Sunset over Charyn canyon in souther Kazakhstan

Central Asia

With its medieval blue-domed cities, kinetic bazaars and remote yurtstays, Central Asia encapsulates the romance of the Silk Road like nowhere else.

Attractions

Must-see attractions

  • Registan square in Samarkand.

    Registan

    Samarkand

    This ensemble of majestic, tilting medressas – a near-overload of majolica, azure mosaics and vast, well-proportioned spaces – is the centrepiece of the…

  • SAMARKAND, UZBEKISTAN - AUGUST 28, 2016: Gur-E Amir Mausoleum, the tomb of the Asian conqueror Tamerlane or Timur, in Samarkand, Uzbekistan 571103800 amir, amir timur, ancient, architecture, art, asia, attraction, building, central asia, ceramic, city, culture, cupola, decoration, detail, dome, gur-e, gur-e amir, heritage, historic, holy, islam, islamic, landmark, madrasa, madrasah, majolica, mausoleum, minaret, monument, mosaic, mosque, muslim, old, oriental, ornament, pattern, religion, samarkand, samarqand, tamerlane, tile, timur, tomb, tourism, town, travel, unesco, uzbek, uzbekistan

    Gur-e-Amir Mausoleum

    Samarkand

    The beautiful portal and trademark fluted azure dome of the Gur-e-Amir Mausoleum marks the final resting place of Timur (Tamerlane), along with two sons…

  • Decorative features of a mausoleum in the Shah-i-Zinda necropolis complex. 541333459 Decoration, Uzbekistan, Tile, Horizontal, Turquoise Colored, Tomb, Mausoleum, Samarkand, Close-up, Photography

    Shah-i-Zinda

    Samarkand

    Samarkand’s most moving and beloved site is this stunning avenue of mausoleums, which contains some of the richest tilework in the Muslim world. The name,…

  • Rock formation around the alpine Köl-Suu lake, Kurumduk valley, Naryn province, Kyrgyzstan; Shutterstock ID 2255076413; your: Sloane Tucker; gl: 65050; netsuite: Online Editorial; full: POI 2255076413

    Köl-Suu

    Kyrgyzstan

    Remote even by Kyrgyzstan standards, magnificent Köl-Suu lake stretches over 10km through a sheer mountain gorge that reaches nearly to the Chinese border…

  • The aerial view of Beket Ata underground mosque and madrassa on Ustyurt plateau, Aktau region, Western Kazakhstan.

    Beket-Ata

    Kazakhstan

    Some 285km east of Aktau, Beket-Ata is an important and extremely popular place of pilgrimage for those wishing to visit the underground mosque and final…

  • Ark fortress in Bukhara, Uzbekistan.

    Ark

    Bukhara

    The spectacular-looking Ark, a royal town-within-a-town, is Bukhara’s oldest structure, occupied from the 5th century right up until 1920, when it was…

  • Savitsky Museum

    Savitsky Museum

    Nukus

    The Savitsky Museum houses one of the most remarkable art collections in the former Soviet Union. About half of the paintings were brought here in Soviet…

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Trailblazers: crossing into China as a Lonely Planet writer in the 1980s

Jul 7, 2019 • 8 min read

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