TURKMENISTAN


March 20 - 27, 2027
Turkmenistan
tour to Turkmenistan

Dates: March 20 – 27, 2027

Duration: 8 days / 7 nights

Number of participants: 7 – 12

Cost of participation per person:

• 2 750 USD for 11 - 12 participants,
• 2 950 USD for 9 - 10 participants,
• 3 090 USD for 7 - 8 participants.

10% early booking discount (in case you book before October 20, 2026)

Everything is included (including domestic flight and 3 meals a day), except for:
- International flights to and from Ashgabat,
- Medical insurance,
- Turkmenistan visa.
(Cost of visa organization for Russian citizens: 210 USD, including: Visa fee (160 USD), Migration tax (15 USD), PCR test (30 USD), and Bank fee (5 USD). This amount is to be paid in cash in US dollars at Ashgabat airport. To obtain a visa, it is necessary to submit a completed application, a copy of the passport, and a 5x6 photo in electronic form at least 3 weeks before departure. Based on these documents, an invitation letter will be issued, upon which we will obtain a visa upon arrival.

Estimate cost of the Moscow - Ashgabat - Moscow flight: from 500 USD.

Single supplement: 390 USD (provided throughout the entire route).



TRAVEL PROGRAM: tour to Turkmenistan

Day 1. March 20, 2027. ARRIVAL IN ASHGABAT

Arrival in Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan, one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Check-in at Hotel Sport and rest.

Meals included: dinner
Accommodation included: Hotel Sport, Ashgabat

*Recommended flights:

• S7, flight S7-3235, departing Moscow March 20 at 11:10, arriving Ashgabat at 17:00
• or any other flight from any city arriving in Ashgabat any time on March 20*

Day 2. March 21, 2027. ASHGABAT – NOVRUZ (100 km)

Early morning departure to Ak-Oy, where celebrations for Novruz — the main spring holiday — take place. We'll join the festivities, try national dishes and the "semeni" sweet made specially for Novruz, and can ride the traditional festive swings.
Novruz is the celebration of spring's arrival and New Year according to the astronomical solar calendar, observed by Iranian and Turkic peoples. Novruz is an international tradition unrelated to Islamic customs. It gained official status in the Achaemenid Empire as a Zoroastrian religious holiday and has continued to be widely celebrated ever since, including after the Arab conquests, right up to today. In modern times it is marked on the days of the spring equinox. On September 30, 2009, UNESCO inscribed Novruz on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, and since then March 21 has been declared International Novruz Day.
In the evening, a sightseeing tour of Ashgabat: Independence Park, the Arch of Neutrality, and its observation deck, followed by a visit to the Ashgabat Ferris wheel known as "Alem" (meaning "Universe"). The Guinness Book of Records recognized Alem as the world's largest enclosed Ferris wheel.
Time permitting, we'll visit the Ertogrul Gazi Mosque, dedicated to Ertogrul, father of Osman I, founder of the Ottoman Empire, or the Magtymguly Pyragy Monument — a 60-meter sculpture built at the foot of the Kopet Dag mountains for the 300th anniversary of the outstanding Turkmen poet Magtymguly Pyragy. The monument is part of a new cultural park complex featuring 24 statues of world-famous writers and poets from different countries and eras.

Meals included: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Accommodation included: Hotel Sport, Ashgabat


Day 3. March 22, 2027. ASHGABAT – TURKMENBASHI – KARA-BOGAZ-GOL – YANGIKALA CANYON

Morning transfer to the airport for a domestic flight Ashgabat–Turkmenbashi at 6:20 (flight time 1 hour; schedule subject to change).
On arrival we'll stroll along the waterfront, have coffee at a local café, and head north to see an astonishing natural site — a former bay of the Caspian Sea. "Kara-Bogaz" translates as "black throat" or "black trap": Caspian waters once rushed into it through a narrow strait (200–1,000 m wide) at speeds of up to 1 m/s, and where the water went was long a mystery, giving the place its ominous reputation. Today we know the lake is surrounded by scorching desert and the water simply evaporates.
We'll have lunch here, then continue to another breathtaking natural wonder — Yangikala Canyon, known as the "Grand Canyon of Central Asia," with stunning pink, white, and yellow sandstone formations, dramatic views, and the striking "crocodile jaw" rock formation. The canyon lies in northwestern Turkmenistan, in the Balkan velayat (region). "Yangi-kala" translates from Turkmen as "fiery fortresses," a name derived from the predominantly red rock color of the massifs and cliffs. The canyons are especially beautiful at sunset, when everything glows in fiery tones.
We'll set up camp here and cook dinner over a campfire.

Meals included: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Accommodation included: tents


Day 4. March 23, 2027. YANGIKALA – BALKANABAD (NEBIT-DAG) – DURUN – NOKHUR – KOV-ATA – ASHGABAT (600 km)

After breakfast we'll stop at the Gozli-Ata shrine, home to the grave of a revered local saint, a respected Sufi who lived in the early 14th century.
Next, a short stop in Balkanabad (Nebit-Dag, "Oil Mountain"), the capital of Turkmenistan's oil and gas industry — fittingly symbolized by a derrick-silhouette monument against the mountain backdrop. After a brief look at the city's main sights, we'll drive to the village of Durun (about 4–5 hours). There we'll visit a local family that has practiced carpet weaving for generations, where you can watch Turkmen women hand-weave carpets and learn the details of this ancient craft.
After lunch we continue to Nokhur. The road to this "paradise corner" is long and challenging — climbs, descents, mountain switchbacks — but the hardship is forgotten at the sight of this rare, beautiful place, enclosed on four sides by high mountains.
Nokhur has an old plane tree with a hollow large enough to fit several people. On the edge of the village is a special wish-making spot — Gyz-Bibi, a narrow crack in the rock that locals consider one of the doors to paradise; make a wish and it's said to come true. The village also has an unusual cemetery where every gravestone is adorned with argali horns.
Visit to the underground Kov-Ata lake, 107 km from Ashgabat. The Turkmen name means "Father of Caves." At first glance the cavern looks like a magnificent auditorium; its floor is covered with dissolved limestone formations (stalagmites), filled with warm, flowing, emerald-colored water at a constant 33–37°C. Swimming is allowed for no more than 30–40 minutes.
Return to Ashgabat, check-in at Hotel Sport, and rest.

Meals included: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Accommodation included: Hotel Sport, Ashgabat


Day 5. March 24, 2027. ASHGABAT – HORSE FARM – TURKMENBASHI MAUSOLEUM – NISA – NATIONAL MUSEUM

After breakfast, visit to a horse farm to meet the pride of the Turkmen people — Akhal-Teke horses. Traditional tea break, a short Akhal-Teke horse show, photos, and a tour of the stables.
We'll also visit the mausoleum of Turkmenbashi, Turkmenistan's first president, and the unusual adjoining mosque decorated not with Quranic suras but with sayings of Turkmenbashi.
In the afternoon we'll visit ancient Nisa, once the capital of the Parthian Empire. In 2007, the ancient fortresses of Nisa were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List for their outstanding universal value, recognized both as cultural monuments and as part of the "cultural landscapes" category.
Then we'll visit the National Museum of Turkmenistan, home to unique collections of paintings, graphics, and sculpture, including not only Turkmen fine art but also masterpieces by some Russian and Western European artists.

Meals included: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Accommodation included: Hotel Sport, Ashgabat


Day 6. March 25, 2027. ASHGABAT – MERV – MARY – ASHGABAT

Early morning flight at 6:30 to ancient Merv. To make sense of the intricate ancient history, we'll visit the History Museum, which holds numerous artifacts excavated from the Margush and Merv sites. Then we'll head to the Ancient Merv historical park, once located at the crossroads of the Great Silk Road and quickly grown into one of the largest cities, rivaling Islamic-world capitals such as Baghdad, Cairo, and Damascus. Tour of Gyz-Gala, Erk-Gala, Soltan-Gala, the Sultan Sanjar mausoleum, Eshbi, Yusup-Hamadani, and the Ibn-Zeyd mausoleum.
Greeks, Parthians, and later the Sassanids turned Merv into a major administrative, military, and trade center. In 1999, Ancient Merv was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The Merv oasis was settled as early as the late 3rd–early 2nd millennium BC; it's mentioned in cuneiform texts as "Margu," the origin of the region's name. Around the turn of the era, Merv was one of Parthia's main centers, covering 60 km² with several ring walls.
Christians first appeared in the city in the 3rd century, and a powerful Merv metropolitanate developed. Evidence of their activity includes a 3rd–6th-century Christian necropolis in the Old Merv area, as well as the Kharoba-Koshuk structure 18 km from Merv, which some researchers consider the ruins of a Christian temple.
After the Arab conquest of Central Asia in the 7th century, Merv gained new life as a staging ground for campaigns to the north and east. Under the Abbasids, Merv became one of the main centers of Arabic scholarship, home to ten libraries. The city was known for immigrants from Arab lands as well as from Sogdiana and other parts of Central Asia. Between 813 and 818, the temporary residence of Caliph al-Ma'mun in Merv effectively made the city the capital of the entire Caliphate.
Merv reached its peak in the mid-12th century, when Sultan Sanjar made it the capital of the Seljuk state. At that time, Merv impressed contemporaries with the scale of its buildings, by some accounts even surpassing Constantinople and Baghdad.
During this period Merv reached its greatest size — Arab and Persian geographers called it "the mother of the world," "the meeting place of the great," "the chief city of Khorasan," and the capital of the eastern Islamic world. Written sources also attest to a great library and madrasa founded by Nizam al-Mulk (vizier, 1064–1092), among other major cultural institutions.
In the 12th century, Merv was one of the largest cities in the world, with a population possibly reaching 500,000 by 1210.
In 1221 Merv was destroyed by the Mongols and did not recover until the 15th century, when the Timurids restored its irrigation systems — though Merv never regained its former grandeur, and the settlement eventually moved to the site of the modern Turkmen city of Mary.
By evening, we'll return by comfortable bus to our hotel in Ashgabat.

Meals included: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Accommodation included: Hotel Sport, Ashgabat


Day 7. March 26, 2027. CARPET MUSEUM – DARVAZA

After breakfast, visit the Carpet Museum, where you can explore the history of Central Asia's carpet industry. It holds the largest collection of Turkmen carpets among all museums, including a rich collection from medieval times through the 20th century, with over 1,000 carpets from the 19th and 20th centuries.
We'll then continue on to the Darvaza gas crater to admire its fantastic view, feel the heat, and listen to the wind and the roar of this giant furnace. Nearby, we'll also visit two more craters — one a mud crater, the other filled with turquoise-colored water.
Overnight in yurts near the crater.

Meals included: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Accommodation included: yurt stay near the crater


Day 8. March 27, 2027. DARVAZA – RUSSIAN BAZAAR – RETURN FLIGHT
Morning crater viewing and photography.
After breakfast, return to Ashgabat and visit the Russian Bazaar in the city center for souvenir shopping. After lunch, transfer to the airport for the international flight home.
Meals included: breakfast, lunch
Accommodation included: none
*Recommended flights:

• S7, flight S7-3236, departing Ashgabat March 23 (sic) at 18:10, or
• another flight from Ashgabat to any city, departing no earlier than 17:00 on March 27*

* The program schedule may be adjusted for the expedition's benefit due to weather conditions, road conditions, or safety considerations.