Explore Africa - Silk Road Expedition

Product Details

Travel through 12 countries over 20-and-a-half weeks, including Libya, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan, across the roof of Africa and along the legendary Silk Road.

If you're looking for a ground-breaking trip of a challenging nature in the true style of overlanding from years gone by - then this could be your adventure of a lifetime!

Our first exploratory departure left Tunis on 15th March 2008 - why not join us for next year’s adventure!

Here is a taster of what to expect...

We begin our journey in Tunis, near the legendary city of Carthage. Boarding our overland expedition truck, we travel through Tunisia and Libya to see Roman ruins and uncrowded beaches and to shop in souks and chill out in coffee houses.

Venturing across the sands of the Sahara Desert, we reach Egypt and the famous Pyramids at Giza and the buzzing city of Cairo. Across the Suez Canal and Sinai Desert to the warm waters of the Red Sea, the buoyant Dead Sea and north to the Black Sea, we will encounter Bedouin camps, crusader castles and ancient cities.

We journey through the little-visited countries of Georgia and Azerbaijan, travelling along fertile valleys and gushing rivers surrounded by the high snow-capped Caucasus Mountains.

In Sataplia Nature Reserve we check out the world's largest collection of dinosaur tracks and look out for wolves and bears!

All the 'stans' come next along the Silk Route as we explore Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. From Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan, there is a gruelling desert crossing that could take a few days but you will be well rewarded with camping out at night in one of the world's most remote environments. Uzbekistan brings us madrassahs, medinas, mausoleums and museums and the ancient, fabled city of Samarkand, as old as Babylon or Rome.Driving through snow capped peaks and camping in the wilderness of Kyrgyzstan, we visit the high altitude Song-Kul Lake, in a stunning spot with the surrounding glaciers reflected on the still water. After days on the road, a mud cure seems like the best thing at one of Kyrgyzstan’s many spas!

Finally we reach the border with China at the Torugat Pass in the Tien Shan Mountains, one of the highest passes in the World. Crossing vast high plains where Kyrgyz nomads live in traditional yurts, we eventually descend to our first Chinese city Kashgar and on to the inhospitable Takla Makan Desert.

It takes several days to cross the desert which constitutes one of the largest moving bodies of sand in the world. Continuing east, we reach the Great Wall of China, visit a giant panda breeding centre and journey down the famous Yangtze River before arriving in Xi’an, home of the Terracotta Army.

Finally, after 20-and-a-half weeks of overlanding through deserts, mountains and valleys, across lakes and rivers, camping under starry skies, cooking over the campfire, haggling in souks and bazaars, digging the truck out of mud and sand and generally having the adventure of a lifetime, we arrive at our final destination, Beijing.

For those who don’t think they’ll be ready to arrive home after a mere 12 hour flight, why not take the long way round and continue with us on our Emperors and Tsars trip from Beijing through Mongolia and Russia to St. Petersburg!

A ground-breaking trip...

The Oasis crew leading this trip are some of our most experienced and our expedition vehicle has been newly built and equipped especially for this trip. Over the duration of the overland adventure we will be camping approximately 50% of the time, some of which will be in the extreme heat of deserts or the cold of mountainous regions.

The hotels we use will be small, locally-owned pensions and bed and breakfasts and may often be of a very basic standard.

The next overland trip to China departs from Tunis in March 2009. You should expect that there will be times that things do not go according to plan and there will be delays and unexpected problems along the way. But this should be regarded as part and parcel of being among the first to partake in such an awesome ground-breaking expedition!

Notes

You can also do shorter sections of this trip on their own, e.g. Tunis to Bishkek or Cairo to Beijing. Contact us for details and prices.

Call 0845 344 7546 to book now!

---

Our users say...

"It was simply amazing. I could not have done half the things I did by myself and as I told you it was a most fantastic trip. Thanks for George and Sue and for being such a great company. I'm full of praise for all you have done and I'll sing your praises to anyone and everyone." Esther

Cost Details

Additional local payment of US$2950 to be made at the start of the trip. Some meals & activities are not included.

Duration Details

The duration is 20 and a half weeks