| The ancient cities of Samarkand and Bukhara lie on the edge of the Karakum desert. They are watered by the rivers flowing west towards the Caspian Sea from the Pamir and the Tien Shan mountains. Samarland is probably the best known of the Central Asian silk road cities. Its magnificent monuments were built during the reign of Tamerlane who made it the capital of his vast empire. On a clear day the snowy summits of the Fann mountains may be seen - the mosty westerly ridges of the Pamir.
We have designed two treks to the Fann specially for Geographical readers the first crosses the snowy Kaznok Pass to extent the trek to lake Iskanderkul - named after Alexander the Great; the second spends an extra day visiting Bukhara and Samarkand. The dry climate, juniper forests, clear rivers and colourful lakes, combined with the friendly local people, make for trekking of an outstanding quality. Some of the days are long and require fitness but only day packs need to be carried as the trek is fully mule supported. Most of the walking is on paths, though some of them are steep when crossing passes. On the Kaznok variant (first trip) scree and easy snow slopes must be crossed. |
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Programme (17th July - 1st August 1999) 1. Fly overnight to Tashkent. 2. Fly to Bukhara, city tour after lunch. 3. Drive to Samarkand, city tour after lunch. 4. Drive to camp by the Marguzor Lakes. 5 - 13. Trek in the Fann. 14. Over Kaznok Pass to Lake Iskanderkul. 15. Drive back to Samarkand. 16. Drive back to Tashkent, fly back to London.
Trips cost GBP 1275 ex UK. All inclusive except for visas. |
