£1,865 £1,480 Dates: Tue 22 Jul – Sat 09 Aug, Tue 05 Aug – Sat 23 Aug land only 52 Download detailed itineraries from www.himalayankingdoms.com e: info@himalayankingdoms.com Khiva, Uzbekistan Photo: David Bathgate Tien Shan Grade: Moderate/Vigorous On Trek: 11 days In-Country Leader Nights’ Accommodation: Hotels: 3 Camping: 14 Optional: Single Room £120 Single Tent £60 (trek only) £40 (base camps) Insurance: £99 (Standard Policy) Days Itinerary Duration: 19 days 1–2 Fly to Almaty, sightseeing 3–11 Drive to Almarasan Gorge, trek to Issyk-kul lake, drive to Karkara 12–16 Helicopter to South Inylchek Base Camp, visit peaks Pobeda & Khan Tengri 17–19 Drive to Almaty, at leisure, fly to London Guaranteed to run for a minimum of6clients The Celestial Mountains Trek This trek is an exploration of the valleys and glaciers leading to the impressive peaks of Pobeda, 7,439m/ 24,406ft and Khan Tengri, 7,010m/22,998ft, the two highest peaks of the Tien Shan. From Almaty in Kazakhstan we first trek for 8 days through a range of mountains of Alpine scale, crossing the Aksu Pass, (3,990m/13,170ft), to Issyk-Kul lake. This is as big as an inland sea and ringed by mountains. We spend time here relaxing and swimming before continuing eastwards to a camp near Karkara River. This trek, rich in botanical interest, through Alpine meadows between snow-capped peaks, will help us acclimatise. A wildly-exciting helicopter flight takes us to Base Camp at the South Inylchek Glacier, from where we trek to Pobeda Base Camp. Further up the glacier we can view the striking pyramid of Khan Tengri. This incredible mountain is rated as one of the most beautiful in the world, in the same class as the Matterhorn and Ama Dablam. Its upper half is marble and at sunset it glows ‘like a flaming torch’. Beyond the Greater Himalaya, other huge ranges complete the crescent of rock and ice: the Karakoram, the Hindu Kush and the Pamirs. Swinging eastwards from the end of the chain, the Tien Shan fences in the great Takla Makan desert and its existence was known for many centuries by traders using the Silk Road. The line of snowy summits rising to the north of the desert was first described by the Buddhist monk, Hung Tsang, in the 7th Century B.C. The mountains run from Tashkent to Urumchi and would also have been seen by Marco Polo on his way to meet Kublai Khan. Political constraints and remoteness have left the ‘Heavenly Mountains’ a matter of legend and little visited. The Definitive Cultural Tour of Central Asia Anyone interested in the Himalaya inevitably becomes fascinated by Central Asia. The connections are obvious: the Great Silk Road, the history of the Great Game, and the mountain ranges of the Pamirs and the Tien Shan themselves are but an extension of the Greater Himalaya. Explorers such as Marco Polo, Francis Younghusband and William Moorcroft returned with barely believable tales of ruthless rulers, nomads and of such fabled cities as Samarkand, Osh, Kokand and Bukhara. We now offer a wellresearched journey using the best hotels, a comfortable bus, a European leader and local interpreter, trains, planes and even a helicopter, as we explore the highest mountains of the Tien Shan and many of the most famous sites in Central Asia. £2,650 £2,270 Dates: Tue 12 Aug – Sat 30 Aug land only Grade: Cultural Tour European Leader: tbc Nights’ Accommodation: Hotels: 15 Camping (large tents): 2 Optional: Single Room £195 Insurance: £75 (Standard Policy) Days Itinerary Duration: 19 days 1–3 Fly to Almaty, view city, drive to Tien Shan –4 Helicopter flight to base camp of peaks Khan Tengri and Pobeda and return 5–6 Visit Issyk-Kul lake, Buran Tower and Bishkek –7 Sightseeing in Bishkek, drive Almaty 8–9 Fly to Tashkent, drive to Samarkand 10–11 Sightseeing Samarkand, drive to Bukhara 12–13 Sightseeing Bukhara, drive to Khiva 14–15 Khiva, fly to Tashkent 16–19 Fly to Almaty, visit Tamgaly Tas Gorge, fly to London Guaranteed to run for a minimum of4clients Helicopter departure Photo: Steve Berry Other cultural tours – see page 17, 29, 38, 39, 56 & 58

53 tel: 0845 330 8579 (local call rate, UK only) international tel: +44 1453 844 400 www.himalayankingdoms.com Left: Caption Photo: Photographer Right: Caption Photo: Photographer Ellie family at Uda Walawe Photos: Seraphina Berry Sri Lanka £1,550 £995 Sun 09 Mar – Sun 23 Mar Sun 13 Jul – Sun 27 Jul £1,650 £995 Sun 21 Dec ’08 – Sun 04 Jan ’09 Price TBC: 2009 dates: Sun 15 Feb ’09 – Sun 01 Mar ’09 land only land only Grade: Gentle Day Walks: 7 days In-Country Leader Nights’ Accommodation: Hotels: 11 Guest Houses: 2 Optional: Single Room £295 Insurance: £95 (Standard Policy) Days Itinerary Duration: 15 days 1–3 Fly to Colombo, transfer to Ranweli 4–5 In Kandy, sightseeing and walking 6–8 On trek using simple lodges –9 Drive via Dambulla to Harabana –10 Sigiriya, day trek –11 Poolonaruwa, cycle tour (optional) –12 Ritigala, day trek 13–15 Drive to Colombo, sightseeing, fly home Guaranteed to run for a minimum of clients Other Christmas treks – see pages 21, 23, 28, 29, 32, 34, 55, 56, 58 & 67 2 Gentle Trekking – Kandyan Kingdoms We have designed this trek to combine walking in the remote Knuckles Mountains with a chance to visit the main cultural sights of central Sri Lanka, using carefully selected hotels of character. There is a gentle start to the holiday with a visit to the unusual and fascinating Ranweli Hotel. Travelling on to Kandy, situated in the hilly heart of the island, there will be opportunities to visit the central tenets of Sinhalese culture. Three days are then spent in the Knuckles range, offering a chance to experience, walk and stay in this beautiful area, using twin bedded simple lodges. We then drive north to visit the great sights of Sigiriya, Dambulla, and Poolonaruwa. We have organised a full day trekking at the little visited and mysterious ruined forest monastery of Ritigala, before returning to Colombo. £1,495 £975 Sat 15 Mar – Sat 29 Mar Sat 22 Mar – Sat 05 Apr Sat 26 Jul – Sat 09 Aug £1,595 £1,075 Mon 29 Dec ’08 – Mon 12 Jan Price TBC: 2009 dates: Sat 04 Apr – Sat 18 Apr ’09 land only land only Grade: Gentle/Moderate On Trek: 6 days In-Country Leader Nights’ Accommodation: Hotels: 7 Camping (Fixed Camp): 2 Colonial Bungalow: 3 Buddhist Temple: 1 Optional: Single Room £195 Insurance: £95 (Standard Policy) Days Itinerary Duration: 15 days 1–2 Fly to Colombo –3 Drive to Bandarawela, walk 4–10 On trek, transfer to Tasks Camp –11 Uda Walawe National Park –12 Kitulgala rafting and walking 13–15 Drive to Colombo, at leisure, fly home Guaranteed to run for a minimum of2clients Hill Country Heights Trek Few treks in Sri Lanka offer the chance to ‘trek’ in traditional sense, and we are very pleased to have designed an itinerary that does. The trek starts in Bandarawela, a typical hill country town, small and bustling, and takes us through a mixture of virgin forest, tea plantations and small settlements, staying simple tea bungalows, plus a night in a Buddhist temple. can promise that we shall see few other trekkers, if any. The wildlife parks of Sri Lanka are superb. We visit Tasks Camp and Uda Walawe before a rafting trip at Kitulgala. Sri Lanka is a relatively small island – approximately the size of Ireland – but within its palm-fringed shores, it offers an astonishing diversity of landscapes, flora and fauna, religions and cultures. It is a land of outstanding beauty, from the verdant lowland jungles and farmland to the misty highlands, covered in places by perfectly manicured tea plantations. Once away from the tourist honey-pots, visitors are assured of a genuinely warm welcome (and are often viewed with amazement). As Sri Lanka continues to make a remarkable recovery from the 2004 Tsunami, the people are keen to welcome overseas visitors. Since introducing Sri Lanka to our portfolio of destinations, our first clients have returned full of enthusiasm for this beautiful country. Murals at Sigiriya Photos: Steve Harbert