Uzbekistan’s rich history, dazzling architecture, vibrant bazaars and friendly people are enough to enthuse any visitor to the country, which has for so long been overlooked by the tourism industry. The country is well worth a visit in its own right, with Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva, three historically significant cities adorned with ornate buildings, the highlight of a visit, but you may also opt to explore Uzbekistan as part of the incredible Silk Route.
Day 01 Arrive Tashkent
Arrive in Tashkent airport, meet assist and transfer to hotel.
Overnight at the hotel
Day 02 Tashkent-Nukus (By Flight)/Nuku-Khiva (179 km / 3H 15M appx)
After breakfast,
05:10 Transfer to domestic airport.
Registration and flight HY-1001 from Tashkent to Nukus at 07:10.
09:55 Meeting at the airport and city tour
10:30 Visit to the Museum of Arts named after Savitskiy. As recognized by experts and world mass media, this Museum has one of the top art collections in Central Asia and the second biggest and most significant collection of Russian Avant-garde in the world.
12:30 Drive to Toprak Kala ancient Fortress. It existed in the 6th c. C.E. and served as a residence of Khorezm kings during 3rd-4th cc.
15:30 Further drive towards ancient Zoroastrian desert Fortress Ayaz Kala
for an excursion and walking around.
17:30 Continue drive to Khiva. On arrival, transfer to the hotel and check-in.
Overnight at the hotel
Day 03 Khiva
After breakfast, proceed to khiva – A ‘museum city’ Legend has it that Khiva was founded when Shem, son of Noah, discovered a well here
9:00 We will begin our morning city tour to the walled city of Ichan Kala, listed as one of Uzbekistan’s UNESCO World Heritage Sites – To the left after we enter the West Gate stands the Kuhna Ark (Zindon & Summer Mosque) – East of the Kuhna Ark is the Mohammed Rakhim Khan Medressa – South of the Kuhna Ark is the Kalta Minor Minaret (Sayid Alauddin Mausoleum) – Continuing east from Sayid Alauddin Mausoleum is the Juma Mosque (Juma Minaret)
Other Khiva’s attractions – The Residence of the last Khiva Khan, Ismail Khodja Mausoleum – Tash-Hovli Palace – Pahlavon Mahmud Mausoleum
Overnight at the hotel
Day 04 Khiva – Bukhara (By Flight)
After breakfast, proceed to check out
07:30 Transfer to Urgench Airport
09:35 flight to Bukhara by HY 1052 flight
10:35 Arrival to Bukhara
Upon arrival, we will start the morning tour in Bukhara – home to a slew of signature mosques & medressah & listed as the Historic Centre of Bukhara by the UNESCO World Heritage Site. We are visiting up to 12 places of interest these two days in Beautiful Bukhara.
11:30 Full day city tour in Bukhara: Citadel Ark (IV c.), Bolo-Khauz Mosque (beginning of XX c.), Ismael Samani Mausoleum (the tomb of representatives of Samanids’ dynasty at the end of IX – beginning of X cc.), Chashma Ayub Mausoleum means “Spring of Job” and you can drink from the spring.
Poyi Kalon Ensemble (Pedestal of the Great) – religious heart of sacred Bukhara that consists of Minaret Kalon (XII c.), Kalyan Mosque (XII c.) and Miri Arab Madrasah (XVI c.), Ulugbek Madrasah (1417), Nodir Divanbeghi Madrasah, Abdulaziz Khan Madrasah, Magoki-Attori Mosque (XII-XVI cc.), Lyabi-Khauz Ensemble (XIV-XVII cc.), Kosh-Madrasah Ensemble.
18:00 ∞ Bozori Kord: An age-old Bukharan bathhouse where little has changed for centuries. It is totally authentic and a fantastic experience. You will be put through an hour long process that involves working up a sweat in the hammam, being washed down, massaged and stretched and then rubbed all over with ginger and left to sweat it out again.
Overnight at the hotel
Day 05 Bukhara
After Breakfast, proceed to 11:30 Master Class: Embroidery Suzane (learn the history of Uzbek Suzane Art)
13:30 4 hrs Drive out of the city to visit Bakhauddin Naqshbandiy Memorial Complex. (1 – 1,5hrs)
After excursion, drive to Sitorai Mokhi-Khosa Complex (XIX c.) – summer residence of the last Emir of Bukhara.
Arrival back to the city and excursion over trade domes named Coumpol Bazaar (XVI c.) – trading points where tourists can enjoy real Uzbek bargaining process and make shopping. It consists of Toki Saraffon (the Dome of Moneychangers), Toki-Telpak Furushon (the Dome of Cap makers), Toki Zargaron (the Dome of jewelers) and Tim Abdullakhan (the Center of silk).
18:00 Folklore Show at the Nodir Divanbegi
Short walk around narrow streets of ancient Bukhara. Overnight at the hotel
Day 06 Bukhara – Gijduvan – Nurata(By Road) (178 kms / 2H 20M appx.)
After breakfast, proceed to Nurata via Gijduvan City (2 hours’) to see the local villages and visit the grave of Gijduvaniy Mausoleum
11:30 Master Class: Bread Making (20-25mins)
12:00 Master Class: Gijduvan Ceramics Workshop (approx. 30 mins)
13:30 Drive to Uzbekistan’s growing ecotourism movement – Nurata
16:30 Visit Chashma Spring: It is said, where the Prophet Muhammad’s son in law Hazrat Ali drove his staff into the ground. The “holy” fish live off the mineral-laden waters of the spring and the canals that feed it.Fortress of Alexander the Great
18:00 Departure to Uzbekistan for you Yurt Camp: The comfortable camel-hair yurts, in the middle of the desert, most of them tastefully decorated with carpets and suzani, sleeps six to eight people
Overnight in Yurt Camp.
Day 07 Nurata –Samarkand (By Road) (190 Kms / 3H appx.)
After breakfast, proceed to Samarkand.
12:30 On arrival cooking class of making Uzbek famous Plov in the Art House of Samarkand.
15:00 Hotel check in and time for refresh
18:00 Theatre of historical costume El Merosi
Overnight at the hotel.
Day 08 Samarkand
After breakfast, proceed to Samarkand City tour
Interactive Excursion in Samarkand – Try the traditional clothes from the 14th century before starting our morning tour in Samarkand.
“We take the Golden Route to Samarkand” – James Elroy Flecker
Samarkand is known as the Crossroads of Cultures, awarded by UNESCO
Gur-E-Amir Mausoleum & Around: Tamerlane’s Tomb
The Registan is the centerpiece of the city, and arguably the most awesome sight in Central Asia.
The three grand edifices are among the world’s oldest preserved medressas – Ulugbek Medressa: on the west side, is the original medressa, finished in 1420 under Ulugbek (who is said to have taught mathematics here; other subjects included theology, astronomy and philosophy) / Sher Doh (Lion) Medressa: opposite Ulugbek’s and finished in 1636, is decorated with roaring felines that look like tigers but are meant to be lions, flouting Islamic prohibitions against the depiction of live animals. / Tilla Kari (Gold Covered) Medressa: completed in 1660 and the highlight here is the mosque is intricately decorated with gold to symbolize Samarkand’s wealth.14:30 Bibi Khanym Mosque & Mausoleum: northeast of the Registan, it must have been the jewel of Timur’s empire. It pushed contemporary construction techniques to the limit. The interior courtyard contacins an enormous marble Quran stand that lends some scale to the place. The courtyard has two smaller mosques and its restored interior festooned with Arabic calligraphy
∞ Siob Bazaar: Around and behind Bibi-Khanym, the frenetic, colourful main market is a great place for vegetarians and photographers, and may reward silk and souvenier hunters too.
Shah-i-Zinda: One of Samarkand’s most mysterious architectural monuments, located not far from Bibi-Khanym Mosque
Overnight at the hotel.
Day 09 Samarkand – Tashkent (By Train)
After breakfast, proceed to Konigil Village for Master Class: Visit to the papermaking workshop located in Konigil Village (10 km from Samarkand). Samarkand has been famous for its high-quality paper manufacture. During the workshop, a talented master will show you how the rind of the mulberry tree turns into a paper.
No name is so evocative of the Silk Road as Samarkand
Ulughbek Observatory: One of the great archaeological finds of the 20th Ulugbek was probably more famous as an astronomer than as a ruler. His 30m astrolabe, designed to observe star positions, was part of a three-storey observatory he built in the 1420s
Excavations and museum of the ancient city of Afrosiab
Other places of interest: Architectural complex Shah-i-Zinda – Gur-E-Amir Mausoleum – Tamerlane’s Tomb
Mausoleum of the Prophet Daniel16:00 Transfer to Afrosiab High Speed Train – Tashkent train station
17:00 Departure from Samarkand toTashkent
19:10 Arrival Tashkent
Overnight at the hotel.
Day 10 Tashkent
After breakfast, proceed to SPRAWLING TASHKENT
Amir Timur Maydoni:
Tashkent’s Magnificent Metro Underground – “its art deco lights like arum lilies”
– STATE MUSEUM OF HISTORY OF UZBEKISTAN (State museum of history of Uzbekistan, one of the oldest museums of the Central Asia, was founded 136 years ago. The museum fund lists over 250,000 exhibits, including over 60,000 archeological, over 80,000 numismatic and 16,000 ethnographical items reflecting Uzbek history from the primitive times up to the present.)
The Statue of Timur on horseback in the middle of the square cuts a lonely figure
Mustaqilik Maydoni (Independence Square) where the crowd gather to watch parades on Independence
Navoi Park: Alisher Navoi Theatre Square
Overnight at the hotel.
Day 11 Tashkent – Charvak – Tashkent (By Road) (200 kms / 4H appx.)
After breakfast, proceed to Chimgan Mountains (100 km, ~2 h.) Ugam-Chatkal National Park is an outdoor haven loaded with hiking and adventure-sports opportunities as well as more relaxing pursuits. The road to Chimgan is filled with villages, gardens and streams.
11:00 cableway: 3 km long ride in Beldersay gorge to Kumbel peak (2400) where the longest ski track starts. Have a walk in the mountain area.
11:30 Free time (approx. 1 hour) for photo shooting and horse-riding.
12:30 Master class of Kurash (approx.1 hour)
Charvak Reservoir – Artificial Lake in Uzbekistan surrounded by mountains flanks and is an ideal place to enjoy summer days outside the city
16:00 Departure to Tashkent
Overnight at the hotel
Day 12 Tashkent
After breakfast, proceed to Khast Imom: Hazroti Imom Friday Mosque – Khast Imom Square – Moyle Mubarek Library Museum – Barak Khan Medressa
Moyle Mubarek Library Museum is a storehouse of the well-known Koran of Khalif Osman and a strand of gold hair of Prophet Muhammad s.a.w.
Chorsu Bazar
Free time
Night Photography activity to visit some of the places such as Metro Underground and Independence Square
Overnight at the hotel.
Day 13 Depart Tashkent
Departure transfer to onwards destination.
| Cities | Nights | 5*Hotels |
| Tashkent | 05 | Miran International Hotel |
| Khiva | 02 | Hotel Asia Khiva |
| Bukhara | 02 | Omar Khayam |
| Nurata | 01 | Yurt Camp Uzbekistan |
| Samarkand | 02 | Registan Plaza |
- Accommodation as per the program.
- Meals as per the program.
- Visa support letter (telex)
- Entrance fees.
- Show Program in Khiva, Samarkand and in Bukhara
- One Dinner in Tashkent with Show Program
- Lunch and Dinner at Yurt Camp in Nurata(Aydar lake)
- Local English speaking guide.
- All transfers, sightseeing, excursions.
- All taxes.
- Air Ticket for Tashkent – Nukus and Khiva – Bukhara.
- Train Ticket for Samarkand – Tashkent.
Branding
– Logo branding on Vehicles.
– Color and logo branding Merchandise.
– Departure gifts with company’s branding.
- Personal Expenses.
- Camera / Video Camera Fees.
- Medical Aid.
- Tips.
- Travel Insurance.
- Visa (If any).
– Accommodation in good hotels.
– Check-in / out time is 12 noon at most of the hotels.
– Extension to other places is also possible with a minimal extra cost.
– Additional nights are available at each place with minimal supplement.
– A visa is required and must be obtained prior to your departure from your Country.
– If quoted hotel is not available, we will provide one of a similar category and standard.
– Small deviations in the tour program are sometimes necessary, depending on weather, road conditions, flight schedules and room availability.
– In case the government changes presently applicable taxes, increase in airlines prices, fuel surcharge our rates will need to be adjusted accordingly.
– In Asia, there is no relevance between the distance and time of travelling, as it depends upon the condition of the roads and congestion of the traffic.
– While every effort will be made to maintain the itinerary, in view of local strikes etc that are beyond our control all schedule and itineraries are subject to last moment changes.
– Clients must be fully insured, as the company cannot accept liability for loss or damage to client’s property, medical emergencies or any other loss suffered by them whilst on tour.
– In Case of issuing Domestic or International air tickets, SGV is not responsible for any refund if the flight is delayed or cancelled, as it is the responsibility of airline.