Get to know – or under-Stan, if you will – the desert landscapes, multicultural influences and religious significance in Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan on a 26-day Central Asian adventure. The region’s allure lies in the heritage of the Silk Road, where ideas, culture and people flowed from East to West, and in the green field backcountry and sweeping mountain landscapes that play host to the traditional nomadic lifestyle. Journey through cities featuring crumbling reminders of Soviet occupation and influence and out into the stunning wilds, where the ancient history of these long-lived nations – Persian and Mongol, Buddhist and Muslim – becomes clearer. Samarkand’s iconic Registan Square, the soaring Ak-Baital Pass, Khiva’s city within a city, the ‘Door to Hell’ – Central Asia has got it all.