Kazakhstan — Turkmenistan: Canyons and Marble

Day 1

Bekdash — Turkmenbashi

• Arrival at the Bekdash border (the nearest city is Aktau).
• Entry visa issued at the border, customs formalities. Meeting with the guide holding a LATIF sign.
• Transfer to Turkmenbashi. City sightseeing tour.

Overnight: Hotel in Turkmenbashi

Day 2

Yangykala — Gozli-Ata — Ashgabat

• Breakfast. Drive to Yangykala and walk among the canyons. Located 160 km east of Turkmenbashi, they are among the country's most scenic natural landmarks. Yangykala means Fiery Fortresses in Turkmen: sheer cliffs of white, yellow, ochre, purple and red, carved by wind and rain, resembling stone castles out of a fantasy. They are especially beautiful at sunset.
• Transfer to Gozli-Ata, a pilgrimage site for locals and for travellers from Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. Visit to the sacred site and to the grave of the legendary Turkmen-Ata. Gozli-Ata is a Place of Power where wishes are said to come true.
• Lunch: packed lunch boxes.
• Drive to Ashgabat, hotel accommodation.

Overnight: Hotel in Ashgabat

Day 3

Ashgabat and the Carpet Museum

• Breakfast. Ashgabat city tour: the Arch of Neutrality, the Monument of Independence, the Wedding Palace and more. Set between the Kopetdag mountains and the Karakum desert, Ashgabat is a treasury of the country's history and culture.
• Excursion to the Carpet Museum and the carpet shops. The museum covers 15,000 m² and holds 8,000 exhibits, most of them dating from the 17th to the 19th century — from the smallest carpet, made as a key holder, to the largest, 301 m², listed in the Guinness Book of Records.

Overnight: Hotel in Ashgabat

Day 4

Nisa, horse farm, bazaar

• Breakfast. Visit to the ancient city of Nisa. Eighteen kilometres west of Ashgabat stand the ruins of the capital of the Parthian state. In the 3rd century BC New Nisa was the capital, while the Old Nisa fortress served as the royal residence.
• Excursion to a private horse farm to see the world-renowned Akhal-Teke horses. The breed has come down through millennia from its origins on the territory of present-day Turkmenistan; its rarity, combined with beauty and endurance, makes these horses among the most valuable in the world.
• Visit to the Russian Bazaar (Gulistan) for souvenirs and to the Berkarar shopping mall. Gulistan is one of the oldest markets in the city.

Overnight: Hotel in Ashgabat

Day 5

Ashgabat — Turkmenbashi — border

• Transfer to the airport. Flight to Turkmenbashi — one hour.
• Transfer to the Bekdash border. Border formalities. End of the programme.