Pearl of the Orient: classic Uzbekistan in 9 days

Highlights

• Ichan-Kala, the walled inner city of Khiva (UNESCO)
• The train across the Kyzylkum desert along the Amu Darya
• Poi Kalyan, the Ark and the trading domes of Bukhara
• Registan Square, Gur-Emir and the Shah-i-Zinda necropolis in Samarkand
• Shakhrisabz, Timur’s birthplace, over the 1,860 m Takhtakaracha Pass
• Evening walks in Khiva, Bukhara and Samarkand

By airBy trainBy road

1. 1 TashkentDays 1–3, 8–9 By air → Khiva
2. 2 KhivaDays 3–4 By train → Bukhara
3. 3 BukharaDays 4–6 By road → Samarkand
4. 4 SamarkandDays 6–8 By road → Shakhrisabz
5. 5 ShakhrisabzDay 7 By road → Tashkent

Positions are exact; lines show the order of the route, not the road.

1. 1
2. 2
3. 3
4. 4
5. 5
6. 6
7. 7
8. 8
9. 9

1. Day 1Flight to Tashkent

   Departure on an international flight to Tashkent, for example with Turkish Airlines via Istanbul.

2. Day 2TashkentArrival in the morning

   Arrival in Tashkent in the morning. Meet our local team and transfer to the hotel for breakfast (rooms are available from 12:00).

   Sightseeing in Tashkent, a modern-looking city almost entirely rebuilt after the 1966 earthquake. Visit the Khast-Imam complex, the religious heart of the city, with the Barak Khan madrasah, the Kaffal Shashi mausoleum and the Juma mosque, then the Chorsu Bazaar. A panoramic tour of the modern city takes in the Alisher Navoi Opera and Ballet Theatre (outside), Independence Square and Amir Timur Square. The day ends in the Tashkent Metro, where every station is decorated on its own theme. Overnight in Tashkent.

3. Day 3Tashkent – Urgench – KhivaDomestic flight + 35 km

   Early morning flight to Urgench and drive to Khiva (35 km). A day in Ichan-Kala, the walled old city listed by UNESCO. Enter by the Ata Darvaza west gate and visit the Muhammad Amin Khan madrasah and the Kalta Minor minaret, the Kunya-Ark fortress of the khans with its reception hall, royal mosque and harem, the Juma Mosque with its 213 carved wooden columns and the Tash-Hauli Palace with its harem, reception hall and court hall. Overnight in Khiva.

4. Day 4Khiva – Bukhara by train450 km by train

   Visit the Pahlavan Mahmud mausoleum, shrine of the poet, philosopher and wrestler who is Khiva’s patron saint, the Islam Khoja madrasah and minaret, the Palvan Darvaza east gate, the Ak mosque, the Allakuli Khan and Kutlimurad madrasahs and the royal caravanserai with its bazaar. Free time, then the train to Bukhara across the Kyzylkum (“red sands”) desert, along the wide bed of the Amu Darya, the Oxus of Herodotus and Alexander the Great. Transfer to the hotel in Bukhara.

5. Day 5Bukhara

   A full day in Bukhara, a city that has survived as an open-air museum. Visit the Samanid mausoleum (10th century), the Chashma-Ayub mausoleum, the Bolo-Hauz mosque, the Ark citadel (outside) and the Chor Minor with its four minarets. At the heart of the old city stands the Poi Kalyan ensemble: the 12th-century Kalyan minaret, the Kalyan mosque, which held up to ten thousand worshippers, and the Mir-i-Arab madrasah. Continue to the Lyabi-Hauz ensemble with the Nadir Divan-Begi khanaka and madrasah and the Kukeldash madrasah, and the 16th-century trading domes of the jewellers, the cap makers and the money changers. Visit a workshop of traditional puppets and watch a show.

6. Day 6Bukhara – Samarkand280 km by road

   Drive to Samarkand, the legendary crossroads of the Silk Road. Begin with Registan Square, whose three madrasahs, Ulugbek, Sher-Dor and Tilla-Kari, are covered in majolica and mosaic, and the Gur-Emir, the family mausoleum of Timur with its fluted dome. Evening walk to Gur-Emir and Registan Square (outside the monuments). Overnight in Samarkand.

7. Day 7Samarkand – Shakhrisabz – Samarkand180 km by car

   Drive over the Takhtakaracha Pass (1,860 m) to Shakhrisabz, birthplace of Timur, founder of the dynasty that ruled Central Asia and eastern Persia from 1370 to 1507. See what remains of his summer palace, the Ak-Saray, whose two towers were faced with blue, white and gold tiles, the blue Kok-Gumbaz Friday mosque, the Dorut Tilavat “house of meditation” and Timur’s crypt. Lunch in a traditional restaurant, then return to Samarkand.

8. Day 8Samarkand – Tashkent by train280 km by train

   A day in Samarkand. Visit the Ulugbek Observatory with its great 15th-century sextant, the Tomb of Daniel, the Shah-i-Zinda necropolis, the street of tombs that is Samarkand’s most moving monument, the huge Bibi-Khanym mosque that Timur built for his favourite wife and the colourful Siab Bazaar. Transfer to the station and train to Tashkent. Overnight in Tashkent.

9. Day 9Departure from Tashkent

   Early transfer to the airport for your international flight.

Hotels, transport & meals

Gallery

Experiences on this tour

• High-speed train across UzbekistanRide the Afrosiyob between Tashkent, Samarkand and Bukhara.

Questions about this tour