Uzbekistan and Tajikistan: Samarkand, the Fann Mountains and the Seven Lakes

1. Day 1: Arrive in Tashkent

   Tashkent International Airport to your hotel in central Tashkent

   • Drive about 15 min
   • Dinner
   • Stay in Tashkent
   Day 1 details

   Fly into Tashkent International Airport (TAS), where a driver meets you in the arrivals hall for the short drive to a central hotel. Uzbekistan's capital was largely rebuilt after the 1966 earthquake, so first impressions are wide avenues, fountains and parks rather than old lanes; the old city waits for tomorrow morning. Arrive in time for the early-evening briefing, when your See Sight Tours guide walks the group through the days ahead: the train to Samarkand, what the border crossing into Tajikistan involves, what the mountain homestays are like and what to keep in your day bag. Then we sit down together to a welcome dinner of Uzbek dishes, with bread from the tandoor, salads, shashlik and plov, at a restaurant a short walk or drive from the hotel. If you land early, the Amir Timur Square and the gardens around it are an easy first stroll.

   Included

   • Pick-up at Tashkent International Airport (TAS)
   • Welcome briefing with your guide
   • Welcome dinner

   Free time: Free until the evening briefing

   Activity: Plan to land by about 4 pm to make the briefing; later arrivals are met and briefed in the morning.

2. Day 2: Old Tashkent, then the fast train to Samarkand

   Tashkent old city and Chorsu Bazaar, then the Afrosiyob train to Samarkand

   • Drive about 30 min
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Samarkand
   Day 2 details

   After breakfast we go to the Khast Imam complex in the old city, where a library holds the Uthman Quran, one of the oldest surviving copies, and the courtyard is calm before the day warms. Next door, Chorsu Bazaar sits under its great green dome: spice and dried-fruit stalls, a whole hall of bread and the morning trade in fresh produce. We ride two or three of the decorated metro stations on the way back to the centre, then sit down to a plov lunch, Tashkent's signature rice dish, cooked in huge cauldrons through the morning. Early in the afternoon we board the Afrosiyob high-speed train for the run of about two to two and a half hours to Samarkand. After check-in, rest, then walk out after dark to see the Registan's three madrasas lit up, a first look before we go inside tomorrow morning.

   Included

   • Khast Imam complex and the Uthman Quran library
   • Chorsu Bazaar
   • A ride through several decorated Tashkent metro stations
   • Plov lunch
   • Reserved seats on the Afrosiyob train to Samarkand
   • The Registan lit after dark

   Free time: Evening free in Samarkand after the Registan walk

   Activity: About 3 hours on foot in Tashkent; bags travel with us on the train.

   

3. Day 3: Shah-i-Zinda at opening and Timur's Samarkand

   Samarkand: Shah-i-Zinda, the Registan, Bibi-Khanym and Gur-e-Amir

   • Drive about 30 min
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Samarkand
   Day 3 details

   We are at Shah-i-Zinda when it opens, while the light is soft and the narrow avenue of tiled mausoleums is nearly empty; the blue tilework here spans several centuries, from Timur's family to later nobles. From there it is a short walk to Bibi-Khanym, the vast mosque Timur ordered after his Indian campaign, and Siyob Bazaar beside it, where we pick up dried apricots and Samarkand bread. We go inside the Registan's three madrasas mid-morning, before the heat, and your guide explains how Ulugbek, Timur's grandson, built the first of them as a place of learning. Lunch is at a local restaurant, then the afternoon is free. Late in the day we visit Gur-e-Amir, Timur's own mausoleum, with its ribbed dome and gold-leaf interior, and walk back through the tsarist-era new town past the Orthodox Cathedral of St Alexis. Samarkand was listed by UNESCO in 2001.

   Included

   • Shah-i-Zinda at opening
   • Bibi-Khanym Mosque and Siyob Bazaar
   • The Registan: the Ulugbek, Sher-Dor and Tilya-Kori madrasas
   • Gur-e-Amir, Timur's mausoleum
   • A walk through the new town past the Cathedral of St Alexis
   • Lunch in Samarkand

   Free time: Afternoon and evening free

   Activity: About 4 to 5 hours on foot in two parts, with the hot middle of the day free.

   

4. Day 4: Across the border to Penjikent and up to the Seven Lakes

   Samarkand to the Jartepa border, Sarazm and Penjikent, then up the Shing valley to Marguzor

   • Drive about 4 h
   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in Seven Lakes (Marguzor)
   Day 4 details

   We leave Samarkand after breakfast and drive about 45 km east to the Jartepa border. Your guide stays with you through both sets of formalities as we walk across to Sarazm, where our Tajik driver is waiting. Sarazm itself is right beside the post: a proto-urban settlement more than 5,000 years old, listed by UNESCO in 2010, with excavated houses and a small museum. A few kilometres on, Penjikent's ancient town on the bluff above the Zeravshan was a Sogdian city until the Arab conquest in the 8th century; we walk its ruined streets and temples and see the Rudaki museum in the modern town. After lunch in Penjikent we turn south into the Shing valley, about 65 km and two to two and a half hours on a narrow, rough road, passing the first lakes, Mijgon, Soya, Gushor and Nofin, each a different shade of blue and green. We reach our homestay near Marguzor for dinner.

   Included

   • Jartepa to Sarazm border crossing with your guide
   • Sarazm archaeological site and museum
   • Ancient Penjikent and the Rudaki museum
   • Lunch in Penjikent
   • The first four of the Seven Lakes on the drive up
   • Dinner at the homestay

   Easier option: Stay in the vehicle or at the visitor shelter at Sarazm and Penjikent while the group walks the ruins; both sites are seen from the edge in a few minutes.

   Free time: Evening at the homestay after dinner

   Activity: Border time varies from under an hour to two hours. You carry your own bag across, a walk of a few hundred metres.

5. Day 5: The walk to the seventh lake

   Marguzor to Hazorchashma and back on foot

   • Drive about 30 min
   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in Seven Lakes (Marguzor)
   Day 5 details

   A full day in the valley, with no packing. After an early breakfast at the homestay we drive the short way to the end of the road at Marguzor, the sixth of the Seven Lakes, and set off on foot while the path is still in shade. The trail follows the river past orchards and stone houses and climbs steadily to Hazorchashma, the seventh lake, a small, still pool fed by springs, at about 2,400 m. It is roughly 8 km there and back with about 250 m of climbing; we take it slowly and stop often. A picnic lunch by the water, made by our hosts, comes before the walk down. The afternoon is free at the homestay: sit in the garden, walk along the lakeshore or watch the village bring its animals in. Dinner tonight is cooked over the fire, and the sky here is very dark.

   Included

   • Guided walk from Marguzor (lake 6) to Hazorchashma (lake 7) and back
   • Picnic lunch by the lake
   • Dinner at the homestay

   Easier option: Walk the flat shore of Marguzor lake with a local guide, then rest at the homestay; the vehicle can drop and collect you.

   More active option: Continue above Hazorchashma on a shepherds' path for wider views over the valley, with a local guide, and rejoin the group for the walk down.

   Free time: Afternoon free in the village

   Activity: About 8 km round trip and 250 m of climbing at about 2,200 to 2,400 m, on a stony path. Bring shoes with grip, a warm layer and sun protection.

6. Day 6: Down the Zeravshan and over to Iskanderkul

   Marguzor down the Shing valley, east along the Zeravshan to Ayni, then up the Fan Darya to Iskanderkul

   • Drive about 4.5 h
   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in Iskanderkul
   Day 6 details

   Today is the longest drive in the mountains, about 160 km and four and a half hours, because there is no good place to sleep between the two valleys; we break it with stops and a proper lunch. We leave after breakfast, stopping at the lower lakes for the morning light we missed on the way up, then follow the Shing river down to the Zeravshan and turn east along it. Lunch is in Ayni, where the river meets the Fan Darya, at a local teahouse. From there we head south into the Fann mountains and up the side road to Iskanderkul, a turquoise lake at about 2,195 m whose name recalls Alexander the Great, who is said to have passed this way. We arrive mid-afternoon, with time for a short walk along the shore before dinner at our guesthouse or homestay.

   Included

   • Stops at the lower Seven Lakes in the morning light
   • Lunch at a teahouse in Ayni
   • Iskanderkul lakeshore walk
   • Dinner at the guesthouse or homestay

   Easier option: Stay at the teahouse in Ayni for a longer rest, or sit out the lower-lake stops in the vehicle; the shore walk at Iskanderkul is optional.

   More active option: Walk a longer stretch of the Iskanderkul shore with the guide before dinner, about an hour on an easy path.

   Free time: Arrival evening free at Iskanderkul: time on the shore or a rest before dinner

   Activity: The longest mountain drive, broken by photo stops and a sit-down lunch.

7. Day 7: Iskanderkul at first light, then Dushanbe

   Iskanderkul to the Fann Niagara waterfall, then through the Anzob tunnel and the Varzob valley to Dushanbe

   • Drive about 3.5 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Dushanbe
   Day 7 details

   Get up for first light on Iskanderkul, when the water is still and the peaks reflect in it. After breakfast we walk to the Fann Niagara, a waterfall of about 38 m where the lake's outflow drops into a gorge, and to the small, reed-fringed Snake Lake nearby. Then we drive back down to the main road and south through the Anzob tunnel, about 5 km long, and down the green Varzob valley to Dushanbe, about 140 km and three and a half hours, with lunch on the way. In the afternoon we see the Tajik capital's centre: the National Museum of Antiquities, home to a reclining Buddha about 13 m long excavated at Ajina Tepa, then Rudaki Park and the wide avenue of Rudaki Prospect. The evening is free; Dushanbe has good Tajik and Uzbek restaurants within a short walk of the hotel.

   Included

   • Sunrise at Iskanderkul
   • Walk to the Fann Niagara waterfall and Snake Lake
   • Lunch on the way to Dushanbe
   • National Museum of Antiquities and its reclining Buddha
   • Rudaki Park and central Dushanbe

   Easier option: Watch the waterfall from the upper viewpoint near the road instead of walking down, and rest in the museum café in Dushanbe.

   Free time: Evening free in Dushanbe

8. Day 8: Fly to Bukhara and an evening at Lyabi-Hauz

   Dushanbe to Bukhara by air, then Bukhara old town

   • Drive about 45 min
   • Breakfast
   • Stay in Bukhara
   Day 8 details

   A slower morning in Dushanbe, then our driver takes us to the airport for the flight back into Uzbekistan, to Bukhara. It saves two long days on the road and a second border crossing by land. The flight is direct where one is scheduled for your date, otherwise it connects in Tashkent; we tell you which when we confirm. Our Uzbek driver meets us on arrival for the short run to a hotel in the old town. Lunch today is yours, at the airport or on arrival. In the late afternoon, when the heat eases, your guide takes you on a first walk: Lyabi-Hauz, the pool under old mulberry trees with the Nadir Divan-Begi madrasa beside it, then the domed trading arcades. Bukhara's historic centre was listed by UNESCO in 1993. The evening is free, and the cafes around the pool are the place to be.

   Included

   • Flight from Dushanbe to Bukhara
   • Airport transfers in Dushanbe and Bukhara
   • Evening walk: Lyabi-Hauz, the Nadir Divan-Begi madrasa and the trading domes

   Free time: Evening free in Bukhara

   Activity: Flight times are confirmed with your final itinerary.

9. Day 9: Bukhara from the Samanids to the emirs

   Bukhara: the Ismail Samani mausoleum, the Ark, the Po-i-Kalyan and a gold-embroidery workshop

   • Drive about 30 min
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Bukhara
   Day 9 details

   We start early, while the brick is cool, at the Ismail Samani mausoleum, a 10th-century cube of patterned brick and one of the oldest monuments in Central Asia, then cross to the Bolo-Hauz mosque with its tall painted wooden columns. Next is the Ark, the fortress where Bukhara's emirs lived until 1920, and then the Po-i-Kalyan ensemble: the Kalyan minaret of 1127, the mosque beside it and the Mir-i-Arab madrasa facing it. After lunch at a local restaurant, rest through the hottest hours. Late in the afternoon we visit a workshop where gold embroidery, zardozi, is still done by hand, and walk to Chor Minor, the small gatehouse with four blue-domed towers tucked among the houses. The evening is free to come back to the trading domes or sit by Lyabi-Hauz.

   Included

   • Ismail Samani mausoleum
   • Bolo-Hauz mosque
   • The Ark
   • The Po-i-Kalyan: the Kalyan minaret, the Kalyan mosque and the Mir-i-Arab madrasa
   • A gold-embroidery (zardozi) workshop
   • Chor Minor
   • Lunch in Bukhara

   Free time: Midday rest and evening free

   Activity: About 4 hours on foot, split into a morning and a late-afternoon walk.

   

10. Day 10: Across the Kyzylkum to Khiva

    Bukhara to Khiva across the Kyzylkum Desert, by daytime train or by road

    • Drive about 6.5 h
    • Breakfast and lunch
    • Stay in Khiva
    Day 10 details

    This is the one long travel day of the trip, and it goes over our four-hour driving cap because there is no way round it: Bukhara and Khiva are about 450 km apart across the Kyzylkum, the Red Sands, with nowhere worth a night between them. On dates when the daytime train runs we take it, with seats reserved, and the desert slides past the window. Otherwise we go in our own air-conditioned vehicle, about six and a half hours of driving, and break it with a sit-down lunch at a roadside restaurant and a stop where the road meets the Amu Darya, the river the ancient Greeks called the Oxus. Either way we leave after breakfast and reach Khiva in the late afternoon. Check in, then walk out to the western gate of Itchan Kala as the walls turn gold, and keep the evening free.

    Included

    • Bukhara to Khiva by daytime train with reserved seats, or in our vehicle
    • Lunch on the way
    • A view of the Amu Darya on the road route
    • Sunset walk to the walls of Itchan Kala

    Free time: Evening free in Khiva

    Activity: Over the 4-hour cap: about 6.5 hours by road, or roughly 6 to 7 hours by the daytime train (timetable not confirmed), with a lunch stop and breaks. We confirm which for your date.

11. Day 11: A full day inside Itchan Kala

    Khiva: Itchan Kala on foot

    • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
    • Stay in Khiva
    Day 11 details

    Khiva's walled inner town, Itchan Kala, was the first site in Uzbekistan listed by UNESCO, in 1990, and it is small enough to walk end to end in fifteen minutes. We start early with your guide at the Kalta Minor, the squat, unfinished minaret wrapped in green and blue tile, then the Kuhna Ark, the khans' fortress, and its watchtower view across the flat roofs. The Juma Mosque is next: a single hall of more than 200 carved wooden columns, some of them centuries older than the building. After lunch and a rest through the heat, we see the Tosh-Hovli palace and its tiled harem courtyard, the Pahlavon Mahmud mausoleum and the Islam Khoja minaret, the tallest in Khiva, which you can climb. We finish with a farewell dinner on a terrace as the last light catches the minarets.

    Included

    • Guided day in Itchan Kala: the Kalta Minor, the Kuhna Ark, the Juma Mosque, the Tosh-Hovli palace, the Pahlavon Mahmud mausoleum and the Islam Khoja minaret
    • Lunch in Khiva
    • Farewell dinner

    Easier option: Skip the afternoon visits and rest at the hotel until the farewell dinner.

    More active option: Climb the Islam Khoja minaret, about 45 m, for the view over the whole walled town.

    Free time: Midday rest

    Activity: About 4 to 5 hours on foot on paving and dirt lanes inside the walls.

    

12. Day 12: Fly to Tashkent and depart

    Khiva to Urgench airport, flight to Tashkent, then Tashkent International Airport

    • Drive about 1 h
    • Breakfast
    Day 12 details

    A last early walk inside the walls if you want it, while the lanes are empty and the sellers are still setting out their hats and carpets. After breakfast our driver takes us about 35 km to Urgench airport for the flight of about an hour and a half back to Tashkent, so you leave from the country's main international airport rather than fitting a connection around a regional flight. Your guide travels with you, sees you through to Tashkent International Airport and checks your onward flight before saying goodbye. If you would like more time in Tashkent, we can book an extra night at the group's hotel and you can spend the afternoon at the Museum of Applied Arts or the Alisher Navoi Theatre square. Lunch today is your own. Book an onward flight leaving Tashkent after about 4 pm.

    Included

    • Transfer to Urgench airport
    • Flight from Urgench to Tashkent
    • Drop-off at Tashkent International Airport (TAS)

    Optional experiences

    • An extra night in Tashkent, booked at the group's hotel

    Activity: Book an onward flight from Tashkent leaving after about 4 pm; we confirm the Urgench flight time with your final itinerary.

Wildlife and weather: June to September is the mountain season: the Shing valley road is open and the lakes are at their clearest colours. The plains are hot, often near 40 C in Bukhara and Khiva in July and August, so we walk the cities early and late and rest at midday. Mountain nights at 2,000 m and above are cool.

• Tashkent1 night
• Samarkand2 nights
• Seven Lakes (Marguzor)2 nights
• Iskanderkul1 night
• Dushanbe1 night
• Bukhara2 nights
• Khiva2 nights