Flight: TK368 Istanbul - Tashkent 01:10-07:40

Private transfer to your hotel: On arrival in Tashkent, you will be met by a driver and transferred to your hotel to check in. Early check-in has been included today so you will be able to check into your room right away and have the day to rest after your journey.

Afternoon tour of Tashkent: After some time to rest, you will be picked up at your hotel for an afternoon city tour.

Begin with a walk to Khast Imam Square, where some of Tashkent’s oldest monuments still stand today, including the 16th century Kaffal Shashi Mausoleum, the tomb of one of the first imams of the Muslim world; both the Barak-Khan Madrassah and the al-Bukhari Madrassah; as well as the Tillya Sheikh Mosque which houses the oldest Koran in the world. Continue to the Chorsu Bazaar, a bustling market selling anything from spices and produce to local handicrafts. The market is open every day but is at its best on weekends.

Next, take a ride on Tashkent’s unique metro system. This was the first metro in Central Asia, and each station is beautifully decorated with a different theme, some based around Central Asian places and motifs, and some Russian. Continue to Independence Square, a spacious park-like space which neighbours Tashkent’s administrative and government buildings. This square has had many different faces throughout the years, starting as 'Cathedral Square' due to the Orthodox Cathedral built at its centre, before becoming 'Red Square', 'Lenin Square, and finally 'Independence Square' in 1992 after Uzbekistan finally gained independence from the Soviet Union.

Accommodation: Stay tonight at the Praga Hotel (Standard Room)

Meals: Breakfast

Day trip to Chimgan National Park: After breakfast, you will head outside Tashkent and drive to the Chimgan Mountains. Located around 80km outside the city this is a drive of up to two hours each way. The Chimgan Mountains are a popular recreation space for locals to gather, as well as a good day trip for tourists. As a part of the Western Tian Shan Mountain Range, this area boasts spectacular scenery and is an excellent destination for skiing in the winter months. On arrival, you can set out on a walk accompanied by your guide. The distance walked is flexible and can be discussed locally with the guide. There is also the option to take a cable car up the mountains, which is payable locally on the spot.

Accommodation: Stay tonight at the Praga Hotel (Standard Room)

Meals: Breakfast

Transfer to the station: At the appropriate time today, you will be picked up from your hotel and transferred to the railway station.

Train journey to Kokand: Board the train to Kokand. The train journey will take just over four hours.

Transfer to your hotel: On arrival, you will be met by a driver, and transferred to your hotel to check in.

Afternoon tour of Kokand: This afternoon, your guide will take you on a guided tour of Kokand. You will visit the spectacular Khudayar Khan’s Palace, which showcases some stunning Islamic architecture in the rooms and courtyards which remain today. You will also visit the Jami Mosque, situated in the centre of the old town.

Accommodation: Stay tonight at the Silk Road Kokand (Standard Room)

Meals: Breakfast

Guided tour of Rishtan & Margilan: After breakfast, you will be driven first to Rishtan, which is located around a 45-minute drive from Kokand. Rishtan is one of the oldest and largest ceramic centres in Central Asia, and here you can visit a family ceramic workshop and learn about pottery making. Next, transfer to Marglian, another 45-minute drive away. Margilan is the region’s traditional centre of silk production. You will visit a traditional silk factory,and learn about the processes involved in silk production. You will also visit the Sayid Ahmad Hoja Madrasah, which now houses a number of craftsmen who produce handmade carpets and silk products.

Transfer to the station: After the sightseeing you will be transferred to the railway station.

Train journey to Tashkent: Board the train to Tashkent. The train journey will take just over four hours.

Transfer to your hotel: On arrival, you will be met by a driver, and transferred to your hotel to check in.

Accommodation: Stay tonight at the Praga Hotel (Standard Room)

Meals: Breakfast

Transfer to the airport: At the appropriate time today, you will be picked up from your hotel and transferred to the airport in time for your onward flight.

Flight: HY11 Tashkent - Nukus 07:15-08:55

Afternoon tour of Nukus: On arrival in Nukus, you will be met by a local guide and taken on a guided tour of the city before checking into your hotel.

Begin by travelling just outside the city to the Mizdakhan Necropolis, a huge complex of historical monuments located a short drive outside Nukus. Notable sights at the complex include the Mausoleums of Mazlumkhan Sulu and Shamun Nabi; the ruins of the Gyaur Kala Fortress; as well as the caravanserai and the madrassah. Return to the city and  pay a visit to the Nukus Museum of Fine Arts, which houses the world’s largest collection of Russian avant-garde art and Central Asian applied art. Please note the museum is closed on Mondays.

Accommodation: Stay tonight at Jipek Joli (Standard Room)

Meals: Breakfast

Transfer to Khiva, via Khorezm Fortresses: After breakfast, you will set out on the journey to Khiva. A straight drive would take around four hours, but you will make some sightseeing detours en route, making this a full day excursion.

The Khorezm region is the location of some of the earliest settlements in Central Asia. Out in the Karakalpak Desert lies the Elliq-Qala, the ruins of dozens of walled cities, palaces, and forts, which once made up a chain of fortifications to protect the area from outside invaders. The most famous of the forts which can explored today are the Toprak-Kala and the hilltop Ayaz-Kala. Lunch is included today at a desert yurt camp.

Accommodation: Stay tonight at the Zarafshon Boutique Hotel (Standard Room)

Meals: Breakfast & Lunch

Guided tour of Khiva: After breakfast, your local guide will meet you at your hotel and take you out to explore Ichon-Qala, Khiva’s beautifully preserved medieval walled city. Sights you will visit today include the Kalta Minor Minaret, a striking yet sadly unfinished turquoise structure; the Kunya Ark, originally built in the 12th century, and with several buildings still remaining today; the Islam Khoja Madrassah, which boasts the tallest minaret in Uzbekistan; the Juma Mosque, which showcases some exceptional examples of Khiva’s specialty wood carving;  the Pahlavan Mahmud Mausoleum, with its iconic turquoise dome; and finally the Tash-Hauli Palace, the largest building in the Ichon-Qala, and former home of the khan and his wives.

Accommodation: Stay tonight at the Zarafshon Boutique Hotel (Standard Room)

Meals: Breakfast

Road journey to Bukhara: After breakfast, you will be picked up from your hotel and take on the long overland journey to Bukhara. This is a total journey of around six to seven hours, depending on road and traffic conditions. You will pass through the Kyzyl-Kum Desert, and there will be chances for some photo and rest stops along the way. 

Accommodation: Stay tonight at Sasha & Son (Standard Room)

Meals: Breakfast

Guided tour of Bukhara: After breakfast, your local guide will meet you at your hotel and take you out to explore Bukhara. Your first stop will be the Ark Citadel, the original fortress of Bukhara with a history of over 2,000 years. The Citadel has been built and rebuilt on the same site throughout its history, always retaining some of the form of the original Ark. Just behind the Ark is Zindan Prison, with its infamous ‘bug pit’ dungeon. Nearby you will find the Bolo Hauz Mosque, called the forty-pillar mosque due to the reflection of its colonnades in the pool.

Next visit the Kalon Mosque and Minaret, a large complex which also includes the Mir-i-Arab Madrassah. Continue your tour with a visit to Bukhara’s famous trading domes. Each dome was dedicated to a specific kind of merchandise, for example the jeweller’s dome and the money changer’s dome. Next, pay a visit to the Magoki Attori Mosque, which also houses a fascinating carpet museum. Finally, finish your tour at the Labi-Hauz Plaza, the centre of Bukhara’s old town, home to a number of interesting madrassahs, and still used as a meeting and socialising spot by locals today.

Accommodation: Stay tonight at Sasha & Son (Standard Room)

Meals: Breakfast

Day at leisure in Bukhara: Today you have a full day free at leisure to relax and explore Bukhara at your own pace without the assistance of a guide. Bukhara’s well-preserved historical centre is very compact, so it’s easy and enjoyable to explore independently on foot.

Accommodation: Stay tonight at Sasha & Son (Standard Room)

Meals: Breakfast

Road journey to Nurata: After breakfast, you will be picked up at your hotel and transferred by road to Nurata. This is a drive of approximately two to three hours, depending on local road and traffic conditions.

On arrival in Nurata you have the chance to visit some of the sights of the town, including the remnants of the fortress of Alexander the Great, and the Friday Mosque with its pool of sacred fish.

Overnight Yurt Camp Experience: After exploring Nurata, you will continue to your yurt camp located in the Kyzyl-Kum Desert. This is a drive of around 90 minutes from Nurata.

In the afternoon, settle into your desert yurt camp. You will have some time to walk in the area, and join a short camel ride before sunset. Dinner will be served at the camp, and after dinner you will be treated to a Kazakh traditional music performance.

Accommodation: Stay tonight at a Yurt Camp (Private Yurt)

Meals: Breakfast & Dinner

Morning visit to Aydarkul Lake: After breakfast, you will be taken to nearby Aydarkul Lake, where you will have time to relax by the lake shore and enjoy the chance to swim (weather permitting). A picnic lunch will be served by the lake.

Road journey to Samarkand: After lunch, you will be transferred to Samarkand. This is a journey of approximately three to four hours, depending on local road and traffic conditions.

Accommodation: Stay tonight at Orient Star Samarkand (Standard Room)

Meals: Breakfast & picnic lunch

Guided tour of Samarkand: After breakfast, your local guide will meet you at your hotel and take you out to explore Samarkand. Begin at the Gur-Emir Mausoleum, the final resting place of the conqueror Tamerlane, but which was originally built for his grandson after the latter’s death at the turn of the 15th century. Continue to Registan Square, the central point of Samarkand and its most recognisable landmark for visitors. The square is framed on three sides by tall madrassahs, overlooking the empty space in between, which has been used as a public square and marketplace throughout its history. Next, visit the Bibi Khanum Mosque, which was originally built to be the largest mosque in the Islamic World. Much of it has been destroyed and partly rebuilt in the intervening years, but it remains an impressive structure and an important religious centre today. Just across from the mosque is the Siab Bazaar, where locals sell produce and spices. The Shah-i-Zinda Complex is a row of tombs and mausoleums, dating from the distant past up to more modern graves, and which is usually a cool and shady spot even on a hot day. Finish the tour with a visit to the Ulug Bek Observatory, built by Tamerlane’s grandson Ulug Bek, who was fascinated by the stars and the cosmos.

Accommodation: Stay tonight at Orient Star Samarkand (Standard Room)

Meals: Breakfast

Day trip to Shahrisabz: After breakfast, your local guide will meet you at your hotel and take you out on a day trip to Shahrisabz, which is located around a two-hour drive from Samarkand. Shahrisabz is the birthplace of Tamerlane, and was originally named Kesh until Tamerlane renamed it the ‘Green City’. Here you will see the UNESCO-listed ruins of Ak Saray Palace. Once a huge palace complex, all that remains now are the massive pillars of the entrance portal. Continue to the Dorus Siadet, built by Ulug Bek as a mausoleum for his favourite son, who was sadly killed at the age of 22 after falling from his horse. Just next door is the Mosque of Hazrati Imam. Your next stop will be the mausoleum complex of Dorut Tilovat, which now has a mosque and madrassah as part of the complex. Your final stop of the day will be the Kok Gumbaz, or the Blue Dome, which is a huge mosque built by Ulug Bek to honour his father. The dome has recently been restored and is intricately inscribed with Koranic verses.

Accommodation: Stay tonight at Orient Star Samarkand (Standard Room)

Meals: Breakfast

Day at leisure: You have a full day free at leisure to relax and continue exploring Samarkand at your own pace.

Accommodation: Stay tonight at Orient Star Samarkand (Standard Room)

Meals: Breakfast