ON THE ROADS OF ANCIENT CARAVANS
Tashkent (Uzbekistan) – Turkmenistan – Aktau (Kazakhstan)
The expedition is carried out on 4×4 SUVs
1 day
Transfer Bukhara – Mary.
On the way to Mary we will make a stop in Bayram-Ali and take a tour of Ancient Merv. In terms of the number of historical monuments, Ancient Merv is the most significant archaeological, historical and architectural reserve of Turkmenistan. The ruins of Merv are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Dinner at a restaurant in Mary.
Overnight in Mary at the hotel: “MARY”
2 day
MARY – MARGUSH – ASHGABAT
At 07:00 departure to Gonur-Depe (Ancient Margush) (90 km, approx. 3 hours drive) – Margush was a prosperous ancient kingdom in the Mary region. Using the material from the latest archaeological excavations, we can say with confidence that this kingdom existed 5 thousand years ago!
On the way we will stop for lunch – a picnic (lunch-box).
After the excursion – transfer to Ashgabat – we cut along the sands and get out in the Tejen area (approx. 3 hours). Further from Tejen to Ashgabat – 210 km and about another 2.5 hours on asphalt.
Arrival in Ashgabat. Dinner in Ashgabat. Overnight at the hotel: Ak Altyn 4*
3 day
ASHGABAT – DARVAZA
We will devote the first half to excursions around the capital of Turkmenistan and have lunch at the wonderful national restaurant “Yurta”, where they prepare delicious national Turkmen dishes!
And already at 13.00 we will head to Darvaza (approx. 274 km). Arrival at the gas crater. View and photo at sunset.
Darvaza is located in the north along the Ashgabat-Dashoguz highway, straight as an arrow. This is the very heart of the famous Karakum Desert! Just imagine: there is desert all around – and suddenly, among the sands in the ground, there is a huge hole with a diameter of 60 meters and a depth of 20 meters, from which flames burst out! The fire comes out of the ground and divides into hundreds of burning flames, some of them reaching 10-15 meters in height!
There are no fences or railings here, so you need to be extremely careful.
We will once again have the opportunity to experience the extreme conditions of spending the night in the desert, but before that we will have a delicious barbecue dinner. Overnight in tents near the crater.
4 day
After breakfast in nature, cooked over a fire by a Turkmen driver and guide, we head back to Ashgabat (approx. 274 km), and after lunch we will have time to visit Ancient Nisa, located 18 km west of Ashgabat, a unique historical monument – the ruins of the capital of the ancient Parthian states now known as Nisa (3rd century BC – 3rd century AD). In the small territory of the ancient city, a huge number of unique objects of the past were discovered, including 2,700 clay tablets with inscriptions, the ruins of the ancient fortress of Mithridatkert (an area of about 14 hectares), the remains of city blocks, temples, palaces, an archive of economic documents, works of art, etc.
Dinner at a restaurant, followed by a tour of Ashgabat at night. Overnight at the hotel: Ak Altyn 4 *
5 day
ASHGABAT – NOKHUR – BALKANABAT
Transfer Ashgabat – Nokhur (approx. 280 km), on the road – visit to the Underground Lake “Kov-Ata” with warm hydrogen sulfide water. The Kov-Ata cave is the largest in Kopetdag. At a depth of 60 m below the entrance to the cave there is a lake. Its water is saturated with hydrogen sulfide. The length of the Kov-Ata cave is 250 m (with a lake), depth is 60 m (from the main entrance).
We continue our journey: 3 hours drive from Ashgabat, high in the mountains at an altitude of 1000-1100m, in the west of the Kopetdag ridge, there is a region extraordinary in its culture. The path to this “paradise” is long and difficult – ups, downs, mountain serpentines. But all the hardships of the road are forgotten at the sight of this place of rare beauty, closed on four sides by high mountains!
6 day
Transfer Balkanabat – Avaza (approx. 170 km).
Arrival in Avaza and accommodation at the Yelken Yacht Club.
Lunch and dinner in Avaza.
Avaza is a luxurious resort complex located along the coast of the Caspian Sea. Moreover, Avaza is not just a resort, it is a tourist titan, which over the past 7 years has managed to be reborn into a modern tourist paradise with a huge number of hotels, sports complexes, swimming pools, tennis courts, and water parks. Overnight at the hotel: “YACHT CLUB ELKEN” 5*
7 day
AVAZA – KARA-BOGAZ-GOL – USTYURT PLATEAU
Breakfast at the Elken Hotel. Kara-Bogaz-Gol Bay. Crossing the border. Boszhira tract.
“Kara-Bugaz” in Turkic languages means “black throat”: water from the Caspian Sea continuously flows into the bay and evaporates – because of this, in winter and spring, a huge amount of mirabilite (a natural salt mineral) crystallizes on its shores. Thanks to this, the lead-gray bay is also called the “sea of white gold.”
After crossing the Turkmen-Kazakh border, the expedition will go to the Bozzhira tract, located on the Ustyurt Plateau.