Flight to Bishkek. A day in transit.

Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan (2 nights). Arrival during the night in the capital, at the foot of the Tian Shan mountains, then transfer to the hotel and rest. In the afternoon, a first look at the city: Ala-Too central square, where the changing of the guard takes place and the monument to Manas, the great hero of the Kyrgyz people, stands, and the State Historical Museum. Free time. (B, L, D)

Bishkek. In the morning, the central mosque, recently built with Turkish funding, then a walk through the Osh bazaar, with its colours and its scents. Lunch. Free time. (B, L, D)

Bishkek and Lake Issyk-Kul. Departure for Lake Issyk-Kul, the second largest alpine lake in the world. Along the way, the Burana tower, from the ninth century, and lunch with a local family. On to Kurskoe along the lake's north shore. Free time. (B, L, D)

Kurskoe, Cholpon-Ata and Karakol (2 nights). In the morning, Cholpon-Ata and its petroglyph museum, rock carvings some of which date from the late Bronze Age. The site gives a panorama over Cholpon-Ata bay and the lake. Picnic lunch at a fish farm, in the Semenovskoe gorge. In the afternoon, the road to Karakol. Free time. (B, L, D)

Karakol and the Jety Oguz gorges. In the morning, the Holy Trinity church, an Orthodox cathedral built entirely of wood with emerald-green roofs, the Dungan mosque, of traditional Chinese architecture and built without a single nail, and the Przhevalsky museum, devoted to the life of a nineteenth-century Russian explorer. Lunch. In the afternoon, an excursion to the Jety Oguz gorges and a walk in the Valley of the Seven Bulls, with its layered rock formations of intense red. A horseback ride is offered at extra cost. Back to Karakol. (B, L, D)

Karakol, the Charyn canyon and Almaty, Kazakhstan (2 nights). Departure for Kazakhstan, with a stop at the Charyn canyon, known as the valley of castles. Carved by the wind and by the erosion of the Charyn river, it lines up ochre shapes unlike any other and is called the little brother of the Colorado. A walk through the canyon and lunch. On to Almaty, the former capital, set among the mountains. (B, L, D)

Almaty. A day devoted to Almaty, the most populous city in Central Asia. In the morning, a stop on Kok-Tobe hill for the view over the city, then Republic Square, inaugurated in 1980, and its Independence monument, before a walk through the Green Market, where the stalls overflow with fruit, vegetables and fish. In the afternoon, the Central State Museum of Kazakhstan and the Museum of Musical Instruments, a walk in the park of the 28 Panfilov Guardsmen, and Zenkov cathedral, with its bright colours and glazed tiles. (B, L, D)

Almaty and Tashkent, Uzbekistan. In the morning, transfer to the airport and a direct flight to Tashkent, the Uzbek capital. Met by your guide, check-in at the hotel and lunch. In the afternoon, the Khast Imam architectural complex, with the mausoleum of Abu Bakr Kaffal Shashi, the Barak-Khan madrasa and the Moyie Mubarek library museum, a place of pilgrimage that holds a seventh-century Quran said to be the oldest in the world. A stop at the Chorsu market, under its great blue-green dome, then a walk through the Tashkent metro, the first in Central Asia, each station decorated with ceramics, mosaics and glass. (B, L, D)

Tashkent and Samarkand (2 nights). Morning transfer to the station and a fast train to Samarkand, one of the oldest cities in the world and a major stage of the Silk Road. It was under Tamerlane, who made it the capital of his empire, that the city knew its age of greatness. Check-in at the hotel and lunch. In the afternoon, Registan Square, the square of sand, a vast ensemble bordered by three madrasas from the fifteenth and seventeenth centuries whose tilework is among the most sumptuous in the Islamic world. Then the Gur-e-Amir mausoleum, burial place of the Timurids, its exterior covered in mosaics of brilliant blue, and a short visit to the Ak-Saray mausoleum. (B, L, D)

Samarkand. In the morning, the astronomical observatory of Ulugh Beg, grandson of Tamerlane and a lover of art and science, the Afrasiab museum and its frescoes from the seventh and eighth centuries, then the royal necropolis of Shah-i-Zinda, a set of mausoleums from the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries that ranks among the architectural jewels of Central Asia. Lunch. In the afternoon, the Bibi Khanym mosque and a walk through the Siab bazaar. Free time. (B, L, D)

Samarkand and Bukhara (3 nights). Morning transfer to the station and a fast train to Bukhara, with its hundreds of madrasas, mosques and saints' tombs, and its craft markets sheltered under domes. Check-in at the hotel and lunch. In the afternoon, a walk through the old town: Lyabi Hauz square, the Magok-i-Attari mosque seen from outside, the Po-i-Kalyan complex with the Mir-i-Arab madrasa, the Kalon mosque and its minaret, the symbol of the city, then the trading domes of the money changers and the hatters. (B, L, D)

Bukhara and Gijduvan. In the morning, the Ark fortress, once the fortified residence of the emirs of Bukhara, the Bolo Haouz mosque, the emir's family place of worship, and, in a nearby park, the Samanid mausoleum, from the ninth century, the oldest Muslim mausoleum in Central Asia. Then an hour by coach to Gijduvan to meet the master ceramicist Abdullo Narzullayev. Making Uzbek bread with his mother and lunch with the family. Back to the hotel and free time. (B, L, D)

Bukhara. More visits, outside the old town walls: the Chor Minor madrasa, with its four minarets, hidden in the lanes of an old quarter, the Bahauddin Naqshband mausoleum, the most sacred site in the city, and the Sitorai Mokhi Khosa summer palace, the second residence of the last emirs. Free time. (B, L, D)

Bukhara and Khiva (4 nights). Coach transfer to Khiva, seven to eight hours on the road including the lunch stop. Check-in at the hotel and free time. (B, L, D)

Khiva. In the morning, a first look at the old town, the Itchan Kala, with a walk on the ramparts, the Juma mosque and its 218 carved wooden columns, and the Tash Khauli palace, the stone palace, with its many inner courtyards. After lunch, the Kalta Minor minaret, covered in green and blue majolica, and the small Sayyid Alla Uddin mausoleum, from the fourteenth century, the oldest monument in Khiva. Free time. (B, L, D)

Khiva. More of the city: the Muhammad Amin Khan madrasa, whose 125 cells on two floors housed 260 students until 1924, and the Kuhna Ark palace, the old fortress, once the official residence of the khans, with its throne room, harem, chancellery and mint. After lunch, the Pahlavan Mahmud mausoleum, its rooms covered in majolica in shades of blue and green. Free time. (B, L, D)

Khiva. In the morning, the Nurullaboy palace, just outside the walls, which blends European Art Nouveau with traditional Uzbek art. Free time for the rest of the day. In the evening, a farewell dinner. (B, L, D)

Khiva, Urgench and the return. Transfer to Urgench airport and connecting return flights to Canada. (B)