Sandwiched between the Middle East and China, Central Asia is a land of bloody history where warlords like Genghis Khan and Tamerlane ruled and rampaged. Made up of five former Soviet states ‒ Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan ‒ it's best known for being the central artery of the ancient silk route connecting China with Europe.

Uzbekistan is the cultural highlight, home to glittering silk road cities like Bukhara, Samarkand and Khiva, with their mosaic-laden madrasas, cobalt-domed mosques and souks thronging with traders. Elsewhere, it’s about experiencing untouched landscapes and the people who've lived in them for generations. Try the snow-capped Pamir and Tian Shan mountain ranges of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, where traditional herding communities ride horses, sleep in traditional yurts and hunt with birds of prey.