Tours

Arrival in Tashkent. Meet your driver and transfer to the hotel. Check in at noon. Free day. Overnight at the hotel.

Early breakfast. At 06:00 transfer to the domestic airport for flight HY051 to Urgench departing at 07:50 (1093 km, 1 h. 40 min.). Arrival in Urgench at 09:30, transfer to the hotel in Khiva (30 km, 35 min.). Leave your luggage at the reception desk and start guided walking sightseeing tour. Visit a UNESCO World Heritage site. Starting city tour – inner town of Ichan Kala (XIV-XX CC) with Muhamad Amin Khan Madrassah, Kalta Minor Minaret, Kunya Ark, Muhamad Rahim Khan Madrassah, Juma Mosque and Minaret, Tash Hauli Palace, Islam Khodja Minaret and Madrassah, Shirgazi Khan Madrassah, Pahlavan Mahmud Mausoleum. Overnight in Khiva.

After breakfast depart Khiva and drive to Bukhara (480 km, 7-8 h). The Great Silk Road once routed from Khiva to Bukhara through the Kyzylkum Desert, as the present road does nowadays. Stop en-route to enjoy views of Amudarya River and the desert. Arrive in Bukhara late in the afternoon, check in to the hotel. Dinner and national show at Nodir Devan Begi Madrasah.

Breakfast. In the morning start walking sightseeing tour in Bukhara that will last around 6-7 hours. Visit Lyabi Hauz Ensemble, Magoki-Attori Mosque, Chor-Minor Madrasah, trade domes, Kalyan Minaret, Kalyan Mosque and Miri-Arab Madrasah, Ulugbek and Abdulazizkhan madrasahs, Ark Fortress, Bolo-Khauz Mosque, Ismail Samani and Chashma-Ayub mausoleums. Overnight at the hotel.
Duration of sightseeing tour: 6-7 hours

At 08:00 depart Bukhara and drive to Samarkand (280 km, 4 h.). On the way stop at Rabat-i-Malik. Continue driving. Arrive in Samarkand, check in to the hotel.
Later start Samarkand sightseeing tour. Visit spectacular Registan Square, Gur Emir Mausoleum – authentic shrine of Tamerlane, remains of Bibi Khahum mosque, Siab Bazaar. Free evening. Overnight at the hotel
Duration of sightseeing tour: 3-4 hours

In the morning meet with your guide and driver at the lobby of the hotel. Continue sightseeing: visit  Ulugbek Observatory and Shakhi-Zinda Necropolis,  Afrasiab Museum & archaeological site – a hilly area of 212 hectares surrounded by a moat, Tomb of Saint Daniel. Then drive to Konigil village to explore traditional way of making Samarkand paper from mulberry.
At 16:30 transfer to the railway station to take the fast-speed Afrosiyob train departing at 17:30 (300 km) and arriving in Tashkent at 19:40. Pick-up and transfer to the hotel. Overnight at the hotel.
Duration of sightseeing tour: 6-7 hours

Guided sightseeing in the capital of Uzbekistan, the biggest city in Central Asia. You will start with exploring the Old City. Visit Khast-Imam Complex where the world famous Quran, holy book, of Caliph Uthman has been preserved. The complex consists of Barak-Khan Madrasah, Tillya Sheykh Mosque, Saint Abu Bakr Kaffal Shashi Mausoleum and the Islamic Institute of Imam al-Bukhari. Continue to Chorsu Bazaar. Then take a ride on Tashkent Metro to the city center, stroll around Amir Timur Square, Independence Square and visit Applied Arts Museum. Farewell lunch in one of the restaurants in Tashkent. Enjoy free time in the afternoon. Overnight at the hotel.
Duration of sightseeing tour: 4-5 hours

Early morning transfer to Uzbekistan-Tajikistan border Oybek (100 km, 1 h. 30 min.). Customs and passport control on both sides, cross the border, meet Tajik local guide and driver and drive to Khujand (70 km, 1 h.).
Sightseeing in Khujand: Republican Historical-Ethnographic Museum, Timur-Malik Fortress, Archeological Museum, Mosque and Madrasah of Shaikh Muslihiddin, Payshanba Bazaar. Lunch at the local restaurant. Free time in the afternoon. Overnight at the hotel.

Khujand is the capital of northern Tajikistan and the second largest city in the country. Khujand, continuously occupied for 2500 years, was founded by Alexander the Great. The city became one of most important places in Central Asia. It was a key junction of the Silk Road. The beautiful city was razed by Gengiz Khan. Through history it remained a center of considerable power. Prior to the Russian invasion in the nineteenth century it was one of the main emirates in Central Asia.

 Khujand stands at the entrance to the fertile Fergana Valley. Owing to this it was one of the main centers of the Great Silk way and enjoyed prosperity and richness. One of the ancient cities of the Central Asia Khujand has been known since the 7th century.

Drive to Penjikent (260 km, 5-6 h.). Arrival and check in to the guest house. Meet you guide to start sightseeing: Museum of Rudaki considered as the father of Persian Poetry; ancient Penjikent - ruins of old Sogdian town founded in the 5th century and abandoned in the 8th century by Arabs. Foundations of houses, a citadel with a couple of Zoroastrian fire temples and city bazaar are visible in the excavated ruins. Overnight at the guest house.

Penjikent is a Sogdian city, which flourished from the 5th to 8th centuries. It is well preserved and it was called “Central Asia’s Pompeii”. An opulent governor’s palace, homes, and temples can be seen. At one time Sogdiana controlled a key section of the Silk Road, but in the 8th century Empire collapsed and people fled to the mountains. Descendants of this ancient kingdom still live in the more remote regions of present-day Tajikistan name Jagnob Valley and still speak a remote dialect of Sogdian. City Sarazm, some 20 km from Penjikent, is one of the most ancient settlements of Central Asia, dating from the Bronze Age.

Drive to Seven Lakes (80 km). On the way you will visit Sarazm, one of the most ancient settlements in Central Asia with 5500 years old history. In 2010 Sarazm was added to the UNESCO Human Heritage list. The main spot of the day is HafKul meaning seven lakes in Persian. These lakes in the mountains of Tajikistan are famous for their different colours: 1.Mijgon, 2. Soya, 3. Hushyor, 4. Nophin lakes (2139 m above sea level), Khurdak, 6.Marguzor, 7.Hazorchashma lakes (2400 m above sea level). Picnic at the lake. Drive back to Penjikent (80 km). Overnight at the guest house.

Drive to Saritag via Iskanderkul (240 km, 6-7 h.). According to the legend, the Lake Iskanderkul was named after Alexander the Great, known as Iskander in the East. People say that Alexander the Great’s path to Central Asia from India laid through this lake. Arrival and overnight at the guest house.

Iskanderkul Lake is surrounded by mountains, and is about four km across. The views across the lake are impressive in all directions. At 2000 m, it is pleasantly cool in summer. “Iskandar Kul or Lake Alexander is indeed a beautiful spot”, there are many waterfowl and it is possible to fish in this tranquil and beautiful spot. We will walk to the impressive waterfall of 40m height. A platform allows spectators to stand right above the thunderous torrent.

The lake got its name after Alexander the Great – in Persian called “Iskander”. He camped at Iskanderkul’s shore during one of his campaigns en route to India. According to one of the many legends originating from this time, Alexander’s famous battle horse Bucephalus drowned in the lake – and to this day may be seen racing over its surface at full moon.

After breakfast depart Saritag and drive to Dushanbe (160 km, 3-4 h.). After lunch meet your guide and start Dushanbe sightseeing tour. Start guided city tour with visiting of National Museum of Antiquities of Tajikistan(closed on Mondays) that includes the exhibits on history, natural history and art (Buddha in Nirvana is one of the valuable exhibits of the museum). Visit Gurminj Musical Instruments Museum, Ismail Somoni Monument and Rudaki Park.
Duration of sightseeing tour: 3-4 hours

Dushanbe is a relatively modern town that rose to prominence during the Soviet era, when it was made the capital of the Tajik Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic and named Stalinabad. Its name means ‘Monday in the Tajik language, arising from the fact that this was the day that the market was held when Dushanbe was still a small and fairly insignificant village. The ousted Emir of Bukhara, fleeing from the Bolsheviks, stayed in Dushanbe and cooperated with Enver Pasha’s Basmachis until he had to leave the region. From Dushanbe, he fled to Afghanistan in 1921, the year the town was freed from the Basmachis as well.

Check-out from the hotel till noon. Free time until transfer to Dushanbe Airport. End of the tour.