We’re in China 🇨🇳 to travel along the ancient Silk Road! Or roads, to be more precise: a web of caravan tracks linked China to the Mediterranean over the centuries. Our journey starts in Xi’an in central China, often seen as the eastern terminus of the Silk Road. From here we’ll train 🚊 to the Kazakhstan border, then bike 🚲 through four Stans for the better part of two months before flying to Istanbul for a 24-hour sampler of the route’s western terminus. Here’s our itinerary.
01 · Xi'an — Our Silk Road journey begins; Terracotta Warriors
02 · Zhangye — Train to the Danxia “Rainbow Mountains”
03 · Jiayuguan — Train to the western edge of the Great Wall
04 · Dunhuang — Train along the Gobi desert; Mogao Caves
05 · Khorgos — Pick up the bikes, ride across the China–Kazakhstan border
06 · Charyn Canyon — First real scenery of the ride
07 · Karakol — Into Kyrgyzstan; the shore of Issyk-Kul
08 · Arabel Pass — High point of the Kyrgyz traverse
09 · Osh — Fergana Valley; gateway to the Pamir Highway
10 · Sary-Tash — The classic Pamir Mountains panorama
11 · Karakul — Cross into Tajikistan; the lake at altitude
12 · Rushon — Down the Bartang Valley; transfer on to Dushanbe
13 · Dushanbe — Tajikistan’s capital for a day; back on the bikes
14 · Samarkand — The ride’s finish line; the tiled madrasas of the Registan
15 · Tashkent — Train to Uzbekistan’s capital; final day in the Stans
16 · Istanbul — Fly to Istanbul; a 24-hour farewell where the road ends
