Ryn Desert
The Ryn, also known as the Naryn Sands, is Kazakhstan’s westernmost desert. It spans for over 350km between the Volga and Ural Rivers, and over
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If you’re on the lookout for Central Asia travel guides, you’ve come to right place! Here’s our rundown of what’s on the market and the best guidebooks to buy.
In 1974, while traveling through South America, Hilary Bradt and her former husband George began documenting hiking trails in the Andes during an 18-month backpacking trip. Their first guide, Backpacking Along Ancient Ways: Peru & Bolivia, featured the earliest descriptions of the Inca Trail and kickstarted their evolution into renowned travel publishers.
Since then, they have produced dozens of publications, including the most extensive collection of guidebooks for Central Asia, covering Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Karakalpakstan, with several editions for some countries.
Lonely Planet was established by Maureen and Tony Wheeler, who embarked on an overland journey from Europe through Asia to Australia in 1972, tracing the path of the 1950s Oxford and Cambridge Far Eastern Expedition.
The company’s name comes from a misheard lyric, “lovely planet,” from a song by Matthew Moore. Their first book, Across Asia on the Cheap, was a 94-page guide written at home by the Wheelers. Today, Lonely Planet has over 825 travel and guidebook publications, including a comprehensive Central Asia guide covering all five nations.
Founded by Hans Johannes Hofer, Insight Guides is a travel company based in London with offices in Singapore and Warsaw. It offers customized package tours and a variety of travel products, including guidebooks, maps, globes, and travel gadgets.
Hofer’s first book, published in 1970 and focused on Bali, led to the creation of over 400 guidebooks for more than 100 destinations. The Insight Guides brand emerged in the 1980s, with expansions into the Americas during the eighties and the launch of Insight Pocket guides in 1991. Hofer sold his shares to Langenscheidt KG in the late 1990s. In 2014, Langenscheidt sold Insight Guides and Berlitz Corporation Publishing to APA Publications. Today, Insight Guides offers a comprehensive guide to Central Asia, The Silk Road, which also covers Pakistan, Afghanistan, China (Xinjiang, Gansu, Shaanxi), and Western Asia (Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Iran, Iraq).
Magnus Bartlett founded Odyssey Books & Guides in Hong Kong in 1979. They are possibly the only English-language travel publisher based in China. Their coverage of Central Asia includes Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. There are also ones for The Silk Road, Afghanistan, and Georgia. Although many of them are years out of print, they are richly illustrated with photographs and aficionados of Central Asia might be interested to see how the region has changed significantly by dipping into one of these out-of-print guidebooks. Plus, these guys were some of the first to create English-language guidebooks dedicated to a Central Asian country. So, hats off to them!
That’s right, we’ve put ourselves on this list too, given that we’re publishers as well. Western Kazakhstan: The Kazakh Caspian Depression is the first guidebook dedicated to the western part of the country. The brand was founded in 2021 by Matthew Traver, a writer and photographer who has visited numerous parts of Central Asia over several trips. We’ve got a long way to go to reach the level of the heavy-hitters on this list, but we have at least two more guidebooks on the way dedicated to the Fergana Valley and the Aral Sea Basin. In the meantime, we will continue to draw inspiration from other Central Asia travel publishing legends!
Culture Smart! guides are designed for travellers seeking more than just logistical or destination advice; they offer insights into the culture, customs, and values of the people. With one of their books in your hand, you’ll have a better understanding of the cultural ins-and-outs and hopefully avoid any embarrassing faux pas. They’ve been in the business for over 20 years and have published over 100 guides, including ones for Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. There’s one for Russia too, which is still handy for Central Asia, as there are several million Russians living in the region.
Although TurkicPrep isn’t a travel publishing company, we wanted to mention them as they’re the only company we’re aware of that specializes in publications for learning Turkic languages. They offer the most comprehensive range of language-learning materials for the Central Asian countries. While most guidebooks include a chapter on basic phrases for travelers (ours too!), linguaphiles typically need additional resources. TurkicPrep provides multiple self-study books for learning Azerbaijani, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Turkish, Uyghur, and Uzbek, available in paperback, EPUB, and PDF.
If there’s a Central Asia travel guide we missed or related resources we should include, feel free to email us at hello@planetesoterica.com!
The Ryn, also known as the Naryn Sands, is Kazakhstan’s westernmost desert. It spans for over 350km between the Volga and Ural Rivers, and over
Atyrau, a bustling city less than 15km from the Caspian Sea’s north coast, sits amid the stark beauty of the Caspian Lowland. Surrounded by sandy
Oral is a lively city nestled on the banks of the Ural River. Like Atyrau city, it marks the geographical divide between Europe and Asia.
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