Mountain and oasis flowers

Flight to Tashkent. Arrival in the evening or early the next day (depending on your flight connection). Your travel guide will meet you at the international airport and take you to your hotel for one overnight stay.

Accommodation: Hotel Navruz in Tashkent

After breakfast at the hotel, you will make a tour through Tashkent’s Old Town, first of all going to the Khast

Imam Complex. In the large square, the Barakhan Madrasah and the Kaffal Shashi Mausoleum are representative of Tashkent when the town was the center of the great development of Islamic culture and religion. The oldest version of the Koran is kept in the madrasah library, dating from the time of the third Caliph Osman. Then we go on to the «Chorsu» Bazaar, which was already known in the Middle Ages and stood at the crossing of the caravansaries of the Great Silk Road. This is one of the largest markets of Tashkent and is not far from the center. After a lunch break, we go to Ashraf village (270 km). One overnight stay in a guesthouse in Ashraf.

People have been living in these mountain villages since the time of Alexander the Great. The buildings and the append-ant stables have been the same for ever, women cook over an open fire, they weave and spin yarn, bake their own bread and milk the cows. The men farm, keep goats and sheep and build houses from stones and clay. Staying in this mountain village gives you the opportunity to participate in village life, to walk or ride, to help with cooking traditional meals, and lets you get a little closer to local culture.
Towards midday, we go on to the next mountain village Sentob. (7 km). Staying in a guesthouse. Lunch with the family. In the afternoon, we walk to the Sentob River. There are many petroglyphs on the rocks next to the river and the oldest ones are over 900 years old. If we are lucky, we will see wild horses or a golden eagle or partridges. Dinner with the family. Two overnight stays in the guesthouse in Sentob.

Our hike today is through the green gardens to the Fazilman Valley (1640 m) – a large valley surrounded by mountains. On the way we will see petroglyphs in the caves and abandoned stone houses. Then we will picnic by Fazilman lake, a small lake covered with reeds. In the afternoon, we return to the village. Dinner with the family.

Early in the morning, we hike (2.5 hours) to the mountain pass (2035m) and then we climb down to Sob village where the bus will be waiting for us. Trip through the Kyzyl Kum (Red Sands)Desert to Yangikazgan, yurt camp. Picnic by the lake. Camel-riding or trekking on part of the route to the Aydarkul Lake (4-5 km.) and walk along the Aydarkul Lake (5km). By the lake, we can swim (depending on the season) or observe the fauna (depending on the season we can see steppe turtles, hares or desert agamas). Overnight stay in the yurt camp.

We go to the ancient town of Nurata. In Nurata, we visit Nurata Mausoleum and the ruins of the fort of Alexander the Great. The name of the town „Nurata “comes from the name of the fort Nur, which was founded in the 4th century BC when Alexander the Great’s garrison was here. A spring with refreshing water which was here, called chashma, was the main reason for the settlement. The holy source chashma is a place of pilgrimage and one of the most important religious centers of Islam in the region.
After lunch we continue via Gijduvan to Bukhara. Bukhara is called the Holy Land of the 7000 Peers (holy teachers). Your pilgrimage to the holy sites of Sufism starts with a visit to the graves of some of the seven Sufi leaders outside the town. In the suburb Gijduvan, we will see the grave complex of Abdulhalik Gijduvani (1103-1179). The town is also well-known all over Uzbekistan for its ceramics with particularly warm colors. Continue on to Bukhara, arrival late afternoon. After checking into the hotel, we can take a walk through the old town. Dinner in a local restaurant. Two overnight stays in Bukhara.

Accommodation: Komil Boutique Hotel in Bukhara

Bukhoroi sharif (the „noble “Bukhara) is a town with imposing madrasahs (Koran schools) and operating mosques which date back to ancient times. You start your tour with the Poi Kalyan Complex. The Ark fortress deserves special mention – an originally monumental fortification which was for centuries the residence of Bukhara’s Emirs, before the Soviets came to power. The oldest Muslim site in Bukhara and a real masterpiece of early Islamic architecture is the mausoleum of Ismail Samani. Trading arcades in the old town are more examples. Three of the remaining arcades house different traders: Toki Sarakhon (Bazaar of the money-changers), Toki Telpak Furushkhon (caps and hats Bazaar), Toki Zargaron (Bazaar of the jewelers). Dinner in an old Jewish house with a local Bukhara family. The Suzani embroiderer Abdurahman will tell us about embroidery in Bukhara. We will eat Emirs Plov.

Trip to Shakhrisabz (green town). Excursion around Shakhrisabz to view the ruins of Tamerlane «Ak Saray» summer palace (beginning of the 15th century), the Mosque Khazrati Imam and Kok Gumbaz (15th century) and the Dorus Saodat Complex (15th century). Although Samarkand was the capital of Timur’s Empire, Shakhrisabz was his place of birth and therefore had to represent the might of the ruler. The ruins of the summer palace are still simply monumental and demonstrate the size of Timur’s Empire. On to the village of Ayakchi. Dinner and overnight stay with a local family (guesthouse).

We hike through the beautiful village to Alvastikul (Devil’s Lake) about six hours. Then we go on to the Takhtakoracha (1250 m) up to the top level of the Ayakchi Rivers. Breath-taking views everywhere. Picnic lunch.

Today, we are going to the most famous place in all Uzbekistan – Saint David’s Cave. A frequently visited place of pilgrimage where the visitors are not just Muslims, but also Christians and Jews. There are 1300 steps to reach the cave of Saint David. Then on to Samarkand. Check into the hotel. Samarkand – the town from the Tales of 1001 Nights, was considered in the Middle Ages to be one of the most beautiful towns in the world, and has still today lost none of its fascination. Dinner in a local restaurant. One overnight stay in Samarkand.

You can admire the following buildings whilst you are in Samarkand: one of the visiting cards of Uzbekistan – the famous Registan Square with its wonderful madrasahs will not leave you indifferent and will stay for ever in your memories of Samarkand. After visit a Palace-like mausoleum Guri Emir of the ruler Timur. In the afternoon you will visit the Bibi Khanim Mosque, which was once considered to be one of the greatest sacred buildings of the Orient. According to legend, Tamerlane built the mosque for his beloved wife. Then we go to the Siyob Bazaar and try Samarkand bread which is famous all over Uzbekistan. It gets its special aroma from the clay ovens (Tandyrs) which are heated using cotton twigs. In the late afternoon, we take the fast train «Afrosiyob» to Tashkent. Transfer to the hotel. Dinner in a local restaurant. One overnight stay in Tashkent.

Accommodation: Navruz Hotel in Tashkent

After an early breakfast, drive to Tashkent Airport for the flight home.