NATURE AND TRADITION OF UZBEKISTAN

Day 1: Homeland – Tashkent
Arrival in Tashkent. Transfer from the airport to the hotel. Check-in to the hotel. Overnight at
hotel.

Day 2: Tashkent

Breakfast in the hotel. After breakfast, take a leisurely journey through the modern Uzbek capital
of Tashkent. Tashkent was one of the most
important trading posts on the Great Silk Road.
Today, only a small part of the architectural
monuments survives – a result of the destruction
of many historical ones and a devastating
earthquake in 1966. Some old buildings are
located in the old town west of downtown. In
Tashkent you will visit the Hast Imam complex,
the Kukaldash Koran school and a traditional
market hall, Chorsu Bazaar in the small old
town. In the afternoon visit the 1966 Earthquake
Memorial, the Museum of Applied Arts and some nice subway stations. In the late afternoon you
have free time. Dinner at local restaurant. Overnight stays at the hotel.

Day 3: Tashkent – Chimgan (about 80 km)

Breakfast in the hotel. After breakfast drive towards
Chimgan Mountains. After arriving in Chimgan,
start the hike from the altitude of 1600 m above sea
level. It goes steadily uphill until you reach the
Pesochny Pass. From the pass you have a beautiful
view and you can see the Gulkam mountain river
from above. The hike through the gorge is probably
the most exciting part of the excursion. You
overcome small waterfalls and walk along the river,
which meanders between the rocks. The cliffs rise
up to 5 meters in height and the gorge stretches for
about 100 meters. Arrive at the hotel in the late
afternoon. Dinner and overnight at the hotel.

Day 4: Chimgan – Tashkent – Bukhara (by night train)
Breakfast in the hotel. Today pack our things and load them on our bus. From your hotel you
hike to the Charvak reservoir, which is
surrounded by green mountain slopes. With
numerous resorts, beaches and children's
summer camps, Chorvoq is a popular place
for locals and foreigners alike to relax away
from the city on summer days. In the
afternoon you come to the lake. There you
will get on your bus and drive in the
direction of Tashkent. Take the night train to
Bukhara.

Day 5: Bukhara
Arrival in Bukhara in the morning. Transfer to the hotel in the old town. Breakfast in the hotel.
With its historical and cultural monuments, Bukhara is a kind of "museum city" that dates back
to the Middle Ages. Architectural ensembles such
as the Poi-Kalyon, the Kosh Medrese, the Samanid
Mausoleum or the Kalyan Minaret are tourist
attractions that have lost none of their fascination
over the centuries. Visit Samanid Mausoleum,
Chashma Ajub Mausoleum, Ark Fortress, Kalon
Mosque with Minaret, Miri-Arab Madrasah,
Magoki-Attori Mosque, Madrasah of Ulugbek and
Abdulaziz Khan, the magnificent Trade Domes,
Lyabi Hauz Complex, Chor-Minor Madrasah and
other famous mosques and medreses of the Islamic
world. Dinners in the restaurant. Overnight at hotel.

Day 6: Bukhara

Breakfast in the hotel. After breakfast, take an
excursion outside the city of Bukhara. Journey to the
summer palace of Bukharan emirs Sitorai-
Mochichosa. Continue to the mausoleum of
Bahovuddin Naqshband, the founder of the Sufi
order of the Naqshbandi and Chor-Bakr necropolis.
The rest of the day can be used as freetime. In the
late afternoon enjoy folklore show.
Dinner in the restaurant. Overnight at hotel.

Day 7: Bukhara – Nurata – Yurta (about 280 km)
Breakfast in the hotel. Today you drive to the desert of Kyzyl Kum – the desert of red sand. En
route visit the home of master potter Abdullah aka, located in Gishduwan, a town famous for its
ceramics. Visit Hasrat Ali spring in
Nurata. The spring is considered sacred
and attracts Muslim pilgrims from all over
Central Asia. After that, continue to Kisil
Kum desert where the yurt camp is
located. In the desert you will stay in
traditional yurts (felt tents used by
nomads). Dinner in the yurt. Overnight in
the yurt.

Day 8: Yurt camp – Ukhum
(about 180 km)
Breakfast in the yurt camp. In the morning you take a short camel ride from your yurt camp
through the desert and visit Kazakh shepherds
and camel breeders. Then drive to the Nuratau
Mountains. On the way, drive to Lake Aydarkul,
which has loomed before you like a mirage in the
middle of the desert. In the afternoon you will
reach the village of Sentob in the Nuratau
Mountains and take a short hike through the
village and its surroundings. The great
hospitality and warmth of the families and the
good insight into everyday life in the country
almost make you forget the sacrifice of comfort.
Dinner at homestay. Overnight stay with the host
family.

Day 9: Ukhum – Samarkand (about 210 km)

Breakfast with the host family. Morning trek around
Asraf village. At noon you come back to the host
family. After lunch, pack up your things and continue
to Samarkand. The journey takes about 4-5 hours.
Arrive in Samarkand in the late afternoon. Arrival in
Samarkand. Dinner in the restaurant. Overnight at
hotel.

Day 10: Samarkand
Breakfast in the hotel. Sightseeing tour in Samarkand. Located in the Zarafshan River valley,
Samarkand is one of the most densely populated
cities in Uzbekistan. The city dates back to the
same time as Babylon or Rome and can therefore
look back on a history of more than 2,700 years.
The city has always had a magical appeal due to
its beauty. Poets and historians called her "the
Rome of the East, the pearl of the eastern Islamic
world"…
Visit Gur-Emir Mausoleum, Registan Square,
ruins of Bibi-Khanum Mosque, Samarkand

Central Bazaar “Siyob”, Shakhi-Zinda Necropolis, and Ulugbek Observatory.
Dinner in the restaurant. Overnight at the hotel.

Day 11: Samarkand
Breakfast in the hotel. Today you drive to the nearby Seravshan Mountains and hike to Mount
Hasrat Dawud, an Islamic pilgrimage site
dedicated to Saint David (Arabic: Dawud), who is
said to have once hid in a cave here. You can have
a picnic there. In the afternoon drive to Bagzagan
where one of the largest wine factories is located.
Here you have an opportunity to visit a small
vineyard and taste local wine, which is very
different from European wine. After that drive
back to Samarkand. Dinner in the restaurant.
Overnight at hotel.

Day 12: Samarkand – Tashkent
In the morning there is time to explore Samarkand on your own. Optionally, a visit to a silk
carpet factory is also possible. The heyday of tissue paper manufacture in Samarkand dates back
to the Temurid period. When the Arabs waged
war against the Chinese on the Central Asian
border in the 8th century, they captured many
Chinese and brought them to Samarkand. The
Chinese were forced to reveal the secrets of
papermaking. From that time, tissue paper was
made in Samarkand. Later in the reign of Temur,
Samarkand paper was distributed worldwide. In
the late afternoon, take the high-speed train to
Tashkent. Arrival in Tashkent. Transfer to the
hotel. Dinner in the restaurant. Overnight at hotel.

Day 13: Tashkent home
Early morning transfer from the hotel to the airport. Return flight to UK