1. The Pearl cities of the East
Travel itinerary: Tashkent – Khiva –
Bukhara – Shakhrisabz – Samarkand –
Tashkent.
Duration: 10 days, 9 nights
Kind of route: Air, land and rail travel.
Best time to travel: From March to
November
Accommodation: Double /Twin
accommodations in hotels.
Description: You will really enjoy this
tour itinerary having the combined city,
desert and nature touristic points of
Uzbekistan. We begin our tour with
capital city excursion visiting modern and
old parts of Tashkent dating back 2200
years. The next point is ancient Khiva –
“the museum under the open air” that
attracts thousands of tourists every year
with its ancient but alive city “Ichan
Kala”. After Khiva we lead our way to
Bukhara via The Kizyl Kum desert.
Bukhara city- there you will enjoy the
amazing ancient buildings and their
history as well as beautiful handmade
carpets, hats, scarves, ceramics and etc.
Then we go to Shakhrisabz city – the birthplace of Amir Temur the Great. At last we go to Samarkand city – “The
Pearl of the East” to visit legendary ancient buildings that sometimes one can’t find a word for the description of
the city, dating back 2500 years, the city attracts millions of visitors every year from the different corners of the
world. Then we take a fast train from Samarkand to Tashkent. After having a really unforgettable memories and
experiences about Uzbekistan you will leave for homeland!!!
DAY TOUR ITINERARY
01 Homeland - Tashkent
Arrival in the morning, transfer to hotel for early check-in. After
breakfast, we begin the tour visiting the capital, almost entirely rebuilt
after the earthquake of 1966 Visit of the monuments of medieval city,
the capital of which is located on the Silk Road that ran between
Europe and Asia. The scientists consider Tashkent to be 25 centuries
old - from the first settlements till the modern megalopolis with the
towering buildings, crowded avenues and heavy traffic. We start our
excursion with the old town, the “Eski shakhar”, a maze of narrow
streets dusty, overlooked by low houses of brick and mud, ancient
mosques and madrasas (Islamic academies), which seems to have
been spared by Soviet planners to show the original appearance of the
buildings. It continues with the complex of Hazrat
Imams, which includes the Barak Khan madrassah (XVI century), the
old mosque Djami (Friday) still in the work, and the mausoleum of
Kaffal Chachi - the tomb of a great philosopher, poet and teacher of
Islam lived in the tenth century. It 'still a place of pilgrimage for the
locals. Then we will stop at the bazaar Charsu, the city's most famous
farmer's market and a great place to meet many locals coming from

2. the surrounding countryside dressed in traditional costumes.
Finally panoramic tour of the modern city: the Independence Square,
the square of Amir Temur, the Theatre Square. Dinner at local
restaurant. Overnight at hotel.
02 Tashkent – Urgench - Khiva
After breakfast, transfer to the airport to board the domestic flight,
direct to Urgench capital of the province of Khorezm. Arrival in
Urgench. Meeting with the driver and starting to Khiva (30 km). Now
Khiva is a large open-air museum. The city tour includes (The order of
the visits will be determined by the guide): the statue of the great
scholar Al-Khorezmi (Algorithme) founder of algebra, located next to
the main entrance of Ichan Kala, the fortified town. Then the tour
continues with the Kunya Ark of the seventeenth century. Fortress and
residence of the rulers of Khiva, in which there are the harem, the
mint, the stables, the armory, barracks, mosque and the palace
stables Tosh-Hovli, in which Inside you can admire the most
sumptuous decoration of Khiva, including ceramic tiles, stone
sculptures and carved wood. The building consists of 2 parts: the
private (harem) and the Public (reception room and courtroom). Visit to
Djuma mosque or Friday Mosque, with 213 carved wooden columns
supporting the ceiling. The columns were brought from different
regions of Central Asia (X-XIII centuries). Lunch. After lunch continues
with the mausoleum of Pahlavan Mahmud - poet, philosopher and
legendary wrestler, who became the patron saint of Khiva. It’s
considered to be the most sacred and honored place in Khiva and one
of the most beautiful monuments of the city, with its magnificent
courtyard and beautiful decorative tiles. Free time.
Dinner. Overnight in Khiva.
03 Khiva
Breakfast. Today continue our excursion Kalta-Minor Minaret (1855),
Medrese of Mukhamad Amin-Khan (XIX), Kunya-Ark Fortress (1868-
1888). The minaret and the medrasa of Islam Khodja (1908-1910).
Lunch time. After lunch free time.
Dinner and overnight at the hotel.
04 Khiva – Bukhara (500 km)
Breakfast at the hotel. Drive to Bukhara via the Kizilkum desert.
En-route stops to enjoy views of the desert and Amu Darya river.
Arrivals in Bukhara, hotel check-in, free time. Dinner.
Overnight in Bukhara.
05 Bukhara
Breakfast. Full day excursion to Bukhara. The city, one of the oldest
settlements in Central Asia, with its age-old buildings and a historic
center still inhabited, is located in a desert oasis east of the lower
reaches of the Amu Darya river (Zeravshan). The city tour includes
(the order of the visits will be determined by the guide): Ismail Samani
Mausoleum, the oldest and most valuable in the country, a
masterpiece of medieval architecture, built by Ismail Samani for his
father Nasr I. Ismail Samani , the founder of the Samanid dynasty. It is
called "Jewel of the East". The Chashma Ayub Mausoleum. According
to legend, Job went to Bukhara to save the inhabitants from the lack of
water and hit the ground with his stick. At that point just flowed a
spring of water. Take a walk in the bazaar of Chasma Ayoub, near the

3. mausoleum. We will see the Bolo-Hauz Mosque, the Emirs official
place of worship, built in 1718 and located next to the door of the Ark,
the center of the city, the official residence of the rulers of Bukhara.
The Ark Fort inhabited since the fifth century. Until 1920, when it was
bombed by the Red Army, now in its interior is almost entirely made up
of ruins except some former royal apartments which are home to
several museums. The Ark Citadel – the center of government system
of Bukhara (IV c. BC).
Lunch. After lunch continue our excursion: The complex Poi Kalon -
including the Kalon minaret, the Kalon mosque, the madrassa Miri
Arab, madrassa Said Alimkhan - is a central part of the city of
Bukhara, with its impressive minaret of the twelfth century, from which
the muezzin recalled prayer to the city. Overnight at hotel.
06 Bukhara
Breakfast. Today visit the mosque Magoki Attar (well herbalists), which
stands on a Zoroastrian temple of the fifth century. Later destroyed by
the Arabs in the twelfth century and converted into a mosque. The
markets covered belong to civil architecture of the sixteenth century:
Taki Zargaron was the bazaar of the jewelers, the Taki Telpakfurushon
hatters, the Taki Sarrafon of the money changers. We continue the
tour with the Ulugbek Madrassa, the oldest in Central Asia (1417) and
served as a model for many others. Visit the sixteenth century
Madrassa Abdul Aziz Khan, also be considered a real gem and the
twin brother of Ulugbek, not restored, was built by the homonymous
king to blur in size and the splendor of Ulugbek. And yet the square
Labi Hauz, a plaza built around a bathtub in 1620, with a statue in the
middle of Hoja Nasruddin, a "wise crowds" that appears almost
mythical tales of Sufis around the world. To the east stands the statue
of the madrassa Nadir Devan Beghi 1622 and on the west the
Khanaka. Entrambi buildings are named after Treasury Secretary
Abdul Aziz Khan who financed the built in the seventeenth century.
Free time permitting, visit the atelier of traditional puppets. Dinner and
night in the Old Madrassa Nodir Devon Beghi.
07 Bukhara – Shahrisabz – Samarkand
Breakfast. Morning drive to Samarkand through Shahrisabz. City tour
around Shahrisabz: the ruins of Ak-Saray palace (“the White Palace”)
– Tamerlane’s summer residence (XIV-XV cc.). The Dor-us-Saodat
complex: “The Khathrat Imam mosque” – a multi-step mosque with a
cupola shaped hall and decorated iwans (XIV c.), Gumbazi – Saidon
the mausoleum of Saids (relatives of Prophet Mukhammad, “The Kuk-
Gumbaz mosque” ("Blue cupola") – was built by Ulugbek on behalf of
his father Shakhrukh (XV c.).
Arrival to Samarkand and check-in at the hotel. Dinner.
Overnight in Samarkand.
08 Samarkand
Breakfast. Full day tour through Samarkand. The best definition for this
city is "the crossroads of cultures". The history of Samarkand begins in
the mists of time. Historical documents show that Alexander the Great
conquered in 329 BC, at the time it was called Maracanda, and it was
an oasis city in the valley of the river Zeravshan. A center where they
lacked the wealth, the place where they had flourishing trade and
crafts. From the first century BC on the Silk Road became the road
that connected China with the Mediterranean and Samarkand found
himself in a strategic position not only in terms of trade, but also
cultural. Fought and conquered by various successive powers

4. (Chinese, Arabs, Samanids, and Turkish Seljuks), in 1220 it was
destroyed by the hordes of Genghis Khan. But in the second half of
the fourteenth century the Mongol ruler Tamerlane in Samarkand did
just the capital of his vast empire and made it extraordinarily lavish in
terms of architecture. For 35 years the city was rebuilt and full of sites
with artisans and architects from all over the Empire. The grandson of
Tamerlane, Ulugbek, excellent astronomer, ruled the country and the
city for 40 years, continuing the work of art and building several
schools devoted to mathematics and astronomy. We will visit the
Registan square which in medieval times was to be the commercial
center of the city and entirely occupied by the bazaar, where the three
Madrasse (1420 madrasa Ulughbek, Sher Dor madrasah in 1636 and
Tilla Kari covered gold in 1660). The monument is one of the most
beautiful places in Central Asia, a triumph of tiles, ceramic blue and
harmonious spaces. Then we visit the Bibi Khanim mosque, located
northeast of the plaza, with its 41-meter high portal, has an interesting
history: it was commissioned by Timur after the success of his military
campaign in India for his wife. The building was completed in 1404. By
the time it was a gigantic mosque, but built with some structural defect,
such that in 1897 led to the collapse during an earthquake.
Continuation of sightseeing with the Silk Road Bazaar and the
necropolis of Shahi Zinda which houses among other mausoleums
and tombs, including one that is said to have been placed the body of
the cousin of Muhammad. Visit the site and the museum of Afrosiab
(the ancient settlement place in the hills above Maracanda arose
before the city), which houses the archaeological discoveries more
important found on the site of the excavations. Finally, the observatory
of Ulughbek, dated 1420. Free time. Dinner in a traditional house with
specialties “Uzbek Palov". Overnight at hotel.
09 Samarkand – Tashkent
Breakfast. After breakfast visit the mausoleum of Tamerlane (Guri -
Amir), built by the order of Tamerlane for his nephew Mukhammad
Sultan, who died in 1403, which houses the remains of the sultan and
his family. Then drive to Konigil village to explore traditional way of
making Samarkand paper from mulberry. Enjoy free time with car and
driver at your disposal after sightseeing tour.
16:00 Transfer to the station to catch the high speed train to Tashkent
(2h10m), arrival and dinner time. Overnight in Tashkent.
10 Tashkent - Homeland
Breakfast. Return flight to Homeland with great expressions!
Hotel options:

5. Hotels in Cities Budget Option
Tashkent Hotel Grand Orzu 3* or similar
Khiva Hotel Old Khiva 3* or similar
Bukhara Hotel New Moon 3* or similar
Samarkand Hotel Royal Palace 3* or similar
4 people
Per pax
6 people
Per pax
10 people
Per pax
16 people
Per pax
SGL
Suppl.
Budget option
Tour price included:
- Visa support;
- Accommodation with breakfast;
- Transportation with A/C, throughout the whole trip;
- Escort guide;
Tour price does not include:
- Hotel charges for additional services;
- Consular fees paid upon collection of the entrance
Visa (for individuals: $ 50 per person/ for the group
more than 10 people: $ 15 per person);
- Fast train Afrosiyob rail tickets economy class 25
USD (Samarkand - Tashkent);
- Domestic flight economy class - 95 USD (Tashkent –
Urgench) and International airfares;
- Sightseeing tour program in all cities, including
entrance fees to sights, except camera/video fees
(50 USD per person);
- Personal insurance and any items not mentioned
above.

6. Hotels in Cities Budget Option
Tashkent Hotel Grand Orzu 3* or similar
Khiva Hotel Old Khiva 3* or similar
Bukhara Hotel New Moon 3* or similar
Samarkand Hotel Royal Palace 3* or similar
4 people
Per pax
6 people
Per pax
10 people
Per pax
16 people
Per pax
SGL
Suppl.
Budget option
Tour price included:
- Visa support;
- Accommodation with breakfast;
- Transportation with A/C, throughout the whole trip;
- Escort guide;
Tour price does not include:
- Hotel charges for additional services;
- Consular fees paid upon collection of the entrance
Visa (for individuals: $ 50 per person/ for the group
more than 10 people: $ 15 per person);
- Fast train Afrosiyob rail tickets economy class 25
USD (Samarkand - Tashkent);
- Domestic flight economy class - 95 USD (Tashkent –
Urgench) and International airfares;
- Sightseeing tour program in all cities, including
entrance fees to sights, except camera/video fees
(50 USD per person);
- Personal insurance and any items not mentioned
above.