Central Asia · Spring and autumn
Central Asia and the Silk Road
Mosques and madrasas of blue tiles in the caravan cities of the Silk Road, mountain lakes with the yurts of nomadic herders and canyons in the steppe: Central Asia is one of the great trips still waiting to be discovered.
Updated 20 October 2026 · How we make our guides
The Silk Road in Uzbekistan
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UzbekistanSamarkand
Registan Square, framed by three tiled madrasas, in one of the oldest cities in Asia.
What to see in Samarkand -
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UzbekistanKhiva
A walled city that feels like an open-air museum, a World Heritage Site.
What to see in Khiva
Mountains and steppe
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KyrgyzstanSong-Kol Lake
A high mountain lake with herders' yurts in summer.
What to see in Song-Kol Lake -
KyrgyzstanLake Issyk-Kul
One of the largest mountain lakes in the world, surrounded by snowy peaks.
What to see in Lake Issyk-Kul -
KazakhstanAlmaty
A green city at the foot of snowy mountains, gateway to canyons and lakes.
What to see in Almaty -
KazakhstanCharyn Canyon
A red rock canyon in the steppe, often compared to the Grand Canyon.
What to see in Charyn Canyon
Frequently asked questions
What is the Silk Road?
The network of trade routes that linked China with the Mediterranean; Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva were among its great caravan cities.
When is the best time to travel to Central Asia?
Spring and autumn for the cities of Uzbekistan, which are very hot in summer; the mountains of Kyrgyzstan are best in summer.
How do you get around Uzbekistan?
Fast trains link Tashkent, Samarkand and Bukhara; Khiva can be reached by train, by road or by plane.
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More travel ideas
- The Caucasus: Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan
- South-East Asia: which countries to visit
- Travelling solo
- All ideas
Reviewed 20 October 2026. Dates and seasonal warnings: the same data the Bagintravel app uses. Sources and method.
Cover photo: Stomac (CC BY-SA 2.0 fr), Wikimedia Commons.