Fergana Valley itinerary: two and three days

The Fergana Valley is Uzbekistan’s most populous region and its heartland of crafts. It is less visited than Samarkand or Bukhara, which makes it feel more authentic: bazaars full of locals, family workshops and warm hospitality. These plans assume you start in Tashkent and travel by car with a driver, the most practical way to combine the towns. You can also use the train to reach the valley and hire a car locally; see how to get to the Fergana Valley.

The best base is Fergana city or Margilan, which are close together and central, with a choice of hotels. Market days at the Kumtepa bazaar, Thursday and Sunday, are worth planning around.

07:30 – Leave Tashkent. Drive east through the Akhangaran valley and over the Kamchik pass, stopping for photographs at the viewpoints.

11:30 – Kokand. Visit the Khudayar Khan palace, with its tiled facade and museum.

13:00 – Lunch in Kokand. Try the local plov and buy Kokand halva at the bazaar.

14:00 – Juma mosque and Dakhma-i-Shakhon. See the porch of 98 carved columns at the Juma mosque and the carved doors of the Dakhma-i-Shakhon, where the poet Nodira is remembered. If time allows, look in at the Narbutabey madrasah.

15:30 – Rishtan. Drive about 40 minutes to Rishtan and visit one or two family pottery workshops to see the blue ishkor ceramics being made.

17:30 – Continue to Fergana or Margilan (about an hour) for the night.

08:00 – Kumtepa bazaar (on Thursday or Sunday) or the central bazaar of Margilan for ikat, skullcaps, bread and fruit.

10:00 – Yodgorlik silk factory. Watch every stage of silk-making at the Yodgorlik factory, from cocoons to ikat weaving, and shop at its store.

12:00 – Margilan’s old quarter. Visit the Said Ahmad Khoja madrasah and the Toron mosque, and look into small weaving workshops in the mahallas.

13:00 – Lunch: try Fergana-style plov or a rich patyr flatbread. See Fergana Valley food.

14:30 – Return to Tashkent by road over the Kamchik pass (about 5 hours), or take an afternoon train from Margilan or Kokand.

With an extra day, spend day 2 in Margilan and Fergana as above but stay a second night, and use day 3 for the east or north of the valley before returning to Tashkent:

Option A – Andijan. Drive about 1.5 hours to Andijan, the birthplace of Babur. Visit the Babur museum in the old citadel, the Juma mosque, the bazaar and Babur Park on the hill outside the city. From Andijan, trains and flights return to Tashkent, or you can cross into Kyrgyzstan at Dostyk towards Osh.

Option B – Namangan and Chust. Drive to Namangan to see the brick-lace facade of the Mullah Kyrgyz madrasah and the Khoja Amin mausoleum, then continue to Chust, famous for its handmade knives and skullcaps. Return to Tashkent by train from Namangan.

Option C – Fergana city. A relaxed day in Fergana, the valley’s Russian-founded administrative city with its shady avenues and park, combined with a visit to the hill resort of Shakhimardan, an enclave in the mountains (check border access, as it is surrounded by Kyrgyz territory).

The Fergana Valley is the best region in Uzbekistan for crafts, and each town has its speciality:

• Margilan: ikat silk (atlas and adras).
• Rishtan: blue and turquoise ceramics.
• Kokand: woodcarving, halva and printed fabrics.
• Chust: knives and black-and-white skullcaps.
• Andijan: textiles and embroidered caps.

Buying directly from workshops is the best way to support these traditions and get good quality. See also shopping in Tashkent for crafts from the valley sold in the capital.

The Fergana Valley is usually added as a 2–3 day side trip from Tashkent, before or after the classic route to Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva. It also works as a gateway to Kyrgyzstan, via Osh. Allow at least 10–12 days in Uzbekistan if you want to include it without rushing. See our 10-day Uzbekistan itinerary, how many days to spend in Uzbekistan and the Tashkent itinerary.

What makes the Fergana Valley special is not only its sights but its everyday life. Take time to sit in a teahouse, walk through a mahalla in Margilan or Kokand, and watch a bakery at work in the early morning. Many visitors are invited for tea by people they meet; with a guide to translate, these encounters are often the highlight of the trip. If you can, attend a wedding or a family celebration, held mainly in summer and autumn, where plov is cooked for hundreds of guests and music and dancing go on late into the night. The valley is also known for its music and dance traditions, and folk ensembles sometimes perform for visitors.

• Dress modestly: the valley is more conservative than Tashkent; cover shoulders and knees, especially in villages and mosques.
• Carry your passport: there are checkpoints on the Kamchik pass and between regions.
• Bring cash: cards are less widely accepted than in Tashkent.
• Hire a guide: a local guide opens doors to workshops and homes and helps with language, as English is less common here.
• Season: spring and autumn are best; May is silkworm season, and autumn brings pomegranates and grapes.