain Range), Iskanderkul Lake, Dushanbe (the capital). Even today, Tajikistan is ruled by a authoritarian regime. Within Tajikistan, we traveled by road. We used local taxis in Dushanbe.
Click here for a detailed blog of our 3-day trip to Tajikistan.
Kazakhstan Trip – May 24-30, 2024
Kazakhstan is the 9th largest country in the world by land area, and the largest country in Central Asia. As a country, Kazakhstan was a part of the USSR until 1991 when the USSR collapsed. In 1984, we had read about Rakesh Sharma from India going into space from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on the Soyuz T-11 mission. We never thought of Kazakhstan separately from the Soviet Union at that time. Kazakhstan achieved independence from the Soviet Union in 1991 and became a sovereign country with pretty much the same borders when it was a part of USSR. We spent 7 days in Kazakhstan in both the north and the south. Almaty, Charyn Canyon, Lake Kolsay, Astana and Burabay National Park. Within Kazakhstan, we traveled by air and road. We used Yandex taxis within each city.
Click here for a detailed blog of our 7-day trip to Kazakhstan.
Kyrgyzstan Trip – May 30 – June 1, 2024
Kyrgyzstan is adjacent to Kazakhstan. Almaty, Kazakhstan to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan is a mere 300 km. At many points in our journey, the Kazakh border was a 100 ft away. Kyrgyzstan was a part of the USSR until 1991 when the USSR collapsed. We spent a short 3 days in Kyrgyzstan exploring Bishkek, Lake Issykul and Ala Archa National Park. We used Yandex taxis within Bishkek. We had a private vehicle booked to travel to Lake Issykul and Ala Archa National Park.
Click here for a detailed blog of our 3-day trip to Kyrgyzstan.
It was a wonderful trip to Central Asia from May 17 – June 1, 2024. Detailed descriptions for our trip in each country are described in the links below.
Detailed Uzbekistan Trip Blog – May 17-22, 2024
Detailed Tajikistan Trip Blog – May 22-24, 2024
Detailed Kazakhstan Trip Blog – May 24-30, 2024.
Detailed Kyrgyzstan Trip Blog – May 30-June 1, 2024
Abhay, Maithili, Anjali, Anu and Samir came back to Pune, India on June 2, 2024. Sahil and Yash arrived in Washington DC on June 2, 2024 via Istanbul, Turkey.
