Has the lure of Central Asia been pulling at you in, but without knowing where to start? You're not alone. The Stans have a way of calling to a certain kind of traveller - those drawn to places that feel genuinely undiscovered, where the scale of the landscape is matched only by the depth of the history and where a single trip can take you from a 15th century Silk Road mosque to a nomad's yurt in the mountains to a high camp beneath a 5,000 metre peak.

Sandwiched between Russia, China and India, the Stans are a wild world of white mountains, red desert and green plains. The former Soviet Republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan lie at the crossroads of cultures and at the heart of the ancient Silk Road and this part of the world has always been close to our hearts. The romance of the past, the friendliness of the people, the unspoiled wilderness and the opportunity for adventure ensure we will always return.

The question isn't whether Central Asia is right for you. It's which Stan is.

If you're the kind of traveller who reads the history before you go - who wants to stand inside a 15th century mosque and actually understand why it matters - Uzbekistan is waiting for you. Situated at the heart of Central Asia and the Great Game, this country has a rich and layered culture shaped by thousands of years of empire. Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan and Tamerlane have all left their mark here and the depth of history is matched by few places on Earth.

On our Samarkand and the Silk Road holiday, you'll explore the blue-domed mosques of Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva, but the trip doesn't stop at the famous cities. Walks into the Nurata and Zarafshan mountains take you to places rarely visited by outsiders, where you'll meet Uzbek shepherds and fishermen and be welcomed into their rural villages. This is Central Asia understood, not just seen.

You will leave not just more informed about the world, but changed by it.

Do you ever find yourself wishing you could Frankenstein a few holidays together? A perfect blend of culture, wilderness, stunning mountains and something completely unexpected? Kazakhstan is your answer. In the north, Siberian forests give way to vast steppe grasslands, which in turn dissolve into Central Asian desert and oases in the south. Spanning the size of Western Europe, it is a playground that refuses to be put in a box.

On our adventure holidays in Kazakhstan, you'll explore the south-eastern corner - from the icy peaks of the Tien Shan to the red stone walls of Charyn Canyon and its famous Singing Sand Dune, from the bustling café culture of old-town Almaty to the yurt-dwelling nomads of the Assy Plateau. Four completely different worlds, one extraordinary trip.

Kazakhstan isn't known as the Land of the Wanderers for nothing.

Do you find yourself drawn to mountains in a way you can't quite explain? Not for the challenge or the summit, but for what they do to you - the way they slow your breathing, clear your head and make everything else feel very far away? If that sounds like you, Kyrgyzstan has been waiting.

Three quarters of this landlocked country is pure mountain terrain, the great ranges and high valleys of the Tien Shan stretching in every direction. Up here, the air is different and the pace of life follows it. Shepherds move their flocks between seasonal pastures the same way their ancestors did centuries ago and the only sounds on the trail are the ones the landscape makes itself.

Kyrgyzstan sits quietly in the shadow of its more famous Central Asian neighbours, which means those who do find their way here tend to have it largely to themselves. On our Mountains and Lakes of Kyrgyzstan trek, you'll move through the Tien Shan - the Mountains of Heaven - camp beside the extraordinary Issyk-Kul lake and pass through the surreal landscapes of the Fairytale Canyon of Skazka. You'll share tea with nomadic families in their yurts and wake up to mornings so still and clear they stay with you long after you're home.

Some places slow you down in the best possible way. Kyrgyzstan is one of them.

If you've stood on a popular trail and wished the crowds would disappear - if what you're really searching for is mountains that feel genuinely yours - Tajikistan is where you go next.

The smallest of the Central Asian republics, it is also the most dramatic. More than half the country sits above 3,000 metres, defined by the rocky barrier of the Pamirs and the little-visited Fann Mountains to the north of the capital Dushanbe. Over 100 peaks rise above the valleys here, with several pushing above 5,000 metres and the trails between them are walked by shepherds rather than tourists.

On our Ultimate Fann Mountains Trek, you'll climb to high viewpoints that open up the full scale of the range, move through a succession of superb lakeside camping spots and meet nomadic Tajik shepherds on pastures so remote they rarely see outsiders. This itinerary accesses parts of Central Asia that other tours simply don't reach and that, for the right traveller, is the entire point.

The Fann Mountains don't reward the casual visitor. They reward those who come looking for something real.