Tour to Uzbekistan from Tajikistan – 1

Flight to Dushanbe.

Arrival at Dushanbe International Airport (ETA 08:00).

Migration formalities usually take 20 min to 60 min: visa/passport control and baggage claim. 

Come out of the terminal and meet the driver and guide holding a sign “ANUR TOUR” or with your name on it.

Transfer to the hotel to drop off the bags. Standard check-in (14:00).

Start Dushanbe sightseeing tour visiting:

- Tajik National Museum of Antiquities with the biggest Buddha in Nirvana.

The Museum consists of 22 exhibition halls with departments of nature, antiquity and the Middle Ages, modern history, fine and applied arts.

- Tajik flagpole-one of  the world's tallest flagpoles (165-meter flagpole);

- Main square of Dushanbe. The Monument of Ismoili Somoni-the forefather of the Tajik Nation located on the main square. A 40-meter-high monument built to the memory of Ismaili Saman-Khuda, founder of the Samanid dynasty;

- Mehrgon Bazaar - one of the biggest markets of Dushanbe;

- Gissar Fortress- the remains of the Bukhara Emirate Beck’s palace. Its thick walls once guarded a pool, garden, and palace, while the fortress itself overlooked a noisy market and caravanserai. The place was famous as a center of commerce during the Silk Road. You will also be able to visit the Old Medressa (Madrasai Kuhna) of the 16th- 17th century with a museum inside, the new Madrassa of the 17th- 18th  century, as well as Caravan Saray.

Transfer to the hotel.

Resting time in the evening. Overnight at the hotel.

Breakfast at the guesthouse.

09: 00 Transfer to Penjikent.

Start a sightseeing tour in Penjikent, visiting: 

Transfer to the hotel.

Resting time in the evening. Overnight at the hotel.

Breakfast at the hotel.

- Transfer to   Marguzor, the famous Seven Lakes - seven wonderful water mirrors full of mountain riverside drops. Each lake looks different whenever the sun changes its position. Colors may vary from deep blue to indigo color ripple. Most of them are cold to swim even in summer. These lakes belong to the Fan Mountains system.

On the western edge of the Fan Mountains, in the valley of the Shing River, there are seven lakes; six of them are dammed origin, except for Lake Hazorchashma.

The lakes are called Marguzor, but each lake has its own name: Nezhigon (other references  Mizhgon), Soybean, Gushor, Nofin, Hurdak, Marguzor, Hazorchashma. The difference in level between the upper and lower lake is 692 meters.

Afternoon border crossing BP Jartepa to Uzbekistan (takes about 30 min-1 hr), meet the driver at Uzbekistan side of the border. Transfer to Samarkand.  

Arrival at the hotel in Samarkand.

Resting time in the evening. Overnight at the hotel.

Breakfast at the hotel.

09:00 Meet the guide and driver. Start the Samarkand sightseeing tour, visiting 

– Gur Emir Mausoleum – a burial vault of Timur the Great and his descendants, decorated with gold ornaments and considered one of the most significant places in the world;

– Continue to the famous Registan Square – the heart of Samarkand and a real masterpiece of Central Asian medieval architecture, consisting of three grandiose buildings: Ulughbek Madrassa, Madrassa Sherdor, and Madrassa Tilla Kori.

– Bibi Khanim Mosque – the biggest medieval building in the city, which was one of the most magnificent mosques in the Islamic world in the 15th Century;

– Samarkand Bazaar Siyab.

Transfer to the hotel.
Resting time in the evening. Overnight at the hotel.    

Breakfast at the hotel.

08:30 Transfer to the railway station in Samarkand.

09:40 Departure for Bukhara by high-speed train "Afrosiyob".

11:19 Arrival in Bukhara. 

Come out of the terminal and meet the driver.

Transfer to the hotel to drop off the bags and meet the guide.

Start the WALKING sightseeing program in Bukhara (5-6 hours):

- Ensemble Lyabi Hauz (Nadir Divanbegi Madrassa, Khanaka, Kukeldash Madrassa, and the monument of Khodja Nasreddin);

- Magoki Attari Mosque is one of the oldest mosques to survive in Bukhara from the time before the Mongolian invasion;

- Abdullakhan’s Tim with numerous handicraft shops of souvenirs, ceramics, national clothes, and carpets;

- Caravanserai Sayfuddin (the Center of Handicraft Development of Bukhara);

- There are three trading domes, or so-called covered bazaars, Toki Sarrofon, Toki Telpak Furushon, and Toki Zargaron, preserved from the 16th century, and these bazaars were the centers for trade of silk, jewelry, and even money exchange. Today as well, one can enjoy and purchase different souvenirs of a wide range, from small souvenir magnets to the famous Bukhara carpets;

- Ulugbek and Abdulazizkhan Madrassas or so-called Kosh (pair) madrassas, opposite each other with the distinctive style of facade ornamental decoration;

- Poi Kalon Square with Kalon Minaret and Mosque, Mir Arab Madrassa – the heart of Bukhara, a monumental complex that impresses the imagination;

- Ark Fortress – the oldest citadel, dating back to the 1st century BC, where one can feel the history of the great fortress covered in beautiful legends and myths.

Resting time in the evening. Overnight at the hotel.

Breakfast at the hotel.

Free day in Bukhara.

14:30 Transfer to Bukhara train station.

15:50 Departure for Tashkent by train "Afrosiyob". 

19:44  Arrival in Tashkent.

Come out of the terminal and meet the driver who will wait for you with a tablet "ANUR TOUR".

Transfer to the hotel.

Resting time in the evening. Overnight at the hotel.

Breakfast at the hotel.

09:00 Meet the guide in the hotel lobby.

Start a sightseeing tour of Tashkent (5-6 hrs), visiting old and new parts of the city:

- Amir Timur Square, founded in 1882 and originally called Konstantinovsky Square, was renamed on August 31, 1994, after Amir Timur to honor the cultural and historical contribution of the great conqueror.
Around the Square there is the Museum of History of Timurids, Uzbekistan Hotel, Forum Palace, and the famous Tashkent striking clock.

- Tashkent striking clock, one of major symbols of Tashkent.

- Theater Square with the Opera House: State Academic Theater of Uzbekistan named after Alisher Navoi, built in 1947, is one of the best opera theaters in the world and performs both classical and national repertoire. 

- Independence Square, the main square of Uzbekistan reflects the past, present, and future of the country. There are fountains standing for the life energy of Uzbek people, the Cabinet and the Senate, and the “Eternal flame" in honor of soldiers who died during the Second World War.
- Earthquake Memorial, the composition is devoted to the tragic date of the earthquake in Tashkent on April 26, 1966, and is erected in the approximate place of the earthquake epicenter. Residents still come to the monument to honor those people who took a part in the reconstruction of Tashkent;

- Khast Imam Square – a religious center of the city consisting of the Barakkhan madrasah; Kaffal Shashi Mausoleum and the library of Islamic Literature with the Holy Koran Book of the VII century (original Quran Othman). Khast Imam is one of the most significant spiritual centers in Central Asia and attracts pilgrims and visitors all over the world.

- Chorsu bazaar – the ancient bazaar of Tashkent. “Chorsu” means “four waters”, symbolically meaning the conjunction of four major parts of old city in bazaar where people come for trades. The bazaar's beautiful blue dome, built in traditional style after the Tashkent earthquake, is often depicted in postcards and international magazines and has become one of the major sights of interest both for locals and guests – one can see oriental tiled bazaar from different souvenir shops with ceramics, handicraft works, carpets and jewelry, the whole pavilion full of delicious fruits to the finest textiles and colorful fabrics.

- Tashkent Metro (the first line was launched in 1977) with beautiful train stations, each decorated in a thematic style with traditional ornaments and special lighting.

Transfer to Tashkent International Airport.

Departure by evening flight.

End of the tour.