7-Day Turkmenistan Tour through Merv, Darvaza and Ashgabat

Meet on arrival at Ashgabat International Airport and drive east to Mary, where you will check in at the hotel. After lunch, spend the afternoon exploring Ancient Merv, once the second city of the Islamic world, on a par with Baghdad, Cairo, and Damascus. Walk the ramparts of Gyz Gala and Erk Gala, and visit the Mausoleum of Sultan Sanjar, along with the smaller mausolea of Yusup-Hamadani and Ibn Zeid. Return to Mary for dinner at a local restaurant. Overnight at Hotel Margush.

After breakfast, drive north toward the Darvaza Gas Crater, stopping en route at the Abiverd ruins near Kaakhka, a once-great medieval Silk Road town reduced to silent earth walls. Lunch will be taken in the car. Arrive at Darvaza in the late afternoon for a daylight view of the crater, then return after dinner to feel the heat, hear the wind, and watch the colour shift through dusk into the deepest red of night. Overnight in tents on the rim.

Enjoy a slow breakfast at the crater, then drive north through the Karakum Desert, passing the desert fauna and flora of one of the great empty places on Earth. Lunch will be in a local restaurant or in the car. Arrive at Konye-Urgench, the UNESCO-listed Silk Road capital of Khwarezm, and walk among its squares and monuments, including the Kutlug Timur minaret, at 60 metres the tallest in Central Asia, and the mausolea of Sultan Tekesh and Najmuddin Kubra. Continue to Dashoguz for dinner. Overnight at Hotel Dashoguz.

Transfer in the morning to Dashoguz International Airport for the 45-50 minute flight back to Ashgabat. On arrival, drive west to Balkanabat for lunch and a brief check-in at the hotel. After a short rest, continue to Yangykala Canyon, where the floor of an ancient ocean has been lifted and weathered into 25 kilometres of striped pink, white, and gold cliffs. Watch the late light move across the canyon walls before driving back to Balkanabat for dinner. Overnight at Hotel Nebitchi.

Check out after breakfast and drive back toward Ashgabat. Stop at Kovata Cave, an underground sulphur lake hidden beneath the Kopet Dag, then continue to the mountain villages around Nokhur, where graveyards bristle with mountain-goat horns, weavers continue their craft, and a way of life has remained unchanged for centuries. After lunch, visit Old Nisa, the UNESCO-listed Parthian royal capital 18 km west of Ashgabat. Continue into the city and check in. Dinner at a local restaurant. Overnight at Hotel Oguzkent.

Spend a full day in the surreal capital. Visit the Arch of Neutrality, the Monument to the Constitution, the Memorial Complex, and the Alem Cultural and Entertainment Center, home to the world's largest indoor Ferris wheel, fully enclosed in glass. After lunch, enjoy some free time before driving through the Russian Bazaar, the Berkarar shopping centre, and the lit boulevards of the new city. Stop at the Palace of Happiness, Ashgabat's wedding palace, a marble-and-gold cube the size of a city block. Dinner in town. Overnight at Hotel Yyldyz.

An early-morning transfer to Ashgabat International Airport for your onward flight. Seven days that will rearrange what you thought you knew about Central Asia.