Uzbekistan: Heart of Central Asia

Arrive and transfer to the Mercure Tashkent (or similar) for 1 night. Afternoon tour of Tashkent, stopping at the Kukeldash mosque and madrasa. A visit to the city’s resplendent metro is also included.

Transfer to the airport and take a 1 hour morning flight to Urgench. Visit the ancient fortresses of Ayaz Kala and Toprak Kala before an afternoon drive to Khiva via Ulli Khovli. Stay 2 nights at the Malika Kheivak Hotel

Full-day tour of Khiva, including Kunya Ark, Islam Khoja minaret, Tash Havli Palace and a local bakery. 

Full-day drive to Bukhara (7-8 hours) through the Kyzylkum Desert, stopping at the Amudaryo River for photos. Stay at the Paradise Plaza / Minorai Kalon (or similar) for 3 nights.

City tour of Bukhara, including visits to Chor Minor mosque, the Poi-Kaylan complex, the surviving trade domes and Lyab-i-Hauz complex, once the city’s principal source of water. This evening enjoy dinner and a cooking demonstration.

After breakfast, continue your tour of Bukhara, including visits to The Ark, a vast fortress whose foundations date back 2,000 years; the Summer Palace; and the Samanid mausoleum, built in the early 10th century with a facade incorporating Zoroastrian symbols.

Drive to Shahrisabz, birthplace of Timur, and visit the summer palace, mosques and mausoleums. Continue to Samarkand for 3 nights at the Movenpick Samarkand (or similar).

Full-day tour of Samarkand, including visits to Registan Square, the Ulugbek observatory, Afrosiab Museum, Shah-i-Zinda necropolis, and the Bibi Khanum mosque.

Continue your tour of Samarkand. Visit Gur Emir mausoleum, which marks the final resting place of several members of the Timurid dynasty, including Timur himself. Other visits include Nodir Divan Begi madrasa, Hazrat Khizr mosque and the Khodja Doniyor mausoleum. After lunch, stop at a silk carpet factory before returning to your hotel.

Morning at leisure in Samarkand. This afternoon visit one of Samarkand’s renowned silk paper workshops before travelling by rail to Tashkent. Transfer to the Mercure Tashkent (or similar) for 1 night.

Morning at leisure. Afternoon transfer to the airport. Fly from Tashkent to London with Uzbekistan Airways.