Akhal Teke horses tour

Name of tour: Akhal Teke horses tour

Duration: 6 days & 5 nights


Day 1: Ashgabat
As you land at Ashgabat International Airport, capital of Turkmenistan, your guide will meet you and take you to the capital city. The day will be devoted to exploration of the city. The city of Ashgabat was founded in 1881. It is situated in the foothills of Kopet Dag in 25 km from the Iranian border. The name of the city comes from Persian meaning well-maintained (“eshg” means love and “abad” means populated). The guided tour of the city will include visiting Lenin's square, Park of Indepences, Arch of Neutrality. You will also get to visit the Museum of Ethnography and Museum of Fine Arts. Overnight stay is in the hotel.
 
Day 2: Ashgabat – Kow-Ata
Leaving the capital city we will be heading to Kow-Ata which is an underground lake 107 km from the city during your tour. The name of the lake is translated as “The Father of Caves” adored by many travelers. Cave stretches 230 m in length and 57 m in width. The height of the cave is around 20 m. It makes the cave a quite roomy auditorium. Lumps and dissolved limestones make up the bottom of the cave. The gushing water which is of emerald color is quite warm. The lake holds the temperature constant at 33-37 ^oC making swimming in it really enjoyable which you should definitely do.
 
Day 3: Kow-Ata – Darwaza
Darwaza gas deposits are our destination for this day. We will be driving towards it in the morning. You will observe a fascinating view of the crater during both day and night. Staying in a camp with delicious food under the starry sky is a wonderful experience.
 
Day 4: Darwaza – Ashgabat – Merv – Mary
In the morning we will travel back to Ahsgabat to continue your tour. From there we will go to see the ancient fortress of Abiverd which is one of the eight historical sites of Turkmenistan. The settlement of Abiverd sits between the cities of Ashgabat and Mary. Besides that, you will also get to see the remnants of the mosque of Seyit Jamal-ad-Din which dates back to the XI century. Mohammad Khudaiot was the one to finance the construction of the mosque back in 1456. We will continue our way to Merv. It is located on the intersection of branches of the Great Silk Road. It made the city a place of great significance in the past and allowed it to become one of the largest cities in the world. It was also one of the most important cities for Islam. You will have a guided tour of the city which includes Erk Gala, Gyz Gala, Soltan Sanjar Mausoleum, Soltan Gala, Soltan Sanjar Mausoleum, and Ibn Zeid Mausoleum. Finally we will drive to our final destination which is Mary. The overnight stay is in the hotel.

Day 5: Mary – Ashgabat – Nissa – Horse farm – Ashgabat
In the morning you will take a flight to Ashgabat. From the capital city we will continue our journey to the fortress of Nissa. The fortress was declared to be a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2007. We will continue our tour to the horse farm where you will get to see the Akhal-Teke horses, the pride of the Turkmen people. You have the opportunity to experience a traditional tea party, see a horse show program. After this the return to Ashgabat follows with an overnight in the hotel.
 
Day 6: Flight
Transfer to the airport in the morning.