Amazing Uzbekistan’s Spring Festivals

Arrival in Tashkent by international flight *. You will be met and transferred to your hotel (style of your choice).

City tour of the capital of Uzbekistan. Visit Hast Imam Complex with Barakhan Madrasah, Tilla Sheih mosque and the mausoleum of Kafal Shashi (XVI c).

Walk through the famous Chorsu bazaar of the old town.

Sightseeing in the new part of the city: Independence Square, Amir Temur Square, Alisher Navoi Opera and Ballet Theater and beautiful artistic metro stations of the city.

*Morning arrival – if later arrival can add an extra night if required.

Breakfast at the hotel. Then transfer from Khiva to Bukhara by car or minibus (450 km, 7 h.).

You will travel to Bukhara through the Kyzylkum Desert. On the way stop at the Amu Darya River and view the sand dunes. The name “Kyzylkum» translated from Turkic means “red sands.”

Lunch is included on the road at a traditional choykhana (tea house).

Arrival in Bukhara in the afternoon.

Overnight at hotel of Bukhara.

Option: Khiva-Bukhara by train according Uzbekistan railways local schedule

It is now possible to travel from Khiva to Bukhara by train as well. The Bukhara-Khiva fast train has carriages with seats and a bistro carriage. It takes just over 6 hours. Request details when booking.

Breakfast at the hotel.

After which your local guide will accompany you around the city for sightseeing as well as viewing the slender minarets, turquoise domes and tiled mosques.

Visit the religious center of the city. The architectural complex includes the Miri Arab madrasah, Juma Mosque and the Kalon minaret – a symbol of Bukhara. Walk through old trading domes including Togi Saraffon (dome of money- changers), Togi Telpak Furushon (dome of hat makers) and Togi Zargaron (dome of jewellers).

There’s the option to visit a puppet theatre and Uzbek classical music concert.

Also visit the Labi Hauz landmark with the Kukeldash madrasah and Nodir Devon Begi madrasah located on the near a water pool surrounded by ancient mulberry trees.

There is also the chance to visit the exhibition of photographs “Images of Bukhara.”

Today visit the Festival of Gold Embroidery and Jewelry. The itinerary is flexible depending on the fair but expect to see demonstrations of master classes of different regions.

See the different embroidery and jewelry schools – with miniatures, carved wooden products, etc….

Also continue to explore the city – citadel Ark, former residence of Emirs of Bukhara, mausoleum of Samanids, Chashma Ayub mausoleum.

View the exhibition of famous Bukhara carpets and suzani, panels made of fabric decorated with silk.

View a presentation of various spices where you can enjoy green tea and nuga with the addition of spices, the recipe of which dates from the XVII century.

Taste the best varieties of wines of Uzbekistan in a caravanserai.

Observe folk dances, puppetry, concerts of drums and folklore communities, as well as performances of concert programs prepared by regional cultural departments, and food competitions.

At Labi House Square there will be a demonstration of traditional embroidery of susani and products decorated with gold thread.

Overnight at hotel of Bukhara.

The road to Samarkand is called the “Royal Road” and in ancient times it was an important section of the Great Silk Road connecting the main cities of the civilization of Sogdiana: Samarkand and Bukhara.

En route stop in a traditional Uzbek village where you will have the opportunity to see silkworm cultivation. The silk worm in the shape of a caterpillar has a huge appetite. It eats day and night and prefers only mulberry tree leaves. Throughout its life, a caterpillar eats 2 tons of mulberry tree leaves for 62,000 silkworm cocoons, of which only 100 kilograms of cocoons and 19 kilograms of silk are obtained.

On the way to Samarkand, visit a pottery workshop in Gijduwan. Gijduwan Ceramics Workshop is known throughout Uzbekistan and is protected by UNESCO status.

Local lunch at the pottery, after which you will visit the ruins of the Rabati Malik caravanserai dating back to the 11th century, with an old Sardoba (a reservoir of water for the caravans).

Continue to Samarkand and check in to your hotel.

After breakfast, join your local guide for a city tour of Samarkand – the Pearl of the East – a magical name that evokes images of the riches and heritage of Central Asia.

The first landmark is the famous Registan square surrounded by madrasahs with high gates, mausoleum of Guri-Emir, with the most beautiful ribbed dome, elaborately decorated with papier-mache inside.

Enjoy a traditional lunch with a local family .

After lunch, visit the remains of the Ulugbek Observatory – the first observatory in the East, where the heavens could be studied with the help of a huge sexant.

This evening you will visit a traditional house for a special Uzbek dinner, accompanied with the local red dry wine. Here you will have a cookery masterclass with a plov cooking course, after which you can chat with your hosts over a delicious meal.

After dinner enjoy the cities beautiful buildings and monuments as the are lit up after dark on a “Samarkand by night” tour.

Continue your Samarkand sightseeing with a visit to Bibi Hanum – the largest mosque of its time in the whole region of Central Asia.

Also the necropolis of Shahi Zinda – considered the pearl of Samarkand architecture of the 14th-15th centuries – a unique complex where you can see all the artistic styles used in the decoration of Islamic buildings.

Later on, take a stroll through the picturesque Siob bazaar, one of the city’s busiest and most colorful locations.

Overnight at hotel in Samarkand.

08:00 Departure to visit Shakhrisabz, which is considered to be the birthplace of Tamerlane the Great.

Pass through Urgut well-known for its handicraft market (stop depends on the day of the market). Continue on to the village of Aman Kutan, a village located at the foot of the mountains, where you will meet with the local villagers in a forest setting rich in walnut trees, poplars, acacias and junipers.

Make a stop to view the beautiful panorama of Mount Zarafshan and surrounding mountains. The road passes through the Takhtakaratcha mountain pass at 1700 m altitude.

On arrival in Shakhrisabz, visit the ruins of the White Palace – Ak Saray.

Behind the walls of the mausoleum is the 19th century mosque of Khazrati Imam, which completes the architectural complex known as Dorus Saodat.

Finally, visit the Dorut Tyllawat complex, which consists of two mausoleums: the mausoleum of Sheikh Chamseddin Kulal and the mausoleum Gumbazi Saidon and the mosque Kouk Goumbaz.

In the afternoon, return to Samarkand.

Visit a silk paper workshop in Konigul village where the famous Samarkand silk paper is made, which made the city famous in the Middle Ages.

Transfer to the train station for the comfortable fast train at 17:07 to Tashkent. Arrival at 19:17.

Farewell dinner in a local restaurant with drinks.

Evening night tour to see the city lit up at night.

Overnight at the hotel in Tashkent.

Breakfast at the hotel. Transfer to the airport for international flight home.