Uzbekistan autotravel

This road trip will take you to an eastern fairy tale!

We will drive in the east of Uzbekistan and beyond, along the border with Turkmenistan on the left bank of the river Amu Darya up until the Khwarazm oasis, to see amazing cities, within whose walls rested those who traveled the Silk Road: grand Samarkand, wise Bukhara and original Khiva.
We will travel deep into the Kyzylkum Desert to the fortresses of ancient Khwarazm, built at the turn of our era, and to the mountain gorge Sarmishsay, on the rocks of which the inhabitants of this land have painted their history for centuries.
We will become experts in Uzbek pilaf and the end of the trip will easily be able to tell the difference between Bukhara and Tashkent and Khwarazm ones; Samarkand one we will even attempt at preparing ourselves. We will also taste other dishes of traditional Uzbek cuisine: laghman, samsa, beshbarmak, manti, oromo and Uzbek wine. Yes, despite the fact that Uzbekistan is a Muslim country, wine is made here, including that from the local grape variety "soyaks", which is unlikely to be tasted elsewhere.

Day 1. Tashkent

Meeting of the group approximately at 11-00 (time and place will be agreed upon in addition depending on the flight schedule).
We check into a hotel and go to get acquainted with the capital of Uzbekistan.
Tashkent is an ancient city, known since the II-I century BC. As a result of the 1966 earthquake, almost the entire old city was destroyed with the exception of the small part in the area of Eski Shahar. There is one of the oldest bazaars in Uzbekistan, Chorsu, which means "crossroads" or "4 roads". In the Middle Ages, it was a stop on the Silk Road. Now it is modernized with all the desired products being sold. We will start from there, immersing immediately in the noisy bustle of the East. It is not necessary to buy anything at all, it is essential to feel the atmosphere of an eastern bazaar. There are rows nearby where you can taste traditional Uzbek cuisine.

In the vicinity of Chorsu bazaar, you can admire the preserved valuable monuments of medieval Kukeldash Madrasah, Khoja Ahror Valiy mosque, and the religious complex of Hazrat Imam and Sheihantaur.

We end the day with a walk through the modern central part of the city, decorated with evening illumination.

Day 2. Tashkent - Samarkand

At 8-00, we leave for Samarkand. The trip by car will take approximately 5 hours; we need to drive 320 km.
After the hotel check-in and lunch we go to taste Uzbek wine and tour the factory for the production of silk paper using an ancient technology.
In the evening, we have a hammam waiting for us.
We stay in Samarkand for 2 nights.

Day 3. Samarkand

After breakfast we proceed with a city tour.
We travel to the holiest of Samarkand - the mausoleum Guri Amir, where rest the remains of the legendary Timur, who built the empire of Timur, which included the territory of modern Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria, the Caucasus and most of Central Asia and existed from 1370 to 1507. A huge share of all the monuments in Samarkand was built during this period. Timur, as a wise ruler, was a patron of arts and sciences. Samarkand has achieved his modern look during his reign, i.e. the turquoise mosque domes and facades of palaces and mausoleums decorated with the finest ornaments and mosaics.
We will see all this splendor!
Let's stop to admire the wonderful ensemble of Registran Square and feel the story of the heart of ancient Samarkand and its soul, the mausoleum of Guri Amir. Literally nearby there is a huge Friday Bibi-Khanym Mosque and Siyob Bazaar. We will listen to stories about Muslim saints, philosophers and scientists resting in the mausoleum of the Shah-i-Zinda memorial complex and visit the observatory built by Timur's grandson Ulugh Beg and the mausoleum of the Tomb of Daniel - here he is called Chodscha-Doniyor. The tomb, which according to local beliefs contains the relics of the biblical prophet Doniyor, is extremely unusual: its length reaches almost 20 meters. If you believe what the servants of the mausoleum say, it turns out, the bones become longer in calm, peaceful, and prosperous years, because Timur has brought the relics of the saint here to protect the city.
For dinner time, we have planned a master class in cooking Samarkand pilaf, which we will later eat.

Day 4. Samarkand - Khiva

Today we are driving to Khiva. The road is long and will take approximately 10-11 hours.
By the evening, we are already in the Khwarazm region, which from the VIII century BC was inhabited by Iranian-speaking nomadic peoples. To this day you can find fair-haired descendants of the natives of Khwarazm with gray and green eyes, leading their history from the middle of the second millennium BC.
Tomorrow we begin our acquaintance with this amazing culture, and now rest after the long journey.
In Khiva, we stay for 3 nights.

Day 5. Khiva - the fortress of ancient Khwarazm - Khiva

Today is dedicated to the ancient history of Khwarazm, the very name of which translates as "land of the sun". By the beginning of our era, a powerful state has formed in the Khwarazm oasis, located in the desert Kyzylkum. The state’s borders reached the Black sea. To protect such a huge area, Khwarazmians built a system of fortresses. The main building material was clay with dry reed stalks added to it; bricks were formed and dried in the scorching sun. The walls of the fortresses, made in the shape of a polyhedron from such bricks, reached the thickness of 10 meters and were surrounded by deep ditches inaccessible to the enemy.
Some of these fortresses have survived to this day. We will visit those.

We set off after having breakfast and taking water supplies with us. The path is not close, we have to drive to the right bank of Amu Darya and go deeper into the desert.
We have lunch in a yurt camp near the Ayaz-Kala fortress.
In the evening, we return to Khiva.

Day 6. Khiva

A whole day in Khiva.
This unique museum city, surrounded by powerful medieval fortress walls, is two and a half thousand years old. The old town is called Ichan Kala and contains preserved almost in their original form palaces, mosques, madrassas, mausoleums and caravanserais, built in the period from the X to XIX centuries, many of them lined with patterned majolica, the secret of which is already lost.
In the city center, Friday Jumeh Mosque is located, which greatly differs from typical mosques: it doesn’t have any portals, domes, galleries or a courtyard, and its ceiling is based on 213 carved wooden columns, some of which survived from the time of construction, i.e. the X century. The unusual nature of its architecture gives historians a reason to believe that it is a rebuilt Zoroastrian temple, because the inhabitants of ancient Khwarazm before the arrival of the Arabs were fire worshipers. Minarets are also unusual in the city: they are huge and sometimes separate from mosques - explained by the pre-Islamic past of Khiva, where minarets were used to mark wells.

Day 7. Khiva - Bukhara

After the breakfast at 8-00 we drive off to Bukhara.
The 430 km road will take approximately 7 hours. Upon arrival we check into a hotel and go to explore Bukhara.

Bukhara, one of the main cities on the Silk Road, did not change its position for more than two thousand years. To this day the center of the old town is the oldest part - Ark fortress, which actually marks the beginning of the construction of Bukhara in the times described in the famous epic "Shahnameh" (historians believe it to be the IV century BC). Being within the walls of the old city, it is impossible to get rid of the thought that you walk the streets, literally soaked in history - Omar Khayyam and Avicenna worked here, Marco Polo stopped here on the way to China, the city had the largest libraries and flourishing crafts. Still in the Bukhara’s caravanserai one can observe the work of gold embroidery craftsmen, blacksmiths, minters and weavers – they have the technology, inherited from their granfathers-great-grandfathers.
We stay in Bukhara for 2 nights.

Day 8. Bukhara

Excursion day in Bukhara.
We will pass all the landmarks of the ancient city and hear their history. Our itinerary includes the architectural ensemble of Lab-i Hauz square, trade domes – the so-called indoor dome passages, where trade and craft rows are located, Maghoki Attori mosque of the XII century with preserved Zoroastrian symbols on the walls, the mausoleums of Samanids and Chashma-Ayub, Ark citadel and Poi Kalan square, where the 900-year-old minaret is located, which no one has dared to destroy for centuries. In Bukhara people believe in the legend that tells how Genghis Khan conquered the city and, overlooking the minaret, dropped his hat and while lifting it up, said, "nothing has forced me to my knees yet."

Our tour will last about 6 hours.

Day 9. Bukhara - Petroglyphs National Park - Tashkent

Early departure from the hotel. Today is the day on the road. We leave the eastern fairy tale and return to Tashkent.
Travel time is approximately 10 hours, but on the way we expect another unique place - Sarmishsay - with petroglyphs left by the inhabitants of the land in different eras, starting from the Stone Age. A stop, approximately 2 hours after the departure from Bukhara.

About 4,000 rock drawings were found in the Sarmishsay. The earliest of them date back to the ninth millennium BC - they depict primitive hunters, surrounded by wild animals. Later ones already depict pets and everyday life scenes. It is striking that there are three-humped camels in the drawings. Researchers cannot explain some of the drawings depicting abstract figures. The youngest drawings belong to the XVIII century - it is believed that Sufi dervishes settled in the gorge and left their footprint in this stone art gallery.

We arrive in Tashkent in the evening and check into a hotel.

Day 10. Departure home

Flight home after the breakfast.


Due to weather conditions and other circumstances, small changes to the program are possible.

---

Included

The price includes:

• accommodation: hotel, mini-hotel or guest house, all days;


• all rides along the route, SUV, number of transport units depending on the number of people in the group;


• meals: breakfast - all days;


• transfers from the airport and back;


• advice on travel, insurance, etc .;


• excursions in Bukhara, Samarkand, to the fortresses of Khwarazm accompanied by a local guide;


• if necessary, assistance in purchasing tickets.

The price does not include:

• tickets - from EUR 350 both directions with luggage, each participant buys alone or with the group, if necessary, help of the organizers is available;


• souvenirs;


• meals: lunches and dinners;


• entrance tickets to all attractions and activities according to the program;


• insurance.

€ 690 / per person

Departure location

Tashkent, Uzbekistan

Return location

Tashkent, Uzbekistan

Time travel

30 April - 09 May 2022

Book now

or write to us by

Subscribe to the tour news "Uzbekistan autotravel"