Kazakhstan: From The Silk Road to Sir Norman Foster

Lake Issyk
Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi
Bayterek Tower, Astana
Petroglyphs at Tamgaly
Charyn Canyon
Reconstruction of the 'Golden man' from Lake Issyk

Photo by Eggry licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Flickr

Overview

Itinerary

Fitness / Practicalities

Tour Director

Trace the span of Kazakhstan’s history from Bronze Age carvings to futuristic landmarks
Explore Silk Road connections at the UNESCO site of Turkistan, home to a famous Timurid Imperial mausoleum
Discover Kazakhstan’s remarkable landscape and geology, including the awe-inspiring ‘Valley of the Castles’ at Charyn Canyon

“A fascinating range of well-chosen visits and experiences”

“The experience was altogether illuminating, fascinating and fun”

– ACE customers on the 2024 Kazakhstan tour led by Steve Mastin

A vast country harbouring immense cultural wealth, Kazakhstan is a land of crystal lakes and soaring mountains, ancient Silk Road monuments and 20th century cathedrals. To visit is to experience a staggeringly rich geological landscape, some of the most stunning scenery in the world, and a historical and cultural heritage that stretches from the Bronze Age petroglyphs at Tamgaly, through the Timurid mausoleum at Turkistan, to Sir Norman Foster’s futuristic creations in Astana.

We will begin in Kazakhstan’s historical former capital of Almaty, its name famously meaning ‘father of apples’. After familiarising ourselves with aspects of Kazakhstan’s history, geology and religious culture, we will make an excursion to one of its most magnificent and remote sites: Charyn Canyon, where the array of rare and characterful formations is testament to millennia of wind and water erosion. Meanwhile, the archaeological landscape of Tamgaly is home to 5000 ancient rock carvings (or petroglyphs), the majority dating to the Bronze Age.

Leaving Almaty behind, we will fly to the southern city of Shymkent, originally founded as a caravanserai connected with a nearby Silk Road settlement. From here we will discover Kazakhstan’s trading heritage with a visit to Turkistan, home to the 14th century mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi, one of the best-preserved monuments from the Timurid Empire.

Our final journey will transport us forward in time to Kazakhstan’s strikingly modern capital of Astana, site of several astonishing buildings by Sir Norman Foster. As in Almaty, we will seek to understand the religious history and culture of Kazakhstan with visits to the city’s cathedral and mosque, while also tracing its extensive history at the new National Museum, which houses exhibits ranging from ancient ornaments (including the armour belonging to Kazakhstan’s mysterious ‘golden man’) to artwork and ethnographic artefacts. The country’s recent history as part of the Soviet Union will also be explored through a visit to ALZHIR Memorial Museum.

We will stay at several hotels throughout the tour, including centrally located four or five-star establishments in Almaty, Shymkent and Astana, and a comfortable three-star hotel in Turkistan, close to the mausoleum. Please note the hotels are subject to final confirmation.

Steve Mastin

Steve studied history and classics and spent seven years living and working in Kazakhstan.

Tour Director Steve Mastin, MA, PGCE, FHA, studied history and classics before working as a schoolteacher for 17 years. A fellow of the Historical Association, Steve is a regular speaker at history conferences both in the UK and overseas. He has travelled widely and spent seven years living and working in Kazakhstan.

Reflecting on Daily Life – Personal Encounters

Following a tour spanning the diverse landscape, cities and history of Kazakhstan, the group will be offered an opportunity to meet some of Tour Director Steve Mastin's close Kazakh contacts – made over many years living in the country – at a drinks reception on the last night in Astana. Together they will help to enrich our understanding of daily life in Kazakhstan, from business and education to cultural heritage and even the Olympics. This final evening will help to deepen our understanding of the many facets of Kazakh life, and offer a convivial and uplifting note on which to end our tour.

Days
15

Cost
£5995

Tour Code
KAZA-26

This tour has now departed

Fitness & Practicalities

The majority of ACE Cultural Tours are active in nature. To make the most of our time in a destination and provide excellent value for money, they are busy – there are often several visits included each day. As such, our tours require a certain minimum level of physical and mental fitness, mobility and stamina.

Many visits will involve navigating several steps, uneven ground, steep ascents and descents, and could involve embarking and disembarking aircraft, coaches, trains and cruise vessels. Plenty of walking, punctuated by lengthy periods of standing, is the norm. Some tours may involve long coach journeys.

It is essential that all customers are sufficiently fit and able enough to fully participate. Furthermore, every tour comprises a group of guests. We cannot allow the entire group to be negatively impacted by one participant, either holding up the pace we reasonably need to maintain or disproportionately requiring the attention and support of the tour staff.

We carefully consider the intensity, fitness and other requirements of each itinerary and describe them on the tour pages of our brochures and website. Please study these descriptions closely. When you call to book, we will reiterate those requirements and ask you to confirm that all group members are indeed fit enough and otherwise able to meet the criteria. It is your responsibility to answer fully and honestly. If it transpires that you are not able to keep pace with the tour and/or it reasonably appears you are negatively impacting (or are reasonably likely to negatively impact) the enjoyment of the rest of the group (including their ability to complete all scheduled visits), we may ask you to sit out certain days/visits, take a taxi at your own expense (if available in the location), or even, if we consider there is no other reasonable alternative, ask you to leave the tour and make your own way home.

Tour specific fitness information

Please note this tour will involve a significant amount of walking, frequently over uneven ground, particularly at Tamgaly and Charyn Canyon. Tamgaly is a remote site and travellers should be comfortable ascending rugged and rocky pathways here – although to maintain safety standards we will not attempt to cover the entire route during this tour.

Many of Kazakhstan’s most important sites are spread out from one another and participants should expect some long overland journeys by coach (including some off-road stretches) in addition to two internal flights. Specifically, the journeys to Charyn Canyon, Lake Issyk, Tamgaly and Turkistan will take between two and three hours each way depending on traffic conditions, with the visit to Charyn being the longest at around three hours; please note this visit is made as a day excursion as there is no suitable accommodation available in the area. Participants should also be prepared for basic facilities on some of these journeys and at the sites themselves, although many places are now establishing more concrete visitor centres. Please also be aware that some visits will involve heights, including the Bayterek Tower in Astana.

While we will endeavour to offer guests a variety of meals across the tour, travellers should be mindful that dishes in Kazakhstan frequently include red meat as their primary ingredient, including beef, mutton and horse meat, which we may be offered on occasion (with alternative options available).

Minimum fitness requirements

As a minimum, participants should be able to successfully complete the following self- assessment tests:

Walk for one hour at a reasonable pace and without needing to take a break to rest
Climb at least two flights of stairs at a reasonable pace
Stand unaided for at least 30 minutes
Stand up and sit down ten times in one minute
Carry or otherwise move your own luggage

Please ensure you have read and understand our full fitness requirements as described in our terms and conditions.

Click to read our terms and conditions

Flights

For customers who wish to make their own travel arrangements, ACE is pleased to be able to offer a flight reduction of £600.

Travelling in Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan is not yet used to large groups of Western tourists. While we will endeavour to deliver the itinerary as accurately as possible, there may be some adjustments to the order and timings of visits on the ground, and we kindly request that travellers approach each day with a degree of flexibility. Please be assured that the Tour Personnel will communicate any significant changes clearly in advance of visits, and if you have any questions at all, please do not hesitate to ask them.

UK Government Travel Advice

For additional travel information from the UK government please consult the following pages.

Days
15

Cost
£5995

Tour Code
KAZA-26

This tour has now departed

Day 1

Depart London Heathrow 1900 to Almaty Airport on Air Astana (direct flight).

Day 2

Arrival Almaty Airport 0700, (largest city in Kazakhstan and its historic former capital) and transfer to Mercure Almaty City Centre for six nights. Free time followed by afternoon orientation walking tour (including Gogol Street, site of Trotsky’s exile by Stalin). Welcome and introduction: The Land of the Kazakhs.

Day 3

Morning lecture: The History of Kazakhstan. Visits in Almaty: Ascension Cathedral, WWII Memorial (Great Patriotic War of 1941-45), Russian Imperial Governor's Residence (exterior) and Central Mosque.

Day 4

Whole day excursion (by coach followed by buggies) from Almaty to Charyn Canyon National Park (spectacular geology akin to the Grand Canyon).

Day 5

Issyk Museum, town and lake (site of the discovery of the ‘Golden Man’ whose remains are now displayed in Astana).

Day 6

Morning lecture: Apples & Tulips are from Kazakhstan. Further visits in Almaty: Green Bazaar, Museum of Arts (Russian 19th century art, Soviet era art and Kazakh art), the monumental Arasan Baths (inspired by architecture from Turkestan and Otrar) and Republic Square. Optional evening performance in Almaty (ballet or opera – subject to scheduling).

Day 7

Whole day excursion to UNESCO site of Tamgaly, an open-air archaeological landscape in the Chu-Ili Mountains featuring 5000 Bronze Age petroglyphs depicting animals, humans and weapons.

Day 8

Transfer by air to Shymkent and continue to UNESCO World Heritage site of the ancient Silk Road city of Turkistan. Two nights at Hampton Hilton Hotel, Turkistan. Optional nighttime walk with views of the mausoleum.

Day 9

Visits to the Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi (commissioned by Timur) and the ancient Silk Road desert fortress of Sauran.

Day 10

Return to Shymkent via Arystan Bab Mausoleum and Otrar archaeological site (location of Timur's death en route to China). Overnight at DoubleTree by Hilton, Shymkent.

Day 11

Transfer by air to the extraordinary capital city of Astana and continue for four nights at Hilton Garden Inn. River cruise through central Astana followed by walking tour of the Russian old city (situated on the left bank). Evening: performance at Astana Opera House (subject to scheduling).

Day 12

Morning lecture: Kazakhstan in the Soviet Era followed by visits on the right bank (created by Sir Norman Foster) including National Museum of Kazakhstan, Independence Square, Hazrat Sultan Mosque and Palace of Peace & Reconciliation.

Day 13

Morning lecture: The Modern Age of Kazakhstan followed by visits including Khan Shatyr (shopping centre designed by Sir Norman Foster) and the moving ALZHIR Memorial Museum (the only Soviety gulag for women).

Day 14

Visits on the right bank including Bayterek Tower (incredible views over the city) and Assumption Cathedral (modern architecture). Evening: farewell drinks reception with friends of the Tour Director.

Day 15

Return flight departs Astana at 0840, via Almaty, arrival London Heathrow at 1740.

Please note that the itinerary represents a guide to what we hope to offer, and some elements may be subject to change or confirmation nearer the time. Sites can close or change their opening times at short notice; therefore, some visits may be reordered.

Days
15

Cost
£5995

Tour Code
KAZA-26

This tour has now departed

Kazakhstan: From The Silk Road to Sir Norman Foster | June 2026

Steve Mastin

Steve Mastin

You may also enjoy

Get in Touch

Make an Enquiry

Request a Brochure

Join our Newsletter