A Trip to Central Asia: Why Now's the Perfect Time To Go

Central Asia is a vast, landlocked sweep of the globe comprising five nations: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. Each is distinct in character and landscape, but together they form one of the world's most compelling travel regions. Think ancient Silk Road cities and rugged mountain ranges. Desert canyons and turquoise lakes. Warm hospitality and off-the-beaten-track adventures.
 

It’s the perfect time to plan a trip to Central Asia before the crowds discover it. Here's why.

• Visa-free travel. Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan offer at least 30 days’ visa-free travel for many nationalities, while Tajikistan offers an e-Visa or visa-free access to a smaller list of countries.
• Improved infrastructure. Road and rail travel have significantly improved, offering a more sustainable way to travel on your trip between and within Central Asia’s various nations.
• Generally safe: Central Asia is known as a relatively safe travel destination. Petty crime does exist in major cities, but violent crime rates are low and the people are very hospitable.

Adventure traveller? Kyrgyzstan is the destination for you. Dramatic alpine peaks. Shimmering lakes framed by forested valleys. Best of all, it remains, for the moment, blissfully under the radar.

Bishkek, its capital, is usually seen as a stopover. But if you can, book a central hotel like Novotel Bishkek City Center and spend a day or two diving into Kyrgyz history and culture.

• Cultural landmark in Bishkek: Ala-Too Square, a vast, Soviet-era plaza, is flanked by the National History Museum, an imposing, marble-clad cube where you’ll find everything from ornate jewellery to decorated yurts.
• Foodie highlight: Go local at Faiza Restaurant (Jibek Jolu Avenue 555), where you can tuck into fried and grilled lamb, laghman noodle soups and warm nan, a round bread that’s often adorned with star or floral patterns.
• Don't miss: Osh Bazaar, a sprawling market where dried fruit towers alongside fragrant spices, and felt slippers and musical instruments share stalls with the latest electronics.

Issyk Kul is one of the world’s largest and highest alpine lakes. It’s also one of its most beautiful: a deep, slightly saline body of water that rarely freezes, ringed by snow-capped peaks. Beloved by locals, it's a gorgeous setting for swimming and kayaking. You can also hire a guide to explore hiking trails into the Terskey Alatau range to the south, or to go horse trekking along the lakeshore and into the foothills.

• When: Best June to September for hiking, trekking and swimming
• Getting there: Seasonal train from Bishkek to Balykchy (summer only), or 3.5 hours by taxi or marshrutka minibus from Bishkek

This relaxed provincial town on the eastern edge of Issyk Kul offers some of the finest mountain experiences on a trip to Central Asia. Up for a challenge? The four-day Ala-Kul trek crosses a glacial lake at 3,550 m and descends through the Karakol valley; you can hire guides and equipment easily in Karakol. You can also hike or mountain bike in the Karakol and Jyrgalan valleys. Visit in winter and you'll find powdery snow and uncrowded slopes for adrenaline-fuelled fun.

• When: June to September for hiking and trekking, December to February for skiing and snowboarding
• Getting there: 1 hour from the southern shore of Issyk Kul, or 6-7 hours from Bishkek by taxi or marshrutka minibus

Much smaller than Issyk Kul, this vast, treeless plateau lake sits at over 3,000 m, ringed by rolling pastures that fill with nomadic herders and their livestock every summer. There are no resort towns, and barely any roads. Activities here are blissfully unhurried. Ride a horse across the plateau, hike around the lakeshore and gaze at the starlit sky at night. Immerse yourself in yurt camp life, from felt-making to cooking or even milking the livestock.

• When: The main tourist season runs mid-June to mid-September. Winter travel is restricted to specialised, guided horse treks
• Getting there: 3 hours’ drive to Kochkor from Bishkek, then a further 2-3 hours by 4WD on bumpy mountain tracks

Kazakhstan is the world's largest landlocked country, roughly the size of Western Europe. And it’s got tonnes to explore: steppe, desert, mountains, canyons, forests and more.

You’ll likely start in Almaty. It’s not the administrative capital (that’s Astana) but as the country’s commercial and cultural heart, it’s one of the most cosmopolitan cities you’ll discover on your Central Asia trip. Backed by the snow-capped Trans-Ili Alatau mountains and laced with leafy Soviet-era boulevards, it's both a destination in its own right and a base for some extraordinary day trips. Book yourself somewhere central – Mercure Almaty City Center and ibis Almaty Jetisu both put you close to the main sights.

• Cultural landmark in Almaty: The Ascension Cathedral is a Russian Orthodox cathedral built entirely from wood in 1907 and painted in candy-bright colours, in the middle of 28 Panfilov Guardsmen Park.
• Foodie highlight: Navat (Dostyk Avenue 48) offers a polished take on Kazakh classics, including slow-cooked beshbarmak lamb and kurt cheese balls.
• Don’t miss: At sunset, take the Kok Tobe cable car from the city centre up to the hilltop park for panoramic views over Almaty and the mountains beyond.

Carved by the Charyn River over millions of years, this dramatic red-rock canyon stretches for nearly 150 km and drops to depths of 300 m. The centrepiece, the Valley of Castles, is a labyrinth of ochre and rust-coloured formations that draws comparisons to the Grand Canyon.

You can walk the valley floor independently, as the main trail is well marked and takes around one to two hours at a gentle pace. For a longer day, hire a guide in Almaty to take you along the canyon rim and down to the Charyn River at the bottom.

• When: April to June or September to October (avoid the extreme summer heat!)
• Getting there: 3.5 hours from Almaty by car or organised day trip; public transport options exist but are limited

A popular day trip from Almaty, this national park is known for the Kolsai Lakes, three glacial lakes stacked up a forested valley in the Tian Shan foothills. The lowest lake is the most accessible and the most visited, but if you can manage the 8-km up to the second lake, you’ll be rewarded by increasingly wild scenery and may even have it all to yourself.
 

In the same park, Kaindy Lake is one of your Central Asia trip's most arresting sights: a turquoise body of water created by a 1911 earthquake, from which a ghostly forest of drowned spruce trees still protrudes, their pale silver trunks rising silently through the surface. Come in autumn if you can, when the surrounding forest turns gold around the silver trunks.

• When: June to October; Kaindy is accessible year-round, though the road requires a 4WD in winter
• Getting there: 4 hours’ drive from Almaty or base yourself in Saty village

This vast protected steppe and desert landscape covers some 460,000 ha and contains a cast of natural wonders. The highlight? The Singing Barkhan, a great ridge of sand up to 150 m high and nearly 2 km long, which produces a deep, resonant hum when the wind conditions are right (vibrating sand grains, if you’re wondering). Elsewhere in the park, the millennia-old Besshatyr burial mounds and Tanbaly Tas petroglyphs add a layer of ancient human history, and if you’re really lucky, you may spot the elusive Przewalski's horse on the open steppe in the early morning.

• When: April to June and September to October
• Getting there: 4-5 hours’ drive from Almaty or base yourself in Basshi village

What strikes you when you visit Uzbekistan is the accumulated weight of history: the sense that you’re walking in the footsteps of conquerors, pilgrims, merchants and scholars. It is, after all, the heart of the ancient Silk Road. But modern Uzbekistan is also one of the most accessible countries in Central Asia for first-time trips, particularly its capital, Tashkent.

• Cultural landmark in Tashkent: The Hazrati Imam Complex is a working religious centre containing one of the world's oldest Qurans and a beautifully tiled 16th-century madrasah.
• Foodie highlight: Sample samsa meat pastries and plov rice at Chorsu Bazaar, a vast covered market beneath a turquoise dome.
• Don’t miss: Tashkent's lavishly OTT Soviet-era metro system, with stations ornately decked out with mosaics, chandeliers and marble.

The capital of conqueror Timur’s 14th-century empire, storied Samarkand is famed for Registan Square, with three madrasahs featuring façades covered in lapis, turquoise and gold geometric tilework. A short stroll southwest (and 10 minutes from this five-star Samarkand hotel) is the Amir Temur Mausoleum Gur-i Amir Сomplex, where Timur himself lies buried beneath an extraordinary ribbed dome of deep turquoise. You’ll also want to explore the Shah-i-Zinda necropolis, a long lane of tilework mausoleums climbing a hillside on the edge of the Afrasiyab archaeological site.

• When: Year-round
• Getting there: Just over 2 hours from Tashkent on the Afrosiyob high-speed train

Where Samarkand is monumental, Bukhara is intimate. Its Old City is a UNESCO World Heritage Site anchored to the west by the Ark fortress, a vast mud-brick citadel that served as the seat of Bukharan emirs for centuries. The Kalyan Minaret, built in 1127 and so beautiful that Genghis Khan reportedly ordered it preserved when he razed the rest of the city, stands to the east. Between the two, there’s a warren of domed medieval bazaars – once trading posts for silk, spices and metalwork that now offer intricate embroidery and hand-painted ceramics – for you to wander before heading back to your nearby family-friendly hotel in Bukhara.

• When: Year-round
• Getting there: 1.5 hours from Samarkand or 4 hours from Tashkent on the Afrosiyob high-speed train

Sandwiched between mountain ranges near the borders with Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, this fertile, densely populated valley is where traditional Uzbek craft culture is most alive. Travel here to watch silk weaving in Margilan – sites like the Yodgorlik Silk Factory show you the full process from cocoon to finished fabric – ceramics in Rishtan and woodcarving across the region.

• When: Year-round, but note that summer temperatures rise to 40°C and beyond
• Getting there: 5 hours by train from Tashkent to Margilan through the scenic Kamchik Pass

And that's why you should plan what will be an unforgettable trip to central Asia before everyone else does! Keen for more hidden travel treasures? Check out our top recommendations for off-the-beaten-track destinations.