Turkmenistan - Uzbekistan -1

Flight to Ashgabat.

Early morning arrival at Ashgabat International Airport ( ETA 04:00 am).

Migration formalities (  PCR/ visa/passport control usually take 1.5 - 4 hr).

Please come out of the terminal, the driver is meeting with the signboard ANUR TOUR at the meeting zone. 

Transfer to the hotel.  Early check-in.

Free day/ Resting time after the flight.

Overnight at the hotel.

Breakfast at the hotel

Morning at leisure in Ashgabat

Afternoon transfer to Darvaza crater and change from the asphalt road to the Karakum desert track ( off-road).

In 1971 geologists accidentally found an underground cavern filled with natural gas. To avoid poisonous gas discharge, it was decided to burn the gas. Geologists hoped the fire would go out in a few days but it has been burning ever since. Locals have named the cavern The Gate - Darvaza. The views are impressive, especially in sunset and night when the mild sunlight and burning crater evoke incredible and ambiguous feelings. 

Camp-style dinner and overnight stay in yurts.

Camp-style breakfast.

Transfer from the Darvaza gas crater to the Turkmenistan-Uzbekistan border post Dashoguz/Shavat by car (5 hours). Please note that some parts of the road are off-road desert tracks. 

Border formalities on both sides of the land border, visa/ passport control usually take 1.5-3 hr.

The driver will meet at the Uzbekistan side of the land border.

Transfer to Khiva.

Resting time in the afternoon. Overnight at the hotel.

Breakfast at the hotel.

09:00 Meet the guide at the lobby.

Start the walking excursion in the historical part of Khiva – Itchan-kala (translated as “Inner town”) - the largest Museum in the open air in Central Asia:

- Ata-Darvaza, Kunya - Ark;

- Madrassah of Muhammad Rahim Khan;

- Madrassah of Muhammed Aminhan;

- Kalta Minor, the Palace of the Allakulihan Khan of Khiva;

- Tash Hauli, where the harem of 40 concubines was;

- Caravanserai and Tim Allakulihan;

- Mausoleum of Seyd Allaudin;

- Pahlavan Mahmud Mausoleum;

- Minaret and Islam-Khoja Madrassah, Mosque and Jami Minaret.

Free time in the evening. Overnight at the hotel.

Breakfast at the hotel.

Transfer from Khiva to Bukhara by car (475 km, 7 hrs) via the Kyzylkum Desert, OR transfer by train (depending on the train schedule).

Arrival in Bukhara. Transfer to the hotel.

Resting time in the afternoon/evening. Overnight at the hotel.

Breakfast at the hotel.

09:00 Meet the guide in the lobby. Start WALKING sightseeing in Bukhara:

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

- Magoki Attari Mosque is one of the oldest mosques survived 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);

- Three trading domes or so-called covered bazaars Toki Sarrofon, Toki Telpak Furushon, and Toki Zargaron preserved from the XVI century and these bazaars were the centers for trade of silk, jewelry and even for money exchange. Today as well, one can enjoy and purchase different souvenirs of a wide range;

- Ulugbek and Abdulazizkhan Madrassas or so-called Kosh (pare) 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 impresses the imagination;

- Ark Fortress – the oldest citadel dating back to I 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

Morning at leisure.

11:00 Meet the driver at the lobby of your hotel in Bukhara.

Transfer to the famous Gijduvan pottery workshop ( about 50 min drive from Bukhara), where visitors are welcome for a tour around the workshop and to observe the process of ceramic making and painting.

The owners demonstrate the stages of making ceramics, from turning the potter’s wheel to making paints from natural ingredients, decorating the ceramics in a distinctive style, drying, and firing.  Take a tour around the museum hall of ceramic masterpieces with a unique collection of ceramic items from Gijduvan and other regions of Uzbekistan. 

Master class of painting ceramics, and lunch at the master's house.

After drying and burning the painted ceramics, the master will send the handmade ceramics to your hotel in Samarkand within the next two days.

Continue to 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 Samarkand sightseeing: 

– 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—which consists of three grandiose buildings: Ulughbek Madrassa, Madrassa Sherdor, and Madrassa Tilla Kori.

– Bibi Khanum 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.

09:00 Meet the guide. Continue sightseeing in Samarkand (5-6 hrs):

– Shahi Zinda Necropolis – a unique complex of mausoleums on both sides of the cenotaph (an imaginary grave) of Abbas ibn Kussam;

– Ulugbek’s Observatory – one of the finest astronomical centers in the medieval world—was built by order of Ulugbek, an outstanding scholar and astronomer;

– Khoja Doniyor Mausoleum - the mausoleum over the grave of one of the saints. According to legend, back in the 18th century, the ashes of the Old Testament biblical prophet Daniyar (Daniel) were buried in the mausoleum, the remains of which were brought to Samarkand and buried by order of Amir Timur.

– Paper factory "Meros”  in Konigil village that produces unique paper that can be preserved for more than 400 years and is used in craftworks.

Resting time in the evening. Overnight at the hotel.

Transfer to Samarkand International Airport.

Morning departure flight from Samarkand ( ETD 05:00 am)

End of the tour.