According to the Iranian Students' Tourism & Travelling Agency(istta): Kazakhstan Despite being the world’s ninth -largest country, Kazakhstan remains an unknown to Western travellers. The fast-growing, ultra-modern capital, Astana, is less enticing than the more sophisticated former capital, Almaty, but the best reason to visit is to organise a homestay in the Aksu-Zhabagyly nature reserve. Excellent guides, impressive biodiversity – including ibex, argali sheep, golden eagles and about 1,300 species of flowering plants – and well-marked trails make this accessible park popular from April to September. Naturetrek (01962 733051; naturetrek.co.uk) operates several bird and wildlife-themed tours. Kyrgystan Adventurous horseback riders have long favoured this rugged country, partly because only riders can really access the fertile valleys and mountain passes. Rural Kyrgyzstan also allows visitors to meet nomadic families, who take to the high ground every summer. In the Saddle (01299 272997; inthesaddle.com) organises group trips. Kyrgyzstan is opening up to community tourism – homestays and yurt stays can be organised through CBT (00996 312 54 00 69; cbtkyrgyzstan.kg). High-altitude Lake Song-Köl offers stargazing while camping in a yurt. Tajikistan This small, poor country is the least visited in Central Asia. Half the country lies above 9,800ft, and the Fann and Pamir mountain ranges are ideal for extreme hiking and camping. The Pamir Highway (also known, more prosaically, as the M41) is a celebrated update of the original Silk Road. The capital, Dushanbe, is on the highway and is the location of Central Asia’s largest extant Buddha statue. Tajikistan is remarkably free of outside influence – and therefore of burger and coffee chains, advertising, and consumerism in general, as well as the all-pervasive and intrusive electronic gizmos that are everywhere in, say, Astana or Tashkent. The Foreign Office advises against travel to the eastern half of the country. Silk Road Tours (020 8728 2478; silkroadtours.co.uk) and Great Game (028 9091 3001; greatgametravel.co.uk) can arrange trips. China In June 2014, Unesco added the 3,100-mile “Silk Routes Network of the Chang’an-Tianshan Corridor” to its World Heritage list (whc.unesco.org/en/list/1442). Including remote sections of the Great Wall, the Sunday market at Kashgar, and the hanging temple at Maijishan, it makes for a rich mix of sights and settings, and is a chance to see a China populated by non-Han peoples, such as the Uighurs and Kazakhs. China travel guide From November, a new high-speed train will link Lanzhou to Urumqi (Xinjiang’s capital in the Western Territories). Tour firms will operate trips on the 1,103-mile railway from next year, with overland connections east to Kashgar, known for its traditional bazaar, and into Kyrgyzstan via the Torugart Pass. Bamboo (020 7720 9285; bambootravel.co.uk) will organise tours on the new railway. Western Mongolia Mongolia is linked to the Silk Road through Chinese trade and, of course, Genghis Khan, who was overlord of the route during the 13th century. For atmosphere as well as sporting prowess, few things can top Bayan-Olgii’s Kazakh Eagle Festival in September, when riders in traditional garb perform hunting displays with their golden eagles in the foothills of the Altai Mountains. Blue Wolf (00976 7042 2772; bluewolftravel.com) is a respected local specialist; Steppes (0843 636 8408; steppestravel.co.uk) can organise trips to the Mongolian Altai. South Caucasus Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia are offbeat Silk Road destinations. BA (ba.com) flies to Baku, the Azeri capital, in under six hours. Already popular with Christian pilgrims, these regions are home to old vineyards, Black Sea beaches and hilltop monasteries. In Georgia, Patara Dminisi was once a major caravan stop on the Silk Road and is the site of the oldest human remains found outside Africa. Other countries As well as the above countries, the Silk Road network has stretched, at various stages of its history, to Israel/Palestine, Syria, Iraq, Iran and Pakistan. All these countries are either at war or subject to FCO travel warnings. Turkey was the western limit of the Silk Road