Architecture Across the Ages
Built spaces tell us the stories of the civilisations that shaped them. They’re products of their time; windows on the politics of the past. Architecture isn’t just art, it’s anthropology.
Architecture Across the Ages takes travellers to some of the most important – and most often overlooked – architectural sites across Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Visit Uzbekistan’s towering turquoise mosques, see how Georgia shook off Soviet rule with cosmic-inspired superstructures, and witness the rebirth of Turkmenistan with its audacious white marble city.
Starting from USD$13,500 p/p
Carbon footprint: 9.31 tonnes CO₂e p/p
Roads at the Roof of the World
At the roof of the world, political landscapes give way to natural ones. As travellers reach the peaks of Central Asia, the ideological shifts which have shaped the region through the centuries suddenly seem very small — ripples on a vast, rugged and largely uninhabited terrain.
The mountains of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan offer soaring views across jagged peaks, steep-sided valleys and high plateaus. Roads at the Roof of the World grants travellers a rare glimpse of lands largely untouched ideological undulations, and the people who call them home.
Starting from USD$9,500 p/p
Carbon footprint: 6.5 tonnes CO₂e p/p
Stairway to the Stars
From outer space, borders vanish; and the conflicts that divide nations fade away. But it was conflict that kickstarted the space race, catapulting man into the stratosphere. In the mid 20th Century, space was the dramatic arena for an ideological struggle between Communism and Capitalism. Winning the Space Race meant winning the Cold War.
Stairway to the Stars celebrates 60 years of humans in space. It takes travellers “one small step” closer to the stars, granting them a rare and privileged glimpse inside the Russian space programme. Travellers can train like real cosmonauts, experience the exhilaration of weightlessness, and witness the raw power of a rocket launch up-close.
Starting from USD$29,950 p/p
Carbon footprint: 7.4 tonnes CO₂e p/p
Bespoke Tours
We create sustainable, ethical, design-led tours to the most incredible places on earth. We’ve built close relationships with local guides, and will work with you to create an extraordinary trip which fits your budget, timeline and interests.
Follow in the footsteps of legendary polar explorers, climb smoking volcanoes in the remote Far East, or cross the endless Gobi desert on camelback. We’ll take you there. We’ll get you closer. Get in touch to discuss your next adventure.
Our Commitment to Freedom & Equality
We’re respectful of being guests in other countries with different cultures, but won’t stand silent when human rights are violated. In some of the countries we visit, the authorities regularly crack down on the media, harass peaceful protesters, engage in smear campaigns against political rivals, and ban independent foreign organisations.
We donate 1.5% of the price of each tour to local community projects, and a further 1.5% to Human Rights Watch, an independent, non-profit NGO that exists to give voice to the oppressed and hold those responsible accountable. Read more here.
Our Commitment to the Environment
There is no better way to understand other cultures than to visit them. But, ultimately all travel has an impact on the environment.
Each of the tours we offer creates between 6.5 and 9.31 tonnes of CO2e per person. Working with Joro Experiences, who founded the Conscious Travel Foundation, we’ve reduced the average footprint of each tour by 7-12% so far. All remaining unavoidable carbon emissions are offset through our partners at Chooose. Chooose uses that money to capture the equivalent carbon emissions from the atmosphere and store it in stable ways.
The Buran: The Soviet Response to NASAs Space Shuttle
On November 15, 1988, the Soviet Union's first reusable space shuttle, the Buran, launched in what is now present-day Kazakhstan. This little-known chapter in the Cold War space race saw the Soviets build their own version of NASA's Space Shuttle to challenge the USA for space supremacy. The Buran, Russian for "blizzard", was once the future of the Soviet space program. But, its first flight was also its last. A year after its launch, the Berlin Wall fell and the USSR collapsed. The space shuttle program was suspended. In 1993, it was canceled altogether.
Intourist Travel Posters - How the USSR Used Propaganda to Drive Tourism
Intourist held a monopoly on tourism in the USSR. As the only tourism agency in the Soviet Union, Intourist was responsible for attracting and accommodating all tourists. Like every other industry or ideal in the USSR, Intourist used propaganda to advance its agenda. Posters targeted western audiences. They portrayed the Soviet Union as a glamorous and exotic land rather than a country of labourers and peasants.
The Trans-Siberian Railroad - The Railroad that Changed the World and Started a War
9,198 kilometres of tracks connect Moscow to the Pacific port of Vladivostok. As the longest railroad in the world, the Trans-Siberian Railway is truly one of humanity’s most impressive engineering feats. But, this symbol of Soviet power has also had an outsized impact on the world at large. Its construction was the catalyst for a war between two superpowers, it transported millions of prisoners to the Gulags, and served as a lifeline during the Second World War.
Exploring Budapest’s Dystopian Underground Water Reservoir
Rising above the banks of Budapest’s Danube river is Gellért Hill, an affluent residential area with elegant tree-lined streets. But, hidden beneath the surface is a strange and surreal sight - the József Gruber Water Reservoir. Every March, it’s emptied for its annual cleaning. With 106 stretched columns, the second basin makes for a futuristic and dystopian landscape.