It’s fascinating Driving across!
Indians are catching up fast in taking up the road trips across the CIS countries,
generally popular among European and US tourists. Roads stretching from
the Mediterranean to Korea make it possible for tourist to travel and
get a feel of the nomad life, allowing self-introspection and a slower
pace of life.
Uzbekistan would be the perfect place to start the
trip while planning for the CIS countries. Offering opportunities to
explore various treasures, the journey internally between cities by
Uzbekistan Railways is truly amazing. High speed Afrosiyob (Bullet Trains)
takes you from Tashkent to Samarkand in 2 hours and 10 minutes and to
Bukhara in 3 hours 20 minutes. There are also plans to expand the
options for cross-border travel by bus with Tashkent-Bishkek,
Ferghana-Osh, Andijan-Osh and Tashkent-Issyk-Kul among the routes under
consideration. A weekly train is running the route from Tashkent to
Kyrgyzstan’s Issyk-Kul region. Uzbekistan owns three resorts on
Issyk-Kul, so the train is intended to serve those facilities.
Kyrgyzstan is geographically gifted when it comes to
waterfalls and lakes, which make up a majority of the tourist
attractions. Some of these places are very secluded like the Abshy Ata
Waterfall and the Ala-Kul Lake. The Chatyr - kul, Sary Chelek, Song Kul
and Issyk Kul lakes also attract a lot of tourist for their serenity and
scenic beauty. However, it is advisable not to drive, but to take
rental cars, and taxis as foreign drivers cannot cope with the road
conditions properly.
Russia being the largest country in the world offers one of the best train trips courtesy of the trans-Siberian Railway and
connects Moscow to Vladivostok. Travelling through road will open up a
lot more options to visit like Lake Baikal, Savior Monastery, State Art
Museum, Bunker 42, Peterhof Palace, Red Square, Volkhov River, Olkhon
Island and Alexander Garden.
Kazakhstan has undertaken a massive project over the
last 7 years to upgrade highways across most of the country. It is now
very possible to drive from West to East across most of the country in
relative comfort. Most of the highways in Kazakhstan are of international standard - fast and comfortable.
The Astana-Kiev train takes from Kazakhstan to Ukraine, getting off in Charkov or Kiev to continue to Donezk or wherever one wishes to. Almaty-Astana train connection
is quite straightforward and the Astana-Kiev train might be operated
every two days. Ukraine struggled initially after gaining independence,
but the country has made progress ever since, and is now one of the
nations to have upwards of 20 million tourists per year.
The road trip from Tbilisi to Baku is real fun and
adventure. Georgia being one of the smaller CIS nations still offers a
lot when it comes to popular tourist attractions. Some of the most
visited places include the religious sites of Sioni Cathedral Church,
Metekshi Cathedral, Jvari Church, Anchiskhati, Tbilisi Great Synagogue
Basilica, and David Gavja Monastery. On the way to Azerbaijan border,
there is a city called ‘Rustavi’ in Georgia.
On the Georgian side of the border, there are duty free shops, restaurants and even currency exchange. On the Azerbaijan side
of the border, there is nothing but only a snacks and drinks shop.
Dozens of car are available there to travel anywhere in Azerbaijan. On
the way to Baku, the first surprise is a city called ‘Ganja.’ Baku,
one of the cities, to attract the most tourists every year in
Azerbaijan, because of its history and architecture. The Tigranakert of
Artsakh is a city famous for its ruins and is one of the oldest cities
in the nation.
