Silk Road: Venice, Isfahan & the Pamir, 8 Weeks

The start is in Germany. Winding Alpine roads lead towards Venice, where the group meets in the evening after everyone has ridden in individually and the first day begins together, before the real leg east gets under way.

Arrival in Venice, the former end point of the historic Silk Road, from which Marco Polo once set out. The motorcycles are prepared for the coming ferry crossing while the group spends its first shared evening in the lagoon city.

A day to explore the lagoon city of Venice freely, before the way heads east and the long ride across Europe comes to an end. Canals, bridges and St Mark's Square invite one last relaxed stroll through town.

Embarkation in the port of Venice, and the ferry leaves Italy for Greece. The group spends the night at sea in two-berth cabins while the motorcycles stand securely lashed on board and the first big section begins.

The ferry docks in Igoumenitsa in the afternoon and the support truck takes over the riders' luggage. A leg into the mountainous hinterland leads close to the famous Meteora monasteries, one of the most striking stops on the whole route.

A ride over beautiful Greek mountain roads to beyond Thessaloniki, a quiet transit day before the change of continent, with winding passes and wide views over the Greek landscape.

On to the Turkish border and across the 5.5 km wide Dardanelles by ferry. At Canakkale the group moves from the European to the Asian continent, a symbolic moment on the way towards Central Asia.

Via Eskisehir the group reaches an impressive volcanic crater where a night is planned – a quiet close before the ride on to Cappadocia and one of the calmer legs right across Anatolia.

Country roads lead to Göreme in Cappadocia. The fairy chimneys, dwelling towers carved into tufa formations, rank among the most striking stations of the whole route and invite a long photo stop among the rock formations.

The climb up the mystical mountain of Nemrut Dag, whose thousand-year-old stone statues tell of the kings of the Commagene kingdom. There is time enough for the summit, the sunset and a wide view over the Anatolian plateau.

A ride to Lake Van, the great inland lake of eastern Turkey set against an imposing mountain backdrop, a scenic highlight shortly before the Iranian border, with quiet shore roads and views of snow-capped peaks.

A ride through the Turkish-Iranian border region with views of the snow-capped Greater Ararat. In Dogubeyazit the Ishak Pasha Palace towers above the plain, and the flavour of the old Silk Road trade is still clearly felt in the bustling border town.

Only 40 km to the Iranian border, then on to Tabriz. In the sprawling El Goli Park the group meets Iranian leisure culture for the first time, with picnics across all generations – a warm first contact with the host country.

On to Hamadan, where the world-famous physician Avicenna found his final rest. A beautiful waterfall near the town invites a break, before the way continues towards Isfahan and the Pamir still lies far ahead.

The mountains of Iran lead into legendary Isfahan with its 17th-century souk, the 33-arch bridge Si-o-Se-Pol and the Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque on Meidan-e Imam square – on request a detour to nearby Persepolis is possible.

Good roads lead into the desert zone to Yazd, set between the Dasht-e Kavir and the Dasht-e Lut. Fire temple, wind tower and the Towers of Silence define this leg and show the region's thousand-year-old Zoroastrian history.

Through the Dasht-e Kavir desert with a night in an oasis, and over the Alborz mountains down into the subtropical climate of Mahmud Abad on the Caspian Sea – a striking change of climate within a few hours of riding.

Along the southern shore of the Caspian Sea the way runs through Golestan National Park, home to brown bears and the rare Asiatic cheetah, before the Kopet Dag range leads on into Turkmenistan.

A border crossing in the narrow mountain range into Turkmenistan and on to Ashgabat, founded in 1881 at the junction of the caravan roads and shaped by monumental buildings, over-wide avenues and sprawling parks.

On a track-like stretch through the Karakum desert to the famous gas crater of Darvaza and further north to the Turkmen-Uzbek border town of Dasoguz, where this section through Turkmenistan comes to an end.

Entry into Uzbekistan and a short ride into the World Heritage city of Khiva, which with its enclosed old town earns a well-deserved rest day, before the way continues to the next caravan cities.

On to Bukhara, another pearl of the Silk Road. Two nights are spent in an old madrasa that today houses a beautiful small hotel, right in the middle of the impressive old town with its many historic buildings.

Less than 280 km on good roads to Samarkand. The accommodation sits in a pretty garden in the old town, not far from world-famous Registan Square, the architectural highlight of Uzbekistan.

Through steppe-like hill country towards Termez, then the border crossing into Tajikistan and on to the capital Dushanbe on a hopefully finished road – the border post closes as early as around 4 p.m., which is why a time buffer is planned.

Along the roaring Panj, the border river with Afghanistan, to Khorog. A rest day is left for the botanical garden at 2,200 m, before the way climbs on into the Pamir region, where the highest sections await.

The route leaves the main road and heads for lonely Bulunkul Lake, where the group stays in a tiny settlement on the edge of the Pamir – one of the most remote stations on the entire route.

Over a scenically unique gravel stretch back onto the main road and along the Chinese border on the Pamir Highway to Karakul Lake at 4,020 m, with views of the snow-capped peaks of the Trans-Alay range.

Over the 4,280 m Kysyl-Art Pass into Kyrgyzstan and down in tight bends into the Alai Valley. In Osh the largest open market in Central Asia awaits, overlooked by the sacred Suleyman-Too mountain, a place of pilgrimage for centuries.

A ride to Arslanbob, a small town in the ancient Kyrgyz walnut forests, which were already cultivated in the days of Alexander the Great and still count among the largest natural walnut groves in the world.

The track-like road winds up to the mountain lake Son Kul in the middle of Kyrgyz high pastures with summer yurt camps, where the group enjoys camp life on the shore at around 3,020 metres of altitude.

Along the southern shore of Issyk-Kul and the flanks of the Tien Shan the way leads into the valley of the Barskoon river with its 100-metre waterfalls, one of the most scenic sections in Kyrgyzstan.

A ride to Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, over the last kilometres of this long route through Central Asia, before the group prepares for the finish and gets the motorcycles ready for shipping.

The programme ends in Bishkek with handing the motorcycles over to the shipping agent. A return flight or an individual ride onward closes the eight weeks from Germany to Kyrgyzstan, with around 18,000 kilometres behind the group.