Before the Bolsheviks dragooned them into the Soviet Union in the 1920s, the khanates of Central Asia were some of the most despotic, hidden, and utterly fascinating parts of the planet. People were driven half mad with desire to see places like Samarkand and Bukhara, which still reverberate to the harsh but compelling drumbeat of their history.

In its just-under three weeks Khanates packs in a tremendous lot of old-fashioned travel romance. We’re reminded once more of William Hazlitt’s insight: “In traveling we visit names as well as places.” So, suffice for the moment—before you call us for our detailed and expansive itinerary—names that raise the pulse and race the brain: Ashkhabad, Khiva, Tashkent, Ferghana, Osh, and on and on. But this writer can’t forgo short tributes to two of his favorite earthly spots: Samarkand—whose Registan Lord Curzon called “the noblest public square in the world,” and to which we travel, in the words of James Elroy Flecker, “on a golden road . . . for lust of knowing what should not be known”—and glorious Bukhara, from which, the old saying goes, “the light ascends to heaven.”

Day 1: arrive in Ashkhabad • Day 2: Ashkhabad and Nissa • Day 3: excursion to Merv • Day 4: Tolkuchka Bazaar • Day 5: fly to Urgench • Day 6: drive to Khiva • Day 7: exploring Khiva • Day 8: drive to Bukhara • Days 9 & 10: exploring Bukhara • Day 11: drive to Samarkand • Day 12: exploring Samarkand • Day 13: drive to Tashkent • Day 14: drive to Ferghana • Day 15: exploring Ferghana and Marghilan • Day 16: to Osh • Day 17: Fly to Bishkek • Day 18: exploring Bishkek • Day 19: fly to Tashkent • Day 20: depart Tashkent.

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