Unforgettable Uzbekistan Tour – 8 Days

Take a flight to Tashkent on Friday evening or Saturday early morning (Uzbekistan Airways or Turkish Airlines flights are advisable)

Arrival at the airport in Tashkent by early morning flight. Completion of entry formalities.
Meet your driver at the airport gates and transfer to the hotel. Immediate early check-in (included) and time for rest.
Breakfast at the hotel.

At 09:00 we begin our city tour in Tashkent through the old part of the city, visiting the Khazrati Imam Complex, which includes the Kaffal Shashi Mausoleum (15th c.), Barak Khan Madrassah (16th c.), and the Muy-Mubarak Mosque, home to the famous Koran of Khalif Osman and the gold hair of Prophet Muhammad.

You will also visit the Dzhuma Mosque of Khodja Akhrar Vali and the Abdulkasim Madrassah (19th c.). Afterward, enjoy shopping at the Chorsu national oriental bazaar. Time permitting, enjoy a Tashkent Metro ride.

In the afternoon we explore modern Tashkent, starting with the Alisher Navoi Opera and Ballet Theatre, then visit Independence Square, Amir Temur Statue, where the monument to the great commander stands proudly at the centre, alongside the famous Tashkent clocks and the Uzbekistan (Intourist) Hotel. You will also visit the Palace of Forums and stroll down “Broadway,” a vibrant alley of artists offering inexpensive souvenirs, TV Tower (outside), Minor Mosque.

Breakfast-box to be taken from the hotel at 06:30
Transfer to Tashkent Railway Station. Take a train from Tashkent to Samarkand from07:30-09:45 (train schedule and seats are subject to change & availability).

Over the centuries, Uzbekistan’s cities played a major role in the life of the Great Silk Road, the ancient, transcontinental thoroughfare. But one city stands out as being “the Heart of Great Silk Road”; that city is Samarkand.

Here in Samarkand the great ruler gathered skilful architects and craftsmen whose works of art have outlasted the years. His grandson Ulughbek continued these construction traditions. Today the monuments of Samarkand are majestic and wonderful. In this town one can feel the breath of history itself. It can be traced in the ancient ruins as well as in the madrassahs, mausoleums, and minarets, which have been decorating the city until now.

On arrival, meet your driver at the station and transfer to the city centre to start an excursion in Samarkand visit. We start at Registan Square that consists of Ulugbek Madrasah (15th c.), Sher-Dor Madrasah (17th c.) and Tillya-Kori Madrasah (17th c.). Anyone who gets on the Registan Square in Samarkand, loses the sense familiar to his proportions. The same feeling a person experiences when facing a mountain or a pyramid. The scale of space and buildings, the harmony of proportions and exquisite luxury finishes evoke any enthusiasm and a sincere respect for the creators of this masterpiece.

Included is a visit to Guri Emir Mausoleum – Tamerlane’s Tomb (14-15th c.). Gur-Emir Mausoleum – is another gem of ancient Samarkand.

Next on to the Bibi-Khanum Mosque that is a cathedral mosque which was named after Amir Timur’s beloved wife. Afterward, visit the Mausoleum of the Prophet Daniel, revered by the three major world religions. He is one of the great prophets in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Legend has it that Timur brought part of Daniel’s remains, specifically his hand, to Samarkand.

Some time to stroll and shop at Siyob national bazaar (Siab Bazaar) where you may find plenty of fresh and dried fruits, nuts, sweets, variety of bread, as well as local souvenirs.

Transfer to a hotel and check-in (available from 14:00).

Breakfast at the hotel.
Check-out from the hotel and drive to Bukhara (approximately 260 km).
On arrival, transfer to the hotel and check-in (from 14:00).

Bukhara is more than 2,000 years old. It is the most complete example of a medieval city in Central Asia, with an urban fabric that has remained largely intact.
Since antiquity, Bukhara, one of the famed cities on the Silk Roads of Asia, now in Uzbekistan, has been a nexus of trade. The city rose to prominence under the Samanids, a Persian dynasty, ruling over northeastern Iran and western Central Asia from 819 to 1005 in service of the distant ‘Abbasid Caliph, the nominal head of the Islamic world, in Baghdad, the Samanids were effectively independent. Under Ismail (who ruled from 892–907), the domains of the Samanids expanded, and Bukhara became the Samanid capital.

At 16:00 In the afternoon meet your guide and start excursion along the holy Bukhara: you will visit to the Poyi Kalon Architectural Ensemble that consists of Kalon Minaret, Kalon Mosque and Miri Arab Madrasah, walking at Lyabi Khauz Complex.

Overnight stay at the Rangrez Hotel or similar

Breakfast at the hotel.
At 10:00 meet your local guide at hotel reception and continue the sightseeing tour within Bukhara.

We start the day with a visit to the Samanides Mausoleum (9-10th c.), and the Chashma Ayub Mausoleum (14th c.).
One of the architectural masterpieces erected in Bukhara during the Samanid dynasty is the building called the Samanid Mausoleum. Situated to the west of medieval Bukhara, this tomb was once located in the heart of a cemetery but today stands alone in a park. Built for one of the members of the Samanid dynasty in the late ninth or early tenth c., the tomb is one of the earliest surviving examples of funerary architecture in the Islamic world. Famous for its complex brickwork (and because it survives), the tomb gives us a sense of the remarkable architecture of Central Asia in the early tenth c., the development of monumental funeral architecture, and the region’s pre-Islamic architectural traditions.

In the afternoon continue the tour: Bolo-Hauz Mosque (beginning of the 20th c.), Citadel Ark (4th c. BC), Poyi Kalon Ensemble consisting of Kalon Minaret (12th c.),Kalon Mosque (12th c.) and Madrasah Miri Arab (16th c.).

Further time to enjoy walking and shopping tour along the three Trading Domes, more famous as Coumpol Bazaar being existed here from the times of the Great Silk Road. Central bazaar of ancient city Bukhara is the oldest and the biggest market of the city. Huge numbers of people with bags, buckets, nets. And the feeling that these people simply do not notice that surrounds them. Bazaars of Bukhara are reserved in its historic district and abundance of wealth and exoticism.

Here are handmade carpets with amazing patterns, tablecloths with colourful hand-embroidered, homespun blankets, embroidered with gold, silk exceptionally beautiful in color and texture, folk musical instruments, national toys, tableware, jewellery and ornaments.

Overnight stay at the Rangrez Hotel or similar

Breakfast at the hotel.
At 0800 we depart by bus to Khiva (approximately 460km). In old days, the route from Bukhara to Khiva lasted more than a month. Today it takes 7-8 hours by vehicle, through mysterious red desert “Kyzyl-Kum”, the territory of “Khorezm”, which was called in the past as a “State of Thousand and Hundred Cities”.

Arrival to Khiva, check-in to the hotel.

Khiva, “the museum in the open”, is the only town along the Great Silk Road, which has remained intact through centuries and has retained the exotic flavour of a medieval town which time has not destroyed but has just frozen. Today, Ichan Kala, the nucleus of ancient Khiva offers the visitors the most stunning homogeneous collection of architecture of the late 18th century – the first half of the 19th century.

Rest of the day at leisure

Overnight stay at the Malika Khiva Hotel or similar

Breakfast at the hotel.
At 09:00 meet your local guide at hotel lobby and start the sightseeing tour in Khiva.
Included in today’s tour, a visit to Ichan-Kala architectural complex (XII-XIX) – the residence of the last Khiva Khan including Ismail Khodja Mausoleum, Muhammed Amin Khan Madrassah, Kunya-Ark Castle (XVI-XVI); Kalta Minor Tower, Tash-Khovli Palace (XIX), Pakhlavan Mahmud Mausoleum (XIV XVIII), and Djuma Mosque (X).

Itchan Kala, a WHC site, is the inner town (protected by brick walls some 10 m high) of the old Khiva oasis, which was the last resting-place of caravans before crossing the desert to Iran. Although few very old monuments still remain, it is a coherent and well-preserved example of the Muslim architecture of Central Asia.
There are several outstanding structures such as the Djuma Mosque, the mausoleums and the madrasas and the two magnificent palaces built at the beginning of the 19th century by Alla-Kulli-Khan.

The Kalta Minor is an unfinished minaret located near the west entrance to the Ichan Kala (old city).
It was commissioned in 1851 by Mohammed Amin Khan, the ruler of Khiva, as an architectural marvel intended to rise over 70 meters—supposedly high enough to see Bukhara in the distance to the east, though this would have been impossible as the city is about 390 km away (to actually see that far, the tower would have required a height of 12,000 meters—cruising altitude of a modern jet aircraft).

In the afternoon transfer to Tashkent Domestic Airport.

Take an evening flight from Urgench to Tashkent (flight schedule and seats are subject to change & availability).
On arrival, meet your driver and transfer to the hotel.
Overnight stay at the Nuovo Boutique or similar

* Note: You may get your return ticket for a flight departing from Urgench directly. In that case an overnight in Khiva (Day 7) and transfer to Urgench Airport (Day 8) will be arranged.

Breakfast at the hotel.
Depending on your flight time, we transfer to Tashkent International Airport.
Registration and flights to the next destination (as per the actual flight schedule, HY or TK flights are advisable).

The tour ends at the airport for check-in and security formalities and to board the flight home.
END

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Rates:
Solo Traveller – EUR1550
02-03 pax EUR1395 Per person
Over 04 pax EUR1200 Per person

Accommodation in 3* hotel (double/twin room shared)
Double room for single use: surcharge + €135

Guaranteed dates for arrivals with groups you can join:

30% payment required on booking

Remaining payments can be done in 2 instalments with the final payment, 40 days before departure.

Cancellation fees apply – our cancellation policy for bookings for trips to Uzbekistan:

 Cancellation prior to 45 days – no charges apply

 Cancellation prior to 44-25 days – 50 % charge of the tour price

 Cancellation prior to 24-15 days – 75 % charge of the tour price

 Cancellation prior to 14-0 days – 100 % charge of the tour price