Inspiration for your own tailor-made trip
Uzbekistan
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This evening board your overnight international flight from London to the Uzbekistan capital, Tashkent. This direct flight will take approximately seven hours so make sure you have plenty of reading material at hand.
This morning, head to the Savitsky Museum which houses the world's second largest collection of Russian Avant Garde art (after the Russian Museum in St. Petersburg). Spend as long as you want wandering through the galleries before lunch and a private transfer to Khiva, a three-and-a-half-hour drive. Arriving into the city in the late afternoon you will have time to settle into your hotel before wandering the interior of this historic old walled Silk Road city. There are plenty of good local restaurants with a lively atmosphere to choose from for your evening meal, and we will recommend our favourites.
Take a full day to appreciate the fascinating city of Khiva with the help of your expert local guide. Everything is on foot and your guide will accompany you throughout, making sure you get to see the city perhaps starting first with the local market - a lively throng of people and produce with a fantastic atmosphere. There is a lot to see in Khiva but there are plenty of coffee and cake cafes for pitstops en route. And what a route - within easy walking distance within Khiva's walls are some of Uzbekistan's most exceptional buildings. The highest of highlights include the impressive Kunya-Ark citadel; the intricate wooden pavilions in the Tosh-Khovli Palace; the vast but unfinished Kalta Minor minaret; the 200-plus carved pillars - some dating from the 10th century - in the Juma Mosque and the Pakhlavan Makhmud Mausoleum celebrating a famous poet son of Khiva, and instantly recognisable by its iconic (and unusually green) dome. Enjoy a well-earned lunch in a local restaurant and then put your haggling skills to the test in the many streetside stalls. Khiva is famed for its camel hair mittens and slippers and, of course, suzani embroidery and silk carpets. Your local guide will be able to make sure you are at the best roofscapes for sunset when the colours glow beautifully on the turquoise tiles of the many minarets in the city.
You may want to rise early for a last morning in the old city, taking in a sunrise view from the ramparts of the city walls before meeting your private guide and driver and starting the long day drive north east to Bukhara. The promised rail link is operable soon, but until then driving is the only way to go. It will take approximately eight hours to drive to Bukhara through part of the Kyzl Kum desert and you will stop for a roadside meal of shashlik - traditional meaty Uzbek fare - at a remote but surprisingly good restaurant. Arrive into Bukhara in the early evening and check into your boutique hotel in the old city before getting your bearings and stretching your legs with a wander around the lively streets surrounding the Lyab-I Hauz pond.
Wake in the morning and enjoy the desert light and breakfast in the sunshine. You may want to go for a dune walk or perhaps a refreshing dip in Lake Aydakal before setting off in your 4x4 to leave the desert and hit the road south to Samarkand. You will reach Samarkand in the early afternoon and check into your hotel for two nights. In the afternoon your local guide will take you to see some of the finest sites in the city, including the incomparable Timurid-era Registan Square; the elegant Gur-e Amir Mausoleum, the last resting place of Tamerlane, and the vast Bibikhanum Mosque, where you can still see cracks caused by earthquakes across the centuries. In the evening you will have an opportunity to visit a winery for some Uzbek wine tasting. Make sure to ask your guide to take you to both Gur Imir Mausoleum and the Registan at night time for a totally different perspective on the architecture when the buildings are beautifully illuminated. There are plenty of restaurants in the city to choose from, and we will recommend our favourites.
Today you will be transferred from Tashkent to the Ferghana Valley by car with visits en route in Kokand, the capital of the Kokand Khanate in the 18th and 19th centuries. The journey takes you into the central heartland of the country. The route is long and some of the road sections are rough and unsurfaced but the wonderful views more than make up for it. First stop will be the Khan's Palace Museum and then Rishtan, one of the most important ceramic centres in Central Asia and the place to buy elegant patterned pottery. Continue on to Fergana, arriving in the late afternoon. This is the centre of Central Asia's silk production, and with its beautiful scenery is a worthwhile stop on the Silk Road, not only for landscape but distinctive local architecture and traditional crafts. You can also visit the home of famed potter Rustam Usmanov, where his family make traditional Uzbek ceramics.
Margilan is one of the major cities in the Ferghana Valley and the traditional centre of silk production in both large factories and smaller family-run workshops. This morning you will drive to Margilan to visit the silk ikat weaving centre and the Margilan craft centre, supported by UNESCO and housed in a historic madrasa. Lunch will be in a local restaurant before you are transferred to the train station to take the six-hour train back to Tashkent. On arrival you will be met and transferred to your hotel for your last night in the capital.
Each of our trips is entirely tailor-made with originality, quality and cultural immersion in mind. Our team of destination specialists will craft itineraries based on your tastes, using their first-hand knowledge and the help of our in-country team of Concierges and guides. All trips are accompanied by a wide range of additional services, including a 24-hour helpline, the Original Travel app, fast-track airport services and much more.
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Our team of destination experts will get to know you and your unique requirements for your holiday
We work with you to build an ultra-personalised holiday itinerary with your choice of accommodation, experiences and activities
All of our holidays include little extras designed to make a big difference to your trip, from fast-tracking you through airport check-in and security to our network of local Concierges
