Description of the tour

CROSSROADS OF CARAVANS

Itinerary: Urghench – Khiva – Bukhara – Shakhrisabz – Samarkand – Tashkent

Duration: 7 days/6 nights (The program may vary depending on the departure date)

• day 01

Milan - Urgench - Khiva

Taking off for Urgench, you travel the 30 km that separate you from Khiva, a tiny oasis. Accommodation and breakfast in the hotel. We spend the day in Ichan Kala, the ancient part of Khiva, a UNESCO heritage site, a 2,500-year-old museum-city which houses the best examples of Uzbek architecture decorated with blue, turquoise and floral-patterned majolica. We visit Kukhna Ark, fortified residence of the rulers, Ark, the medressa of Muhammad Amin Khan, the squat minaret of Kalta Minor, the medressa Muhammad Rakhim Khan, the Juma mosque, the mausoleum of Pahlavòn Mahmud, the medresses Shir Gazi Khan and Islam Khodja , the minaret and the museum.

• day 02

Khiva - Bukhara km 450 Km 450

Departure by coach for Bukhara, crossing the Red Desert, following the route of the ancient caravaners along the legendary Silk Road. The journey takes approximately 7 hours. Lunch in a rest-house along the route. After the Amu Darya river we encounter a plain cultivated with cotton and fruit plants. Arrival in Bukhara in the afternoon and free time.

  • day 03

Bukhara

We spend the day in glorious Bukhara, a UNESCO heritage site, the ancient capital of the Samanid kingdom with a still inhabited and intact historic center where the color ocher predominates. The visit touches on the remains of the walls, the Ark royal residence, a sort of city within the city, the medieval Registan square, the Bolo-Khauz mosque, the domes of the covered bazaars, the medresses of Ulugbek and Abdul Aziz Khan, the Magoki-Mosque Actors and finally the Chor Minor building.

After lunch we go to the oldest monument, the mausoleum of Ismail Samani, and then visit the mausoleum of Chashma-Ayub and the imposing architectural complex of Poi-Kalon, with the Kalon minaret 47 meters high and with foundations 16 meters deep.

• day 04

Bukhara - Shakhrisabz - Samarkand 390 km

We leave for Shakhrisabz, a UNESCO heritage site, the birthplace of Tamerlane who transformed it into a kind of family monument. Along the way visit the “Giayran” nature reserve created in the Soviet era to save the steppe gazelles, stop in the Karaulbazar province to visit “Sardoba” (16th century) – water reserve for the caravans along the Great Road of Silk. The arrival in Shakhrisabz at lunchtime. After lunch we continue the visit to the remains of the Ak-Saray imperial palace with its immense 38 meter high portal decorated with mosaics, Tamerlane pedestrian park, the Dorus-Siodat and Dorut-Tilovat funerary complexes and the Kok-Gumbaz mosque. Then retracing the steps of the ancient merchants along the Silk Road, passing the Karatakhtacha pass (1600 meters high), you reach Samarkand.

• day 05

Samarkand

We go to discover the Garden of the Soul, Samarkand, a UNESCO heritage site, the city with the sparkling blue mosaics of the monuments which give it a magical and poignant atmosphere. A meeting point between the Greek and Indian worlds, inhabited by Alexander the Great who understood its strategic importance along the Silk Road, in the 14th century it was chosen by Tamerlane as the artistic, cultural and commercial capital of his immense kingdom. We visit the medieval observatory of Ulugbek, the mausoleum of Khodja Daniar, the Afrasiab museum, the set of mausoleums of Shakhi Zinda, the blue and turquoise Bibi Khanum mosque, the largest in Central Asia, the colorful Siab market and the Gur-Emir mausoleum where Tamerlane is buried. After lunch we continue to Piazza Registan, the heart of the city with three sumptuous medresses studded with majolica, gold and lapis lazuli.

• day 06

Samarkand - Tashkent 300 km 300 km

In the morning after breakfast we continue the visit of Samarkand: the mausoleum of Khodja Doniyor, the "Meros" center on the outskirts of Samarkand to see the production of handmade silk paper, the Imam-al-Bukhariy complex which is located in 20 km from Samarkand. Return to Samarkand.

After lunch we depart by bus for Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, which can be reached in about 4 hours. Arrival in Tashkent and hotel accommodation.

• day 07

Tashkent 

After breakfast we leave the hotel and visit the modern and monumental part of the city of Tashkent, also traveling by subway to admire its richly decorated stations: Independence Square, Opera House, the Khast Imam complex with the ancient Koran, Barak Khan Madrasa. Lunch in a local restaurant. Transfer to the airport.

Tour route