- Enjoy private guided tours of the Silk Road cities – Samarkand & Bukhara;

- Gaze in the grandiose Ichan Kala citadel of Khiva;

- Explore the Kyzil Kum desert just like the caravans of the Great Silk Road ;

- Authentic immersion in nomadic lifestyle and overnigt in a nomadic yurt in the middle of a desert;

Best customizable Silk Road Uzbekistan Tour, perfectly combined with yurt camping, designed by local experts

Travel the Silk Road through nature, nomadic experiences, riding camels in the Red Desert, and fabled architecture of the Uzbek cities. This tailor-made Silk Road holiday package is diverse and takes you to the charming views of the desert and to the best historical places in Uzbekistan.

Day1. WELCOME TO UZBEKISTAN

Flight from Europe to Uzbekistan and arrival in Tashkent

Arrive in Tashkent, welcome at the airport, and transfer to the hotel for check-in. Time for rest.

Day 2. SIGHTSEEING IN TASHKENT

After breakfast and some time for rest, you will start your journey full of cultural discoveries in Tashkent. In the morning we invite you to visit the most traditional and ancient part of Tashkent – Khastimam, where you will visit the old madrasahs, mosques, minarets, and mausoleums of Central Asian Silk Road architecture. During the visit, you can visit the biggest bazaar of Tashkent – Chorsu Bazaar which was one of the main stops of the caravans of the Silk Road in Central Asia.  More sightseeing places to visit in Tashkent:

• A couple of beautiful stations of the metro of Tashkent; Pakhtakor and Alisher Navoi are 2 stations of metro decorated in cultural/traditional style;
• The place Mustakillik Maidoni, the park Amir Temur and the museum of Applied Arts.

Overnight in Tashkent.

DAY 3. TASHKENT – URGENCH/KHIVA

Breakfast in the hotel. Early transfer to the Domestic Airport to catch a flight to Urgench (07:50). Arrive at Urgench airport at 09.20 and drive to Khiva (35 km), hotel check-in.

Today you will visit one of the most impressive places of the Great Silk Road in all of Central Asia – the Ichan Kala citadel. With some 250+ monuments, this citadel is a museum under the open sky. The visits of the day:

• The west gate – Ata Darwaza;
• The blue minaret – Kalta Minor and its madrasa;
• The Ark citadel with its summer mosque, reception hall, and Observation tower (optional);
• The Tosh Khovli Palace with the Harem;
• The mausoleum of Pahlawan Mahmud with the biggest dome in the citadel;
• The madrasa Muhammad Rahimkhan;
• The old slave market in the East Gate;
• 1000-year-old Juma mosque with its unique architecture and 213 wooden columns.

Climbing to one of the minarets of Khiva is one of the best unusual things to do in Uzbekistan. That will help you feel that you are on the magic Silk Road.

Tips: An evening walk in the streets of the old city is a veritable experience of the 1001 nights. In the evenings, you can also see a very typical folklore show in the courtyard of the madrasa Allakuli Khan.

Overnight in Khiva.

Day 4. KHIVA TO BUKHARA (450km, 6-7hrs)

After breakfast, you will take a long and enjoyable drive toward Bukhara. The road to Bukhara goes through small villages, cotton fields, and the desert – Kyzylkum.

The highlights of the day: visiting the 3000-year-old Guldursun Kala citadel, encountering some of the rare camels in the desert, and enjoying the beautiful panoramic view of the Amu Darya River.

*You can have lunch in a desert teahouse on the road where we will recommend you enjoy delicious shashlik – kebabs.

You will arrive in Bukhara by the end of the day. Free time.

Overnight in Bukhara.

Day 5. THE SAINT BUKHARA (visits on foot)

Bukhara used to be the biggest Central Asian marketplace for the Silk Road traders and it is now one of the 3 most popular cities in Uzbekistan. When you see an uncountable number of small bazaars and caravanserais all around the old city, you will truly find yourself in the city of the caravans. Today you will be walking around Bukhara to visit its most wonderful monuments. The top activities of the day:

• Mausoleum of Samanids (9^th century);
• Bolo Khauz – the mosque with 40 pillars and the citadel Ark;
• The complex Kalon with the biggest mosque, the biggest madrasa, and the highest minaret in the city;
• Chor Minor;
• The monuments of the Lyabi Khauz complex.

Overnight in hotel

Day 6. BUKHARA – NURATA (yurt camping adventure)

Start the adventure, and follow the tracks of the caravans. After a few days of guided visits, you will be able to immerse yourself in the best adventure that Uzbekistan has to offer: nomadic experiences, staying overnight in a yurt, live nomadic music, nomadic meals, and riding a camel.

Breakfast at the hotel and transfer to Nurata.

The adventure part of your trip takes you to Safari Yurt camp in the Kyzyl Kum desert and goes through the ancient oasis town of Nurata. There are a few interesting things to see on your way to the yurt camp:

• The Ceramics Workshop of Gijduvan;
• Sardoba – a 600-year-old water reservoir of the caravans of the Silk Road;
• Chashma complex and the ruins of the citadel of Alexander the Great in Nurata.

You will arrive at the yurt camp by the end of the day. On arrival, you will be offered welcome tea with dry fruits. You will have some free time to explore your yurt and the area around the yurt camp.

Later, when the camels return from the desert, if you want, you can make a short camel ride around the yurt camp which will be a preparation for the next day’s main camel ride.

Typical dinner (included) and traditional nomadic music around the campfire.

Overnight in a yurt.

Day 7. CAMEL RIDING – SAMARKAND

This is not a typical day in Uzbekistan. This is a day for a real adventurer! Riding a camel along the sand dunes is not the most comfortable thing you are going to do during your trip but it is an authentic, once-in-a-lifetime experience.

After a typical and rich breakfast at the yurt camp, you can see the preparation of your camels. Start Riding Bactrian Camels qround the yurt camp. Optional: If you want a bigger adventure, you can ride a camel towards to the lake Aydarkul. This camel riding adventure is a unique experience and you may enjoy the varied flora and fauna of the desert.

• Distance of the camel ride – 7km.
• Duration of the camel ride: 1.5-2 hours.

Lunch picnic with a panoramic view of the lake. If the weather permits, you can swim in the lake. If the weather permits, you can swim in the lake. Drive to Samarkand in the afternoon (260km). You will arrive in Samarkand by the end of the day. Transfer to the hotel and free time for rest.

Overnight in Samarkand.

Day 8. SAMARKAND – the architectural highlight of Uzbekistan

Breakfast at the hotel. Today, in the very heart of the Silk Road, you will start guided visits to some of the best sightseeing places in Uzbekistan. During the whole day, the city of Samarkand will keep surprising you with its top monuments. The best heritage of Silk Road to visit in Samarkand:

• The Registan and its 3 magnificent madrasas;
• Bibi Khanum mosque and the bazaar Siab;
• The Shakhi Zinda necropolis and its 20+ mausoleums all in one place which are decorated differently from each other;
• Samarkand Silk Paper Workshop;
• The Observatory of Ulugh Beg.

In the evening, we will invite you on a Samarkand by Night trip to see some top monuments of the city illuminated in different colors.

Overnight in Samarkand.

Day 9. SAMARKAND –TASHKENT

Breakfast at your hotel. Samarkand still has some more top places that you can visit. Today, you will visit one of the most iconic places of Samarkand – the mausoleum Gur-Emir. Being the mausoleum of Amir Temur (Tamerlane), Gur-Emir was richly decorated with gold, jade, marble, ceramics, and mosaics.  After visiting the mausoleum, you will visit the observatory of Ulugh Beg and the Samarkand Silk Paper workshop, located in a beautiful village near Samarkand.

After the visits, you will be transferred to Tashkent through the Zerafshan mountains and the steppes of Hunger (4hrs). *Alternatively, the transfer can be made by high-speed train. The high-speed train leaves Samarkand at 17:00 and arrives in Tashkent at 19:20.

Overnight in Tashkent.

Day 10:  FLIGHT FROM TASHKENT TO …

Depending on the time of your flight you will be transferred to the International Airport of Tashkent.

*The end of our services!

This custom-made Silk Road tour to the top cities of Uzbekistan and nomadic experiences awaits you. Hope to see you at the crossroads of the Silk Road. Good Luck!

Best Places to visit on The Road to Samarkand, 8-Day Tour

Most of the top places of Uzbekistan are covered in this private tour. If you want to add some hiking to your tour, the private Uzbekistan Tour with Hiking and Yurt Camps can be the right match for you. This tour also includes the essentials of Uzbekistan as well as riding camels in the Nurata area. All these tour itineraries are prepared by local travel experts in Uzbekistan and they can be modified based on your interests.