The five Stans in one journey, from Ashgabat to Almaty

The five countries of Central Asia, the "Stans", became independent when the Soviet Union broke up in 1991. Before that, for centuries, they lay across the network of trade routes that linked China with Persia, India and the Mediterranean, and their cities, oases and mountain passes saw caravans, armies, missionaries and conquerors pass through. They share a history of Persian, Turkic, Mongol and Russian influence, and in many ways a culture, but each is distinct, with its own language, landscapes and character.

Crossing all five in a single journey takes about three weeks. It involves several land borders, long drives and a good deal of variety, from deserts to some of the highest mountains in Asia.

Turkmenistan

Turkmenistan is the most closed and least visited of the five, and getting a visa can be difficult. Its capital, Ashgabat, rebuilt after a devastating earthquake in 1948, is an extraordinary city of white marble buildings, gilded statues and vast, empty boulevards, built by the country's post-Soviet leaders. Nearby are the ruins of Nisa, an early capital of the Parthian empire. In the Karakum desert lies the Darvaza gas crater, a pit of burning natural gas that has been alight for decades, glowing orange in the night. Kunya-Urgench, in the north, has the ruins of the old capital of Khorezm, with a tall, slender minaret.

Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan holds the great Silk Road cities. Khiva is a walled town of mud-brick mosques and minarets on the edge of the desert. Bukhara has its holy old centre of mosques, madrasas and pools. Samarkand, the capital of Timur, has the tiled madrasas of the Registan. Tashkent, the capital, is a large modern city with ornate underground stations and a great bazaar.

Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan

Tajikistan is a mountainous country, its people Persian-speaking, unlike the Turkic peoples of its neighbours. Near the Uzbek border lie the ancient sites of Sarazm, one of the oldest settlements in Central Asia, and Penjikent, a Sogdian trading city whose wall paintings are now in museums. In the Fann mountains, Iskanderkul is a turquoise lake associated in legend with Alexander the Great. Khujand, in the north, was founded by Alexander as one of his easternmost cities.

Kyrgyzstan is a land of high mountains, alpine pastures and nomadic traditions, where herders still spend summers in yurts with their horses and flocks. Issyk Kul, a vast lake ringed by snow peaks, is one of the largest mountain lakes in the world and never freezes. Karakol, on its eastern shore, has a wooden Russian Orthodox cathedral and a mosque built by Chinese Muslims in the style of a pagoda. Jeti-Oguz is a valley of red sandstone cliffs.

The two mountain capitals are Soviet creations. Dushanbe, in Tajikistan, grew from a village known for its Monday market, which gave it its name, the Persian word for Monday, into a capital of tree-lined avenues and public buildings. Bishkek, in Kyrgyzstan, is a green, low-rise city laid out on a grid, with snow peaks on its southern horizon, a central square and a busy bazaar. East of Bishkek, the Burana Tower, a stump of an eleventh-century minaret, marks the site of Balasagun, once a city of the Karakhanids, and an open-air collection of balbals, ancient stone grave markers carved with faces, stands around it.

Kazakhstan, the largest of the five, is a vast country of steppe. Almaty, its largest city, sits beneath the snow-capped mountains of the Tian Shan. Charyn Canyon, to the east, is a dramatic red canyon carved by a river through the steppe.

Explore Worldwide's The Five Stans of the Silk Road, twenty nights from May to October, includes Ashgabat and Nisa, Dashoguz and Kunya-Urgench, Nukus, Khiva, Bukhara and Samarkand, Sarazm and Penjikent, Iskanderkul and Dushanbe, along with Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan.

Just You's The Silk Road: Legends of the Five Stans, twenty nights, includes Ashgabat and Darvaza, Khiva, Bukhara, Samarkand, Dushanbe, Khujand, Tashkent, Bishkek, Chon Kemin, Karakol and Almaty. Travelsphere's Silk Road Adventure: the Five Stans, twenty nights, includes Almaty, Charyn Canyon, Karakol, Jeti-Oguz, Cholpon-Ata, Chon Kemin, Bishkek, Tashkent, Khujand, Dushanbe, Samarkand and Bukhara.

Late spring to early autumn is the best season, when the mountain passes are open. The deserts are very hot in high summer. Be prepared for border crossings that take time, and for hospitality at every stop.