From
$2,550 USD
In the Footsteps of Nomads
Tour overview
Silk looms, the whole Silk Road, and a night in a desert yurt camp
- Trip code
- PT-NOM12
- Days
- 12
- From
- Tashkent
- To
- Khiva
- Country visited
- Uzbekistan
- Group size
- 2–12
- Min age
- 10+
- Physical
- Guide languages
- 18 languages
Twelve days across the whole country: the Fergana valley crafts, all four Silk Road cities, a swim in Lake Aydarkul and a night in a yurt camp under the Nurata hills.
Twelve days is enough to stop rushing. This route takes the classic four cities and adds the two things that get cut from shorter trips: the Fergana valley at the start, where the silk and the ceramics are actually made, and a night in the Kyzylkum at a yurt camp under the Nurata hills.
Lake Aydarkul, which you swim in on the way to the camp, is a mistake — a Soviet reservoir overflow in the 1960s that filled a desert depression and never went away. It is now a hundred kilometres of freshwater in the middle of the sand, with fishermen on it.
The camel ride the next morning is ten minutes and mostly for the photograph. The dinner around the fire the night before is not.
After that the route settles into Bukhara, the desert crossing and Khiva, finishing at Urgench for the flight home.
Inclusions & activities
What’s included
Destinations
In flight · Tashkent · Fergana · Samarkand · Nurata · Bukhara · Khiva
Meals
Breakfast · Lunch · Dinner
Transport
High-speed train · Private vehicle · Walking
Accommodation
Hotel in Tashkent · Hotel in Fergana · Hotel in Samarkand · Yurt camp in the Kyzylkum, 4–5 people per yurt · Hotel in Bukhara · Hotel in Khiva
Included in the price15
- Hotel accommodation on a twin/double sharing basis
- Breakfast every morning at the hotel
- Air-conditioned private vehicle with a professional driver
- Licensed English-speaking guide for all sightseeing
- Entrance fees to every monument named in the itinerary
- 1 litre of bottled water per person per day
- Hotel and city tourist taxes
- Arrival and departure transfers
- 24/7 support from our Samarkand office during the trip
- Seven lunches, two picnic lunches and three dinners
- One night in a Kyzylkum yurt camp
- A ten-minute camel ride at Nurata
- Economy-class trains Tashkent–Kokand and Tashkent–Samarkand
- Early check-in on arrival day
- A map and a Uzbek souvenir for each traveller
Not included11
- International flights to and from Uzbekistan
- Visa fees where a visa is required
- Travel and medical insurance
- Lunches and dinners unless listed as included
- Drinks, including bottled water at restaurants
- Photo and video permits at monuments
- Tips for the guide and driver
- Porterage at airports, stations and hotels
- Personal expenses and anything not listed as included
- Porterage, roughly €15 per person for the whole trip, paid locally
- Tips, roughly €35 per person for the whole trip, paid locally
Your contact for this trip
Muzaffar Shermamatov
Founder
“Write to me with any question. I reply within 24 hours and will adjust the route to you.”
Route & itinerary
Tashkent → Fergana → Samarkand → Nurata → Bukhara → Khiva → Urgench
In flight
Day 1 of 12
Flight
Day 1 Fly to Tashkent
Depart your home city for Tashkent. Night on board.
Moderate
Getting around
Flight · Overnight flight
Flight
Day 2 Tashkent
Arrive, transfer and immediate check-in, then breakfast. The old city: the Earthquake Memorial, the Hazrati Imam complex with the Uthman Quran, Chorsu bazaar and the metro. Lunch, then Independence square, the Romanov palace from outside, the opera square and Amir Timur square.
Moderate
- Hazrati Imam complex
- Chorsu bazaar
- Tashkent metro
- Independence square
Stay
Hotel in Tashkent
Getting around
Flight · Airport transfer, then a full day
Breakfast, Lunch included
Train
Day 3 Tashkent to Kokand and Fergana
The 08:05 train through the mountains to Kokand. Khudayar Khan’s palace, the Dakhma-i-Shokhon royal tombs, the Modari Khan mausoleum, the Norbutabek madrasah and the Juma mosque. A simple, very local lunch, then on to Fergana.
Moderate
- Khudayar Khan palace
- Norbutabek madrasah
Stay
Hotel in Fergana
Getting around
Train · Train 4h15, then about 1 hour driving
Breakfast, Lunch included
Road
Day 4 Margilan, Rishtan, back to Tashkent
Margilan first for the Yodgorlik silk factory — cocoon to bolt, all by hand — then Rishtan, where lunch is at a ceramicist’s house and the glaze is still made from burnt mountain plants. The drive back to Tashkent is in sedans, three passengers per car.
Moderate
- Yodgorlik silk factory
- Rishtan ceramics house
Stay
Hotel in Tashkent
Getting around
Road · About 5 hours driving, 350 km
Breakfast, Lunch included
Train
Day 5 Tashkent to Samarkand
Train to Samarkand, check in from 14:00, and begin: Gur-e-Amir, Registan square and Bibi-Khanym mosque.
Moderate
- Gur-e-Amir mausoleum
- Registan square
- Bibi-Khanym mosque
Stay
Hotel in Samarkand
Getting around
Train · Train 2h10
Breakfast, Lunch included
On foot
Day 6 Samarkand
Shah-i-Zinda, Ulugh Beg’s observatory, the Konigil paper mill where mulberry bark is still beaten into Samarkand paper, and the Afrosiab museum. In the afternoon, the Eternal City at the Silk Road Samarkand complex — a full-scale reconstruction of the old towns, opened in 2022, which is either kitsch or brilliant depending on your mood.
Moderate
- Shah-i-Zinda
- Ulugh Beg observatory
- Konigil paper mill
- Afrosiab museum
- Eternal City
Stay
Hotel in Samarkand
Getting around
On foot · Full day, short drives
Breakfast, Lunch included
Road
Day 7 Samarkand to Lake Aydarkul and the yurt camp
North-west to Nurata and out into the Kyzylkum. Swim in Lake Aydarkul and eat a picnic on the shore, then on to the yurt camp: four or five people per yurt, dinner around a fire, and a sky with nothing between you and it.
Moderate
- Swimming in Lake Aydarkul
- Dinner around the campfire
Stay
Yurt camp in the Kyzylkum, 4–5 people per yurt
Getting around
Road · About 265 km, 4 hours
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner included
Road
Day 8 Nurata to Bukhara
A ten-minute camel ride after breakfast, then 290 km south to Bukhara. Lunch on arrival, then out of town to the Bahouddin Naqshbandi complex and the emir’s summer palace at Sitorai Mokhi Khosa.
Moderate
- Camel ride
- Bahouddin Naqshbandi complex
- Sitorai Mokhi Khosa palace
Stay
Hotel in Bukhara
Getting around
Road · About 290 km, 4 hours
Breakfast, Lunch included
On foot
Day 9 Bukhara
The old town on foot: the Samanid mausoleum, Chashma Ayub, Bolo Hauz mosque and the Ark citadel in the morning. Lunch, then the three trading domes, the Magoki-Attori mosque built over a Zoroastrian temple, the Kalon minaret and mosque, and the Ulugh Beg and Abdulaziz Khan madrasahs.
Moderate
- Samanid mausoleum
- Ark citadel
- Kalon minaret
- Trading domes
- Magoki-Attori mosque
Stay
Hotel in Bukhara
Getting around
On foot · Walking day, about 5 km
Breakfast, Lunch included
Road
Day 10 Bukhara to Khiva
The caravan road across the Kyzylkum: 450 km, seven to eight hours, lunch from a box. Dinner in Khiva.
Moderate
Stay
Hotel in Khiva
Getting around
Road · 7–8 hours, 450 km
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner included
On foot
Day 11 Khiva
Ichan-Kala: the Kalta Minor, the Muhammad Amin Khan madrasah, Kunya Ark and the Muhammad Rahim Khan madrasah. Lunch with a drink, then the Islom Khodja minaret, the Juma mosque, the Tash-Hovli harem, the Pakhlavan Mahmud mausoleum and the Allakuli Khan caravanserai.
Moderate
- Ichan-Kala
- Kunya Ark
- Juma mosque
- Tash-Hovli palace
- Allakuli Khan caravanserai
Stay
Hotel in Khiva
Getting around
On foot · Walking day inside the walls
Breakfast, Lunch included
Road
Day 12 Depart from Urgench
Breakfast, then the 30 km transfer to Urgench airport for your flight onward.
Moderate
Getting around
Road · 30 km, about 40 minutes
Breakfast included
In flight
Day 1 of 12
Read this first
Before you book
Sales close 30 days before departure; later than that, ask and we will check availability.
Yurt camps are shared: 3–4 people per yurt with washrooms and showers in a separate block, and men and women accommodated separately unless you book the whole yurt. Camps operate roughly from 15 April to 30 October and can close at short notice in bad weather.
Uzbek railways release seats 60 days before departure and no earlier, so we need full passport details at least 62 days ahead to ticket you. In peak season Afrosiyob seats are occasionally withdrawn for government use; if that happens we move you to the Sharq train or a domestic flight at no extra cost to you.
Before you book
Questions about this trip
Do I have to sleep in the yurt?
It is one night and it is the night most people remember, but if it is not for you we can put you in a hotel in Nurata town and drive you out for dinner and the campfire. Tell us when you book.
How big is the group?
Never more than twelve travellers. Group departures run from two people; if a date sells beyond twelve, we open a second group with its own guide rather than enlarge the first. On a private tour the group is just your own party.
When is the best time to do this trip?
April to early June and September to early November are the two sweet spots: 20–28°C, clear light on the tilework, and fruit in the bazaars. July and August regularly pass 40°C, so summer departures start earlier and keep the middle of the day for museums and lunch. Winter is cold but empty — Registan without a crowd is worth the coat.
Do I need a visa for Uzbekistan?
Citizens of most of Europe, the UK, Japan, South Korea, Israel, Turkey and much of Latin America enter visa-free for 30 days. Everyone else can apply online at e-visa.gov.uz, which takes two to three working days. Your passport must be valid for six months beyond the date you arrive. We will confirm what applies to your nationality when you book.
Can I join as a solo traveller?
Yes. Solo travellers pay a single supplement for their own room, which we quote with the trip. On group departures we do not pair strangers in a room unless both of you ask us to.
What if I am vegetarian or have allergies?
Tell us when you book. Uzbek cooking is meat-heavy but every restaurant we use can produce good vegetarian food — the salads, breads, pumpkin manti and vegetable stews are excellent — and we brief each restaurant ahead of your arrival. Gluten-free is harder because bread is central, but it is workable with notice.
Payment, date changes and cancellation
- Nothing to pay until 60 days before the start — the booking holds without a card.
- Change your dates free of charge up to 60 days ahead; from day 59, 20% of what you have paid.
- Cancel 60 days or more ahead and nothing is kept.
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