UZBEKISTAN · 8 DAYS
Classic Uzbekistan
Tashkent, Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva in eight days: the four Silk Road cities, by high-speed train and across the Kyzylkum desert.
Guide price from US$1,390 per person
UZBEKISTAN · 12 DAYS
Silk Road in depth
The four cities plus the Fergana Valley's silk and ceramics, Timur's birthplace at Shakhrisabz, and a night in a yurt in the Kyzylkum.
The trip
12 days, 6 places
Tashkent, Fergana Valley, Samarkand, Kyzylkum yurt, Bukhara and Khiva.
Twelve days covers Uzbekistan properly. It adds to the classic route the three things people most often wish they had seen: the workshops of the Fergana Valley, where silk is still woven and ceramics still fired by hand; Shakhrisabz, over the mountains from Samarkand; and a night under the stars at a yurt camp by Aydarkul lake.
The pace is steady rather than fast. Most days have one city and a free evening. The long days are the drives, and each has something worth stopping for.
Highlights
- Silk weaving at the Yodgorlik workshop in Margilan and the kilns of Rishtan
- The Registan, Shah-i-Zinda and Gur-e-Amir, with three nights in Samarkand
- Shakhrisabz over the Takhtakaracha pass
- A night in a yurt by Aydarkul lake, with a Kazakh dinner by the fire
- Bukhara and Khiva, two full days in each
The route
Where you go
- Tashkent1 night
- Fergana Valley2 nights
- Samarkand3 nights
- Kyzylkum yurt1 night
- Bukhara2 nights
- Khiva2 nights
- Length
- 12 days, 11 nights
- Starts and ends
- Tashkent
- Group
- Private, 1 to 12 travellers
- Pace
- Steady
- Best months
- April to May, September to October
- Updated
- October 2026
Day by day
The itinerary
Marker above the line: a day in one place. Marker cut by the line: a day that moves.
Day 1
Arrive in Tashkent
Tashkent · night in Tashkent · dinner
Airport meeting and an afternoon in the old city: Khast Imam, Chorsu Bazaar and the metro.
Day 2
Into the Fergana Valley
Fergana Valley · by train · night in Fergana · breakfast
The morning train through the Kamchik tunnel into the valley. Kokand first: the palace of Khudayar Khan and the Juma Mosque. On to Fergana city for the night.
Day 3
Margilan and Rishtan
Fergana Valley · night in Fergana · breakfast
Margilan, the silk town: the Yodgorlik workshop, where the ikat is tied, dyed and woven by hand, and the Kumtepa bazaar if it is a market day. Rishtan in the afternoon, for the potters and their blue glaze.
Day 4
To Samarkand
Samarkand · by train · night in Samarkand · breakfast
Train back to Tashkent and the afternoon Afrosiyob on to Samarkand. The Registan at dusk.
Day 5
Samarkand
Samarkand · night in Samarkand · breakfast
Gur-e-Amir, Bibi-Khanym, the Siab Bazaar, Shah-i-Zinda and the observatory. The Registan again in daylight, this time inside the madrasas.
Day 6
Shakhrisabz
Samarkand · by car · night in Samarkand · breakfast
A day trip over the Takhtakaracha pass to Timur's birthplace: the gate of the Ak-Saray palace, still forty metres high, the Dorut Tilovat complex and the Kok Gumbaz mosque. Back to Samarkand for the evening.
Day 7
Nurata and a night by Aydarkul
Kyzylkum yurt · by car · night in Yurt camp · breakfast, lunch, dinner
West to Nurata: the spring at Chashma and the hill fort said to be Alexander's. Then the yurt camp near Aydarkul lake, a camel ride before sunset for those who want one, and dinner by the fire.
Day 8
To Bukhara
Bukhara · by car · night in Bukhara · breakfast
The Sarmishsay gorge and its petroglyphs in the morning, then Gijduvan, a village of potters, on the way into Bukhara. Lyabi-Hauz in the evening.
Day 9
Bukhara
Bukhara · night in Bukhara · breakfast
The Ark, Bolo Hauz, Poi Kalyan, Magoki-Attori and Chor Minor. The emir's summer palace in the afternoon.
Day 10
Across the Kyzylkum to Khiva
Khiva · by car · night in Khiva · breakfast, lunch
The desert road and the Amu Darya crossing. A walk on the walls of Itchan Kala before dinner.
Day 11
Khiva
Khiva · night in Khiva · breakfast
Itchan Kala on foot: Kalta Minor, Kunya-Ark, the Juma Mosque, Tash Hauli and the Islam Khoja minaret.
Day 12
Fly to Tashkent and depart
Tashkent · by air · breakfast
Urgench airport and the short flight to Tashkent for your international departure.
The price
What is included
Guide price from
US$2,190 per person
Per person, two travelling together, mid-range hotels. The final price depends on your dates, group size and hotels; we quote within a working day.
Included
- Eleven nights: hand-picked hotels and guesthouses with breakfast, and one night in a yurt camp with dinner
- A private English-speaking guide throughout
- Private car and driver for every transfer and drive
- All train tickets and the Urgench to Tashkent flight
- Entrance fees to every site in the itinerary
- Airport meeting and departure transfer
- A local SIM card with data
Not included
- International flights
- Visa fees, where a visa is needed
- Lunches and dinners except where listed
- Travel insurance
- Camera fees at a few monuments
- Tips
Questions
About this trip
What is the yurt camp like?
Felt yurts with proper beds and bedding, shared bathrooms with hot water, and a Kazakh family who cook. It is comfortable, not luxurious, and it is the night most people remember.
Is the Fergana Valley worth two days?
If you care about how things are made, yes. The workshops are working businesses, not shows, and the valley is where most Uzbeks actually live.
More trips
Also worth a look
SAMARKAND · BUKHARA · 5 DAYS
Samarkand and Bukhara
The two great cities in a long weekend: two nights in each, linked by the Afrosiyob train, from and back to Tashkent.
Guide price from US$890 per person
FERGANA VALLEY · 4 DAYS
Fergana Valley crafts
Silk in Margilan, ceramics in Rishtan, knives in Chust and the palace at Kokand: four days in the valley over the mountains from Tashkent.
Guide price from US$640 per person
Plan this trip
Tell us your dates and who is travelling. We send a proposal for Silk Road in depth built around you, with a firm price, within a working day.
We reply within one working day. [email protected]