Day 1: 08.10. Flight from Finland to the heart of Central Asia
At 10:00 we will meet at Helsinki-Vantaa airport. Flight Helsinki-Istanbul 12.30-16.20. Connecting flight to Tajikistan capital Dushanbe at 18.35.
Day 2: 09.10. We arrive in Dushanbe
We arrive at 01.10 a.m. After border formalities, we gather with the group and wait for the transfer to the hotel, where we check in early. EU citizens do not need a visa.
At around 12.00, a sightseeing tour of Dushanbe begins. During the tour we will make several stops. We will leave the bus at the statue of Ismail Saman, one of the most impressive and modern monuments in Dushanbe. This monument was erected in 1999 to commemorate the 1100th anniversary of the Samanid dynasty. In front of the Palace of Nations we see the flagpole, which at 165 metres was the tallest flagpole in the world when it was erected in 2011.
Afterwards, we will visit the National Museum. The museum is housed in an impressive modern building with an elliptical roof and a gigantic atrium. The collection consists of three main sections – natural history, archaeology and contemporary art. The main exhibits include wall paintings of the ancient Penjikent and a magnificent 1000s wooden mehrab (mosque prayer place) discovered near Ayn. The museum is not only an archive of ancient and rare monuments, but also a place of ancient history of the Tajik people.
We will also visit the Mehrgo bazaar. Spread over 10 000 square metres, the luxurious three-storey bazaar is much more like a palace than a typical bare bazaar. The modern bazaar is inspired by the famous Silk Road architecture, with ornate cornices, large arches and many features of the Islamic style. Officially, the building was only intended to serve as the capital’s main commercial centre, but in the eyes of the Tajik government it is also an architectural achievement that raised the national pride of the nascent country.
Overnight in an Atlas 4* or equivalent hotel. Meals: (B,D)
Day 3: 10.10. Dushanbe-Varzob Gorge- Lake Iskanderkul (140 km, about 4 hours)
After breakfast, we hand over the rooms. At 09:00 we drive to the north of Tajikistan, to the shores of Lake Iskanderkul, via Varzob Gorge. Iskanderkul is a glacial mountain lake in the province of Sughd. Iskanderkul literally means Lake Alexander the Great. Historically, it is not certain whether Alexander the Great visited the lake. However, locals believe that he did and that one of his favourite horses drowned in the lake during a battle. Local legend has it that during a full moon, the horse comes to graze on the shores at midnight.
The lake is located at an altitude of 2 195 m on the northern slopes of the Gissar mountain range in the Fann Mountains. The Fann Mountains may be less famous than the Pamirs, but they are the third highest mountain range in Asia.
Varzob Gorge is a beautiful mountain range a short drive from Dushanbe.
We will stop several times during the trip.
When we arrive, we will take a short walk around the lake.
We will stay at Alik’s 2* or similar guesthouse. Meals: (B,D)
Day 4: 11.10. Iskanderkul – Sarytag village – Dushanbe (160 km, about 6 hours)
After breakfast, the return journey to Dushanbe begins. We will drive about 7 km from our accommodation and arrive at Sarytag village. We will take a short walking tour of the village.
We will make several stops along the way.
At the end of the evening we will arrive in Dushanbe where we will stay in a familiar hotel.
Overnight at Atlas 4* or similar hotel. Meals: (B,D)
Day 5: 12.10. Dushanbe-Bokhtar (150 km, about 3 hours)
After breakfast, we drive to the city of Bokhtar, in southern Tajikistan. We will pass the Shurobad Pass and drive through the town of Kulob.
We will make several stops along the way.
Unfortunately, most of the sculptures have already been distorted or completely destroyed centuries ago. The Buddha has been on display at the Dushanbe National Archaeological Museum since 2001. After the Taliban blew up the Buddha statues in Bamiyan, Afghanistan in March 2001, this is the largest surviving pre-Islamic Buddha statue. Central Asia.
Stay at the Bokhtar Hotel, Bokhtar. Meals: (B,D)
Day 6: 13.10. Bokhtar-TJK/AFG -Shir Khan Bandar-Kunduz (180 km, 6 hours)
After breakfast, we drive to the Tajik-Afghan border at Shir Khan Bandar (about 80 km, 1 hour 45 minutes).Border formalities: passport control, obtaining a visa (we will get it at the border), obtaining permits and registration. Estimated process may take 4-5 hours. Visa fee in cash 100-120 USD.
After border formalities we will meet together. A local guide will explain travel in Afghanistan.
We continue driving to Kunduz city (63 km, 1 hour 15 minutes).
Konduz is not only a city and a province, but also a river flowing through the region. Kunduz began to appear under its own name during the Timurid period. Babur used it as a base for his unsuccessful attempts to conquer the territories behind Amudarya. What is now northern Afghanistan began to become Turkicised, and eventually the region was ruled by a series of small Uzbek-founded principalities. We will visit the bazaar of Kunduz and explore the city.
Overnight at the Supeenzar Hotel, Kunduz. Meals: (B,L,D)
Day 7: 14.10. Kunduz-Kabul (275 km, 8 hours)
After breakfast, we drive to Kabul, via the Salang Pass. It is a beautiful drive through mountains and nice provinces, we make several stops, enjoy a snack. We can also, for example, photograph the scenery. The road has been used as a trade route between central Afghanistan and the northern region, historically known as Bactria for at least 4000 years. It is the main route through the Hindu Kush mountain range.
Overnight at Safi Landmark Hotel, Kabul. Meals: (B,L,D)
Day 8: 15.10. Sights of Kabul, full day
After breakfast at the hotel, we head for a short visit to the bird sanctuary (Kah Froshi).
After a visit to the bird sanctuary, we will visit Bagh-e Babor Park (c.1528,) one of Kabul’s most famous attractions, and the burial place of Babor, founder of the Great Mughal Empire. Although present-day Afghanistan was not Babur’s original homeland (he was born in Ferghana in present-day Uzbekistan), he felt so fond of Kabul that he wanted to be buried here. When Babur died in 1530, he was buried in Agra against his will. Between 1539 and 1544, Sher Shah Suri, a rival of Babur’s son Humayun, granted his wish and buried him in the garden of Bagh-e Babor. The tombstone placed on his grave read: “If there is a paradise on earth, it is this, it is this, it is this”.
We visit two palaces: the Chelston (Zaman Shah, one of the rulers of the Durran Empire) and the Darul Aman (a 150-room palace originally built in the 1920s under Amanullah Khan).
After visiting the palaces we visit the Shrine of Sakhi which is both a shrine and a mosque. The shrine is associated with the place where the cloak of the Islamic prophet Mohammed was brought and the visit of his son-in-law Ali and Mohammed’s cousin, who later himself served as Caliph.
At the end of the day, before dinner, we will visit the Wazir Akbar Khan hill and enjoy the sunset and beautiful views of Kabul city.
We will stay at the 4* Safi Landmark Kabul hotel. (B,L,D)
Day 9: 16.10. from Kabul to Bamiyan (181 km, 4 hours)
After breakfast, we start our journey to Bamiyan province. We arrive in Bamiyan and obtain travel permits from the Provincial Department of the Bamiyan Ministry of Information and Culture.
Bamiyan is located on the Silk Road, which runs through the Hindukush mountain range in the Bamiyan Valley. The area is home to numerous Buddhist monastery complexes and shrines, as well as fortified buildings from the Islamic period.
We will have lunch and visit the ruins of the city of Gholghola (The City of Screams). The city existed ages ago, and then Genghis Khan destroyed the city. The siege of the city lasted for months, defended by one of the old Turkish Khaganates, but the city eventually fell.
In the spring of 1221, a Mongol horde led by Genghis Khan landed in Bamyan via the Shikar valley after crossing the Amudarja and successfully destroyed Balkh. Genghis Khan sent his grandson Mutukhan, estimated to be 15 years old at the time, to dismiss Bamyan. Much to Genghis Khan’s chagrin, Mutukhan met an untimely death on arrival in the Bamyan valley at Shahr-e-Zohak. An arrow shot from inside the walls of the fortified fortress took Mutukhan’s life. Word reached Genghis Khan, who in a rage descended on Bamyan and ordered his men to kill everyone in Bamyan, men, women and even children and livestock.
Our next destination is Shahr-e Zohak (Red City). The town guards the gates of the Bamyan valley, where the Bamyan and Kalu rivers meet. It is estimated that the Red City originated in the 600s and was built by the Ghorids. The city was home to around 3,000 people at the time.
We stay at the 4* Gholghola Hotel ‘Bamyan. (B,L,D)
Day 10: 17.10. Bamiyan- Band-e Amir National Park – Kabul (256 km, 6 hours)
After breakfast, we will walk the streets of Bamiyan, talk to people and learn about their way of life.
Before returning to Kabul, we will take a nature walk in Band-e Amir National Park. It is a series of six deep blue lakes separated by natural dams. The dams are made up of travertine, a mineral deposit. It has been called the Grand Canyon of Afghanistan, an area of 370 square kilometres of soaring cliffs and cascading lakes on the edge of the Hindu Kush mountains, which lie at an altitude of 2,900 metres. We walk around the lake.
At the end of the evening we return to Kabul. We will stay at the 4* Safi Landmark Kabul Hotel. (B,L,D)
Day 11: 12.10. Flight home
At 05.30 a.m. transfer to the airport. Flight Kabul-Istanbul from 08.40 to 12.55. Onward connection to Helsinki from 15.00 to 18.40.
