Central Asia Silkroad

EUROPE
This beautiful motorcycle trip will put your driving skills to the test. The journey goes through the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The unique landscapes lead you through the Slovakian Carpathians. You will enjoy the authentic villages, winding mountain roads and a beautiful cultural heritage. We will visit Bratislava and Budapest before continuing to Romania. Here we drive on - according to Top gear - Europe's most beautiful road: Transfagarasan. It is during the winter months that this road is closed due to snow and is usually open again in late May. If not, we'll have to make a detour. We then follow a scenic route through Bulgaria before arriving at the Turkish border.

TURKEY
On our route from Edirne to Istanbul we cross the bridge over the Bosphorus and drive our first kilometers through Asia. After a day in Istanbul we enter the large hinterland of Turkey. Turkey has a very good infrastructure, so every day we have to balance our route with the distances we have to travel. We cover the long distances via main roads, furthermore we will take smaller roads as much as possible. The accommodation is always small and not crowded with normal tourists. Safranbolu is a UNESCO protected city. Because the interior of Turkey has a lot to offer, we only reach the coast of the Black Sea from Trabzon; Here starts a beautiful route along the coast to the border with Georgia.

GEORGIA
Immediately after the border we take a small road that leads to hilly terrain. Georgia is the land of ancient civilizations and traditional monasteries and churches. It is the first country to officially declare Christianity a state religion. Georgia is the country with one of the 14 official language writings in the world and was on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2016. Although the Roman alphabet is often used, all residents can read and write the ancient script. During this journey we enter Georgia in two separate rounds. First time from Turkey we touched the border with Armenia. The second time we come from Armenia and spend two nights in the capital Tbilisi. Then follows a beautiful route through the Caucasus to Azerbaijan.

ARMENIA
Armenia borders four countries. But it only has good relations with two of these. The borders with Turkey and Azerbaijan remain closed. Armenia is against Turkey because of the Armenian Genocide and against Azerbaijan because of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Nevertheless, we would like to include this very special country in the journey. It offers beautiful nature, an ancient Christian culture, many monasteries and beautiful churches. The border with Georgia is open and we use it to enter the country. After a night in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia and a fantastic route along Mount Aragat with a view of Mount Ararat in Turkey,

AZERBAIJAN
We enter the country via the northern border. On the edge of the Caucasus, we spend the night in a small village before driving to the Caspian Sea and the port city of Baku. It is interesting to see how quickly this city, which expanded thanks to oil revenues, was modernized after its liberation from the Soviet Union. It is a cosmopolitan city with an abundance of modern eye-catching architecture while retaining an age-old partially built-up center. It's not Amsterdam, but Baku is the lowest capital in the world. Parts of the city are no less than 25 meters below sea level.

IRAN
From Baku, we drive along the Caspian Sea to the Iranian border and on to the charming town of Lahijan, which is surrounded by tea plantations. We drive through one of the greenest parts of Iran to the capital Tehran. We spend two nights in this big city of 12 million people. There are several attractions to see here, including the impressive Golestan Palace, which has been a museum since the fall of the shah. Provided there is not too much smog, you can get a great view of this huge city from the 45 meter high Freedom Tower that Shah built. From Tehran we drive northeast through the mountains and the impressive Golestan National Park to the border with Turkmenistan.

TURKMENISTAN
Probably the most special country on this trip. This is the least known and most inaccessible of all Stan countries. This is also the only country on the route where a support car and local guidance are required. The border crossing into Turkmenistan will be one of the most difficult on this journey. Officials determine the approximate number of miles that will be traveled in the country based on our route. This distance is converted into the amount of liters of fuel we need for this. Then they determine the difference in fuel price per. liters between the Netherlands and Turkmenistan, and this is then multiplied by the number of liters. The resulting amount is the payment to be made to the officials. This extensive border procedure will take some time.

Not far from the border is Asgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan. We stay in Ashgabat for two nights. This somewhat bizarre city is well worth a visit. The great statue of the great leader must of course be seen, as well as the beautiful mosques. It is probably the whitest city in the world because the buildings are made of white marble according to the law. The next day we drive through the Karakum desert to the village of Derweze. We are often warned about camels on the road and we will certainly see a few. Near Derweze you will find a curious crater that was created during drilling for natural gas in 1971. The ground under the oil rig collapsed and created a large hole with a diameter of about 70 meters. To prevent the emission of toxic gas, it was decided to burn the gas. Until today the fire continues.

From Derweze we continue our journey through the desert and then north to the border with Uzbekistan.

UZBEKISTAN
We say goodbye to our Turkish driver of the support vehicle. After collecting all the green papers we drive through the lowlands to the town of Samarkand. This city also played an important role in the silk caravans era. Then a flat route through the narrow part of the country, and we arrive in the capital Tashkent. There is a lot to see in Tashkent. Old mosques reminiscent of the silk route and you can easily entertain an entire afternoon. Through the hilly landscape, we will drive further east and stay in Fergana before reaching the border with Tajikistan.

TAJIKISTAN
The Pamir Highway was built by the Russians as a defense against the advancing British colonial forces from the south. The road runs along the border with Afghanistan through one of the wildest and most remote areas on Earth. After two nights in Dushanbe, we start the toughest part of the journey. Hotels are limited here, and we regularly sleep in people's homes. In this empty desert, with its very hospitable people, there are not many tourists here. In the rugged, rugged mountains, far above the trælinjen, we drive on the Pamir Highway. We stay at a reasonable altitude for at least ten days before heading back down to Kyrgyzstan. This is quite a difficult part of the journey, it takes us to a unique motorcycle tour destination, one of the last remaining natural secrets on Earth!

KIRGIZIA
Once we cross the border, we enter the center of Osh. Here's our first night. In contrast to the neighboring countries of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan has hardly any flat regions. The Tian Shan Mountains are very rugged and there are no passages for some of the high parts. A beautiful route takes us to Toktogul Lake, an area mainly inhabited by Kyrgyz yurt natives. A beautiful final route eventually takes us to the capital Bishkek.

KAZAKHSTAN
Here we hardly encouter any people. It is a sparsely populated country with vast steppes, beautiful mountains and deserts. The Talass Alatau Mountains are located on the south side of the Silk Road and are a true paradise for nature lovers. The Issyk Valley is known for its wildlife such as eagles and marmots. On the Assy Plateau, nomads live with their goats, sheep and horses. In the summer, many families build their yurts, the traditional felt tents. The Tien Shan Mountains are located on the Kolsaimer. Altyn Emel National Park is a semi-desert for too many landscape photographers and unique place to take pictures. The lunar landscape at the desert mountains Aktau and Katutay and the singing dunes are also very spectacular.

RUSSIA
Russia is located partly in Europe and partly in Asia. The rich and turbulent past of the Russians and the great differences between the big cities and the countryside provide special experiences.

MONGOLIA
Mongolia, the most sparsely populated country in the world and has breathtaking landscapes and vast steppes. On the way we meet the Mongolian Gers, the traditional nomad tents that still play an important role in the landscape. The Tsagaan people live on the border with Siberia. these are a nomadic people who also live on the other side of the border in Siberia.

JAPAN
Japan is actually a motorcycle country. It is considerably mountainous with beautiful mountain roads and is at the same time fascinatingly modern but very traditional culture. This tour introduces you to ultra-modern cities as well as traditional historic villages and customs on a motorcycle. Japan is a fascinating country in all its fascinations and great to discover on a motorcycle. When we arrive in Tokyo, we go to the port to deliver our motorcycles for transport back to the Netherlands . Your motorcycle arrives at the port of Rotterdam. You must therefore pick up your motorcycle in Rotterdam.