Cultural Tour to Uzbekistan

Day 1: Arrival in Tashkent

(Sightseeing tour duration: 5-6 hours)

Arrive in Tashkent. STANTOURS driver will meet you at the Tashkent International Airport. (If you are arriving by an early morning flight, extra night at the hotel may be needed).

Start sightseeing from the Old City part of Tashkent. Visit Khast Imam - a cultic architectural complex and the religious center of Tashkent where the world famous Uthman Quran has been preserved. Khast Imam complex consists of Barak-Khan Madrasah, Tillya Sheikh Mosque, Muyi Muborak Madrasah, Kaffal Shashi Mausoleum, New Khazrati Imam Mosque and the Muftiate building. Drive to Chorsu Bazaar - one of the oldest bazaars in Uzbekistan.

After exploring the bazaar STANTOURS will arrange a lunch at the Central Asian Plov Center. Plov is cooked in a giant, wood-fired kazans. Enjoy your plov!

Have a short Tashkent metro ride. Visit Independence Square, Alisher Navoi State Academic Bolshoi Theatre, Amir Timur Square and Monument of Courage. Drop off at the hotel. Free time. Overnight at the hotel.

Day 2: Tashkent → Bukhara

(Sightseeing tour duration: 4-5 hours)

07:00 Transfer to the train station.
08:29 Transfer to Bukhara by high-speed train Afrosiyob.
12:46 Arrive in Bukhara. Transfer to the hotel. Leave your luggage at the hotel and have your lunch.
14:30 Meet your tour guide at the hotel and start your walking sightseeing tour in Bukhara.

Visit Lyabi-Khauz ensemble, surrounding the pool on three sides, consists of the Kukeldash Madrasah - the largest madrasa in the city, on the north side of the pool, and two religious edifices built by Nodir Devon Begi: a khanqah (a lodging house for itinerant Sufis) and a madrasa, which stand on the west and east sides of the pool respectively.

Visit Magoki-Attori Mosque (today, the mosque is used as a carpet museum), Chor-Minor Madrasah (alternatively known as the Madrasah of Khalif Niyazkul), Trade domes (there are four trading domes have only survived up to now), Ulugbek and Abdulazizkhan madrasahs, Miri-Arab Madrasah, Kalyan Minaret - one of the most prominent landmarks in Bukhara, Kalyan Mosque, Ark Fortress and Bolo-Khauz Mosque. Free time. Overnight at the hotel.

Day 3: Bukhara

(Free day)

Breakfast at the hotel.
Free day in Bukhara. Overnight at the hotel.

Day 4: Bukhara → Gijduvan → Nurata → Yurt Camp

(Tour duration: 6-7 hours)

Breakfast at the hotel.
09:00 Drive to Gijduvan. Visit the ceramics workshop in Gijduvan. Drive to Nurata.
13:00 Arrive in Nurata. Start your self-guided walking sightseeing tour in Nurata town. Visit Complex Chashma Spring and Namazgah Mosque. Go up to the hills to visit the remains of the Fortress of Alexander the Great.

Drive to Lake Aydar. Enjoy swimming and walking along the lakeshore. Drive to the Yurt Camp. Overnight in the Yurt Camp.

Day 5: Yurt Camp → Lake Aydar → Sentyab Village

(Tour duration: 6-7 hours)

Breakfast in the Yurt Camp.
09:00 Drive to Lake Aydar. Walking along the lakeshore. Drive to Sentyab village.
13:00 Arrive in Sentyab village. Lunch at the guest house. Enjoy your free time for walking and hiking. The surrounding area is rich in various flora and fauna, some of which are listed in the Red Book. Dinner with the host. Spend a night in a traditional guest house to experience the charm of local life.

Day 6: Sentyab Village → Majrum → Samarkand

(Tour duration: 6-7 hours)

Breakfast.
09:00 Drive to Majrum village (10 km). Walk up to a thousand year old tree - Biota Orientalis.

Drive to Samarkand (210 km).
13:30 Arrive in Samarkand. Transfer to the hotel. Free time (we recommend visiting Gur-Emir and Registan to see a night view). Overnight at the hotel.

Day 7: Samarkand → Shakhrisabz → Samarkand

(Tour duration: 5-6 hours)

Breakfast at the hotel.
09:00 Transfer to Shakhrisabz (85 km) with a driver. Drive through the Aman-Kutan Gorge and Takhta-Karacha Mountain Pass. On the way stop to take a view at Teshiktosh (Stone with hole). The film "Apachen" (1973) was shot on this location - an area that looks incredibly like the American Southwest. Short stop at the top of the mountain pass. There is a tiny market where some local dried fruits can be bought.

Arrive in Shakhrisabz. Start your self-guided walking sightseeing tour. Visit Mausoleum of Jakhongir in Dor-us Saodat Memorial Complex, remains of Ak Saray Palace and Kok Gumbaz Mosque.

13:00 Meet your driver in the parking lot of Kok Gumbaz Mosque (we recommend having lunch at the Family Restaurant KishMish). Drive back to Samarkand. Drop off at the hotel. Free time. Overnight at the hotel.

Day 8: Samarkand → Tashkent

(Sightseeing tour duration: 5-6 hours)

Breakfast at the hotel.
09:00 Visit Gur-Emir Mausoleum, Registan Square - The Pearl of Central Asia, Bibi-Khanum Mosque and Siab Bazaar - the largest market in Central Asia and the most visited place after Registan. After exploring the bazaar STANTOURS will arrange a lunch at the Plov Center.

Continue sightseeing. Visit Khazrat Khizr Mosque - the first mosque of Samarkand, Mausoleum of the first President of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov, Shakhi-Zinda Necropolis and Ulughbek Observatory - one of the most significant observatories of the Middle Ages. Visit the Meros paper mill in Konigil village.

16:10 Transfer to the train station.
17:35 Transfer to Tashkent by high-speed train Afrosiyob.
20:08 Arrive in Tashkent. Transfer to the hotel. Free time. Overnight at the hotel.

Day 9: Departure from Tashkent

Breakfast at the hotel.
12:00 Check out. Free time.
Transfer to the Tashkent International Airport according to the flight time.