If you’re the kind of person who loves a good mystery, doesn’t mind a surprise or two while you travel, and has Central Asia on your to-go list, we may have just found your dream trip.
Intrepid Travel, a small group adventure travel company, is looking for 10 people to join it on a one-off expedition next year starting in Kazakhstan and ending in Mongolia with everything in between left as a total mystery until you arrive in each location along the way.
Some legs of the journey will be made via train.
Courtesy of Intrepid Travel
Departing from Astana, Kazakhstan, on June 30, 2019, and ending 22 days and 2,200 miles later in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, the trip will apparently visit towns and villages that can’t even be located on Google Maps between the two destinations. In fact, travelers will only receive hints about what’s to come next as they make their way through Central Asia.
“You won’t know where you’re going, what you’ll see, where you’ll stay, or what you’ll be eating. There’ll be long travel days, intermittent electricity and Wi-Fi, a few cold showers, and a few treats along the way though, including fermented mare milk,” Darrell Wade, Intrepid Travel’s cofounder, said in a statement. “But it’s going to be a real adventure. One day you could be hiking through the world’s most remote and breathtaking landscapes; the next, soothing your aching muscles in a sauna in the middle of nowhere.”
Accomodations will vary from small hotels to camping in traditional gers.
Courtesy of Intrepid Travel
While details are limited to maintain the mystery, Intrepid Travel says that accommodations on the trip will range from small hotels to family-run homestays to tents and gers. Getting around will be varied too, including stretches via vans, trains, and boats. But there will also be days where you can expect to ride camels or horses or walk on your own two feet to get from point A to point B.
Some days you’ll travel by van, but others you’ll arrive via camelback.
Courtesy of Intrepid Travel
Above all, picky eaters need not apply. Three meals will be provided on most days and will feature home-cooked outdoor picnics and campfire dinners of things you’ve probably never tried before (like that fermented mare’s milk).
The Central Asia mystery trip will be a first for Intrepid Travel and is one of the company’s “Uncharted Expeditions” tours that they use to test out potential ideas and discover new destinations. The feedback from the 10 travelers who go on the 2019 expedition will help determine if Intrepid Travel adds the journey to its 2020 offerings.
The 2019 Uncharted Expedition through Central Asia costs $5,650 per person, excluding flights. To apply, visit Intrepid Travel’s website.
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