Road Trips in Central Asia
Central Asia was made for the road. This is the land of the Silk Road, and its greatest journeys still follow the caravan routes across desert, steppe, and some of the highest drivable passes on the planet. The legendary Pamir Highway, the second-highest road in the world, is a bucket-list drive for overlanders, while the string of Silk Road cities across Uzbekistan makes for one of the most rewarding cultural road trips anywhere.
Self-drive is possible but demanding: distances are vast, roads range from smooth to brutal, and fuel and services can be sparse. Many travellers hire a driver or join a shared vehicle, especially for the Pamir. However you travel, the sense of crossing an immense, ancient landscape between oasis towns and mountain passes is the heart of the Central Asian experience.
Great Drives#
The Pamir Highway, Tajikistan The M41, the world’s second-highest road, climbing across the Roof of the World over 4,000m passes between Khorog and Osh. A rough, remote, and utterly unforgettable overland journey past high lakes, yak herders, and the Wakhan Corridor beneath the Hindu Kush.
The Silk Road cities loop, Uzbekistan The classic cultural road trip linking Khiva, Bukhara, and Samarkand across the Kyzylkum desert, connecting the three greatest concentrations of Islamic architecture in Central Asia.
Wakhan Corridor, Tajikistan A spellbinding alternative branch of the Pamir Highway following the Panj River along the Afghan border, with fortress ruins, hot springs, and views across to the peaks of the Hindu Kush.
Charyn Canyon & Kolsay circuit, Kazakhstan A superb multi-day loop east of Almaty taking in the red-rock Valley of Castles, the Kolsay Lakes, ghostly Lake Kaindy, and the singing dunes of Altyn-Emel.
Song-Kol loop, Kyrgyzstan A high mountain drive climbing switchbacks to the vast lake and its yurt camps, best done as a loop over the dramatic 33 Parrots Pass through classic Kyrgyz pasture country.
Bishkek to Osh, Kyrgyzstan The country’s great trans-mountain highway, crossing two 3,000m-plus passes and the Suusamyr Valley to connect the north with the Fergana Valley south in a spectacular full-day drive.
Almaty to Karakol via Issyk-Kul, Kazakhstan/Kyrgyzstan A cross-border circuit around the world’s second-largest alpine lake, linking beaches, gorges, hot springs, and the Tian Shan foothills.
Karakoram-to-Pamir overland, Tajikistan The epic connection for overlanders crossing from Pakistan and China into the Pamir, one of the great long-distance driving adventures on the continent.
Fann Mountains circuit, Tajikistan A rough but rewarding drive from Samarkand or Dushanbe to the Seven Lakes (Haft Kul) and Iskanderkul, threading the most beautiful mountains in Tajikistan.
Turkmenistan desert crossing The lonely highway across the Karakum desert linking Ashgabat, the flaming Darvaza gas crater, and the ancient ruins of Konye-Urgench, a stark and surreal desert road trip.