Itinerary · 9 days · 42 places
9 Days in Uzbekistan
Nine days along the Silk Road: three days in Samarkand with the Registan, Shah-i-Zinda and Ulugh Beg's observatory, then the old town of Bukhara, walled Khiva and finally Tashkent. Between the cities you travel on the Afrosiyob train and fly from Urgench back to the capital.
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Photo: Yaşar Başkurt · Pexels
The route on the map
The plan, day by day
Day 1Arrival in Samarkand
Arrival in Samarkand
Hotel check-in
The quarter between the Registan and Gur-e-Amir is the city's quietest address: short lanes of mud-brick houses, with all the main monuments within walking distance.
Gur-e-Amir Mausoleum
Beneath the ribbed turquoise dome, Timur lies under a slab of dark green jade, surrounded by his sons and grandsons.
Day 2Timur's Samarkand
Registan ensemble
Three madrasas from the 15th and 17th centuries stand around a square; on the Sher-Dor Madrasa two big cats with the sun on their backs chase deer above the portal.
Bibi-Khanym Mosque
Timur's largest building, for which elephants from India hauled stones — the main portal is 35 metres high, and a marble Koran stand sits in the courtyard.
Siab Bazaar
The city's market: mountains of dried apricots, nuts and melons, plus round Samarkand bread with its stamped pattern.
Shah-i-Zinda Necropolis
A narrow lane of funerary chapels whose façades are covered from ground to arch in blue and green mosaic.
Ulugh Beg Observatory
Of the astronomer-prince's sextant, the underground arc survives, with which in 1437 he determined the length of the year to within about a minute.
Evening: Universitetsky Boulevard
The pedestrian axis with fountains, ice-cream stands and street music, where half of Samarkand goes for a stroll after sunset.
Day 3Afrasiab and the workshops
Hazrat Khizr Mosque
A wooden-columned mosque on the edge of the old city mound, with a painted ceiling and a view over the domes of the necropolis.
Afrasiab Museum
The heart of the museum is the 7th-century mural of the ambassadors' procession — camels, swans and riders from the pre-Islamic city.
Mausoleum of Saint Daniel
An 18-metre sarcophagus under five domes by the river, revered equally by Muslims, Jews and Christians.
Konigil Meros paper workshop
In this village on the Siab, silk paper is made as it was in the 8th century: mulberry bark is pounded by a water wheel, scooped and polished with agate.
Rukhabad Mausoleum
A plain domed building without tiles over the grave of a Sufi preacher, built on Timur's orders in 1380 and one of the oldest buildings in the city.
Evening: El Merosi Theatre
An hour of historic Silk Road costumes on stage, from Sogdian robes to bridal jewellery of the emirate era.
Day 4By Afrosiyob to Bukhara
Onward to Bukhara
Hotel check-in
Lyab-i Hauz ensemble
The stone pool from 1620 beneath old mulberry trees, where old men play chess and the teahouses are open all day.
Nadir Divan-Beghi Madrasa
Above the portal two phoenixes carry a sun with a face — forbidden imagery on a building planned as a caravanserai and only declared a madrasa at its opening.
Toqi Zargaron trading dome
The goldsmiths' dome, one of three surviving 16th-century bazaar crossings, now full of knife makers and carpet sellers.
Po-i-Kalyan ensemble
The 46-metre Kalyan Minaret, which Genghis Khan left standing, flanked by the Friday mosque for 12,000 worshippers and the Mir-i-Arab Madrasa.
Evening: Lyab-i Hauz pool by night
When the lamps are reflected in the water, musicians play at the teahouses and the Khoja Nasreddin statue on the bank becomes a photo opportunity.
Day 5Bukhara, city of the emirs
Ark Fortress
The emirs' mud-brick citadel with its sloping ramp, a throne courtyard beneath wooden columns and the museum on the last rulers before 1920.
Bolo Hauz Mosque
Twenty painted elm columns support the porch of this courtyard mosque, reflected in the pool in front; people still pray here today.
Samanid Mausoleum
A cube of fired brick from 905 whose brickwork casts a different pattern depending on the position of the sun — the oldest surviving building in the city.
Chashma-Ayub Mausoleum
Above the spring that Job is said to have struck with his staff stands a building with a pointed tent roof; inside, a museum tells the story of the oasis's water.
Chor Minor Madrasa
Four mismatched blue turrets in a residential lane, the gatehouse of a vanished madrasa; the roof terrace is reached by a narrow staircase.
Sitorai Mohi-Khosa Summer Palace
The last emir pitted Russian and Bukharan builders against each other: a hall of mirrors, a peacock garden and a house for the women by the pond.
Evening: craft lanes around Toqi Telpakfurushon
Under the hatmakers' dome and in the lanes around it, coppersmiths and miniature painters work into the evening with their doors open.
Day 6Across the Kyzylkum to Khiva
Onward to Khiva
Hotel check-in
Muhammad Amin Khan Madrasa with Kalta Minor
The turquoise-tiled stump of the minaret abandoned in 1855 stands right by the West Gate, next to the city's largest madrasa.
Muhammad Rahim Khan Madrasa
A courtyard with a hundred cells opposite the citadel; the museum tells the story of the poet-khan who opened Khiva to Russia.
Allakuli Khan Caravanserai
A two-storey trading court with a covered bazaar passage, where carpets, suzanis and Khivan fur hats are sold today.
Evening: Ak-Sheikh-Bobo Bastion at sunset
From the top of the wall above the bastion you watch the minarets of the mud-brick city turn red before the floodlights come on.
Day 7Itchan Kala, the city within the city
Kunya-Ark Citadel
The khan's court with its blue-tiled summer throne, mint and harem; the bastion offers the best view over the rooftops.
Juma Mosque
A dim hall without dome or portal, its roof resting on 213 carved elm columns — the oldest date from the 10th century.
Tosh-Hovli Palace
Allakuli Khan's stone court with a reception yurt, majolica-blue walls and the women's wing around a second, smaller courtyard.
Islam Khodja Minaret
At 57 metres the tallest minaret in the country; 118 dark steps lead to the gallery with a panoramic view over the oasis.
Pahlavon Mahmud Mausoleum
The tomb of the wrestler and poet, its interior lined entirely with blue-and-white tiles; locals come here to pray.
Evening: Itchan Kala floodlit
After dinner the main lane between the West and East Gates is almost empty, and the illuminated portals are reflected on the paving.
Day 8Flight to Tashkent
Onward to Tashkent
Hotel check-in
Chorsu Bazaar
Under the turquoise dome are the rows of meat and spices, and all around outside are mountains of pomegranates, kurut balls and non bread.
Kukeldash Madrasa
The city's largest surviving madrasa from the 16th century, once again a Koranic school, with a quiet courtyard above the bustle of the bazaar.
Hazrati Imam Complex
The library building holds the 8th-century Uthman Koran, one of the oldest manuscripts in the world, surrounded by a mosque and mausoleum.
Amir Timur Square
A green roundabout in the Soviet-era centre with the equestrian statue of Timur, Hotel Uzbekistan and old plane trees all around.
Evening: Broadway on Sayilgoh Street
The pedestrian street between Amir Timur Square and the opera: portrait painters, beer terraces and street music until late.
Day 9Last morning and departure
Museum of Applied Arts
A merchant's house with carved ganch walls displays suzani embroidery, ceramics from Rishtan and cradles from the Fergana Valley.
Mustaqillik Square
A broad park with fountains, the Stork Gate and the Mourning Mother monument to those who fell in the Second World War.
Departure from Tashkent
Make it your trip
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