A 5 Month round Up of central Asia & Iran: Highlights Of Our journey through The least Touristed region On earth

Wow, I can’t believe it’s over! nearly 5 months of overland travel from China, through Mongolia, Russia, The Stans and Iran. What a trip! even though we knew this journey would be intrepid, we could have never thought of just how adventurous it would be. We had some ups and some downs along the way, but our central Asia trip will go down as our many epic one yet.

So What Did We Do?

Well we started in Beijing where we took the Trans-Mongolian train through the Gobi Desert, over the rolling green hills of the Steppe and into Ulan-Bator, Mongolia’s unusual capital. We have always dreamed of taking that train and we’ve wanted to go to Mongolia because our first trip ended in 2009. traveling Mongolia lived up to our expectations – and in fact, it exceeded them.

The K3 Trans-Mongolian Train
VIDEO: Taking The Trans-Mongolian Train

From Ulan-Bator, we hired a 4×4 and driver, and along with 4 new friends, we headed out into the large emptiness of the Mongolian Desert. We rode camels, viewed the sun set over the dunes, drank fermented mare’s milk, and searched for dinosaur bones.

The sand dunes of the Gobi Desert
After 6 days in the desert we returned to Ulan Bator, only to take off again on the most adventurous journey of our lives. Armed with nothing much more than a topographical map, fishing supplies, food and backpacks, we headed to a tiny village in the middle of nowhere.

Together, following a route we plotted on Google Maps, we trekked along the river for 8 days and over 200 km with no guide and no help. We met local nomadic families who had never seen foreigners before, and they brought us gifts practically every day. despite the rain, blisters, sore muscles and frustration, this was probably the best thing we’ve ever done in travel and we are very happy that we completed it on our own.

Enjoying Some long Awaited Sunshine On Our Trek
On To Russia!

From Mongolia we hopped on another world-famous train, the Trans-Siberian railway. We made our way to Lake Baikal where we swam, explored stunning Olkhon Island and camped on the shores of the crystal clear lake.

Waiting To Board The Ferry To Olkhon Island

VIDEO: Olkhon Island: A piece Of Paradise In Russia 
 
Next Was The home Of Borat

We then got back on the train and crossed Siberia before cutting down into Kazakhstan, our first of numerous Stans. here we explored the country’s current and former capitals – Astana and Almaty. The ultra modern buildings in Astana were some of the coolest we’ve seen and the outdoors of Almaty were a breath of fresh air. We met some terrific Kazakh people who we still keep in contact with today.

Outstanding Kyrgyzstan

From Kazakhstan we took a minibus into Kyrgyzstan which was probably our preferred Stan of all (Why? Click Here). In Kyrgyzstan, we hired a guide and some horses and embarked on a 3 day trek to Song-Kol lake. It was easy on a horse, but our trek to Altyn Arashan on foot was one of the most challenging high altitude treks we’ve done to date.

We slept in yurts, ate copious amounts of mutton and learned an amazing amount about Kyrgyz culture and customs. traveling Kyrgyzstan was an adventure we’ll never forget.

VIDEOS: Horse Trekking To Song-Kol Lake Kyrgyzstan & Trekking Ala-Kol & Altyn Arashan

Then Was The epic road trip In Tajikistan

We made our way to the city of Osh in the south of Kyrgyzstan where we met up with our now good pals Jason (England) and Jessica (Germany). The 4 of us hired a landcruiser and chauffeur to take us on the region’s many famed road trip, The Pamir highway in Tajikistan. We spent 2 weeks with our new pals and we finished off this unforgettable journey with a helicopter ride over the mountains which took us back to the nation’s capital of Dushanbe.

VIDEOS:

Travelling The Pamir highway Pt.1

Travelling The Pamir highway Pt.2

Travelling The Pamir highway Pt.3

Travelling The Pamir highway Pt.4

Helicopter ride Over The Pamir Mountains

On To The Unforgettable architecture Of Uzbekistan

After recharging and eating the best Indian food the world has to offer in Dushanbe, we took a shared taxi to Uzbekistan. The old cities and aging architecture of this Stan were worth the trip alone. We’ve never seen such ancient charm as we did in cities like Bukhara, Khiva and Samarkhand. Wandering around old stone streets with huge mosques and mausoleums towering above us, was a time-warp feel that we will never forget. We absolutely loved Uzbekistan.

When we felt that we were finished gawking at enormous buildings, we transited through Turkmenistan for 4 days and entered a country we’ve been waiting to check out for a long time… Iran.

Iran, A highlight In Itself

The credibility that Iran has in the media was right away proven false, while the credibility it has with travellers who have been there shown correct. Iran will go down as one of the most fascinating countries we’ve ever had the opportunity to see. The people were friendly, the streets were incredibly safe and the sites were absolutely breath-taking.

The best experience we had while backpacking Iran, and probably one of the best in all of our travels, was meeting our Iranian pals Soroush & Mehsa. The generosity and kindness they showed us was both humbling and enduring and we hope to always remain in contact with our two pals from Esfahan.

They showed us much more than just their home and their city. They showed us just how hospitable the Iranian people can be and they gave us a real insight into the life of an Iranian family. Soroush & Mehsa if you’re reading this, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

All-In-All…

This trip was all about the terrific outdoors and the people we met along the way. We’ve never been in a region where we felt so welcomed. The local people were always genuinely interested in us and our lives, and practically never expected money or company from us. The trip wasn’t without its downsides though. We had some difficulty with weather for the first 6 weeks when heavy rains came practically every day. We became frustrated at times with the transportation and visa procedures and we had $1,500 USD stolen from us in the Pamir Mountains.

But when we look back on the trip, we see it as a life changing adventure that really encompassed everything we love about travel. It’s these types of challenges that keep travel interesting and we are grateful to have been able to take such an outstanding trip, and to have met such fantastic people.

For anybody who plans to check out Mongolia, The Stans or Iran, get ready for an expedition that will test your limits of travel, while confirming why you do it in the first place. We know now much more than ever, that the road is where we want to be. Our planet is a unlimited land of wonder, just waiting to be explored. central Asia showed us a world of unparalleled charm and re-ignited our lust for the undiscovered.

Thank-you central Asia.

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