Uzbekistan Spring Festival

If you are flying from London then we recommend the direct Uzbekistan Airways HY202 flight, departing from Heathrow at 21.35 last night and arriving in Tashkent at 08.25 today. Or there are options with Turkish Airlines, Air Astana, Fly Dubai and more.

We will meet you at Tashkent airport and transfer you to your 4* hotel in Tashkent city centre. After a late breakfast at the hotel and some time to rest, you’ll reconvene for lunch at a very good restaurant, then spend the afternoon exploring some of the sights of Tashkent, Central Asia’s largest city. You’ll visit the Barak-Khan Madrassah complex in the old city to see the world’s oldest Koran, take a ride on the stunning Soviet-era Metro, wander around the fascinating Applied Arts Museum and visit Independence Square, with its famous statue of Amir Timur, the ‘conqueror of worlds.’ Supper will be in another excellent city centre restaurant.

It’s an early start this morning to catch the 07.25 flight from Tashkent to Urgench. After a one hour flight and a forty-five minute transfer by road, you’ll reach Khiva, one of the most famous desert citadels on the Silk Road.

After some time to rest at your hotel, the best in town, you’ll have the rest of the day to explore the UNESCO-listed old city – the Ichan Qala. Wandering through its dusty alleys you’ll get a good sense of this historic place – its brutal slave trading past, madrassas, minarets and fabulous arts and crafts. Among the sights you’ll be seeing today are the Juma Mosque (with its wonderful carved wood pillars); the Tosh Hauvli palace, also known as the Khan’s harem, and the Kuhna Ark – the Khiva rulers’ own fortress and residence, first built in the 12th century. The handicrafts in Khiva are exceptional, and you will no doubt also spend some time gazing at the many fabulous shops and street stalls.

Tonight you’ll be eating with a local family and enjoying some special dishes from Karakalpakstan, this region of Uzbekistan.

You’ll spend the morning exploring more of Khiva, including visiting the workshop of a famous chugirma maker – the traditional sheepskin hats worn in this region.

After an early lunch, you’ll drive into the Kyzl Kum desert to visit some of the incredible 2500 year old ‘Golden Ring of Khorezm’ fortresses that once guarded passing Silk Road caravans from raiding Turkmen tribes. Featured in Joanna Lumley’s Silk Road TV series, these fantastic ruins rise out of the desert like mighty crowns of sand and give a real sense of the wealth that once flowed through here. Having clambered up to one of the main fortresses, Ayaz Kala, there’ll be tea in a desert yurt camp.

You’ll be back in Khiva by late afternoon, in time for some R&R (or shopping!) before supper at a local restaurant. Of course, if you’d rather spend a relaxing day in Khiva today, and not come to Ayaz Kala, then please do.

After breakfast at the hotel you’ll hit the road south to Bukhara, one of the jewels of the Silk Road. It’s a seven hour drive south across the red sands of the Kyzl Kum desert, and you’ll stop on the way for a BBQ at a roadside tea house.

You’ll reach Bukhara by early evening, in time to check in to your delightful boutique hotel, relax for a few hours and then have supper at a charming nearby restaurant.

“Bukhara! For centuries it had glimmered remote in the Western consciousness: the most secretive and fanatical of the great caravan-cities, shored up in its desert fastness against time and change. To either side of it the Silk Road had withered away, so that by the 19th century the town had folded its battlements around its people in self-immolated barbarism, and receded into fable.”
Colin Thubron, Shadow of the Silk Road

For many, this atmospheric city is the highlight of their Silk Road journey, a place where the walls seem to echo with whispers of Genghis Khan, the Sogdians, Timur, Chinese silk traders, The Great Game and more. Since there’s so much to see in Bukhara, you don’t want to rush, so today you have the whole day in this splendid city. Prepare yourself for a feast of mosques, minarets and madrassas. As well as seeing the classic sights (Ishmael Samani Mausoleum, Bolo Hauz mosque, the Kalon minaret, the Ark fortress) you’ll also be learning about the Bukharan Jews, having a private dance performance and enjoying a Silk Road tea ceremony at a characterful old chaikana, with a chance to sample some delicious sweets and treats.

Tonight you’ll enjoy a special Navruz supper with a Bukharan family and have the chance to learn about the tradition of ‘Haft-sin’ – the seven dishes that should be on every Navruz table.

Bukhara isn’t the sort of place you want to rush away from, so you have another day here. You’ll start with a visit to the Summer Palace of the last Emirs of Bukhara, known by the poetic name Sitora-i Mokhi -Khossa, or ‘Star like the Moon’. Named after one of the Emirs’ favourite wife, who died in childbirth, the lavish palace was completed in 1917 and is a fusion of Oriental, Russian and European styles, set in lovely rose gardens.

After lunch, you’ll visit Bukhara’s fascinating Akbar House to see the private collection of embroidery, fabrics, carpets, wood carvings and books.

Supper will be at a very good restaurant in the heart of the old city.

Today you’ll be leaving wonderful Bukhara to take the ‘Golden Road to Samarkand’ – arguably the most fabled of all the ancient Silk Road cities. It’s a four hour drive but you’ll be stopping in  the town of Gijduvan to meet a family of master ceramicists and learn about their highly skilled art. Prepare to spend the rest of the trip coddling your new Uzbek bowls!

Following lunch with a local family you’ll drive on to Samarkand and check in to a charming, family run boutique-style hotel in the centre of the city. The early evening will be spent getting to know Samarkand’s famous Registan Square and its dazzling turquoise-domed Timurid architecture. You’ll soon see why this city was feted by Marco Polo, Xuanzang, Ibn Battuta, Lord Curzon, Joanna Lumley and so many more.

After supper, you’ll be visiting the workshop of a well-known Uzbek artist and fashion designer for an exclusive talk on Uzbek fashion and textiles.

Today is the main day of the Novruz Festival, and Samarkand is a fantastic place to celebrate this. Navruz, celebrated on the Spring Equinox,  originated in Iran about 3000 years ago. Also known as Nowruz, the holiday is celebrated across Western Asia and Central Asia, all the way to the Black Sea and the Balkans. Although rooted in Zoroastrianism, it’s essentially a secular festival, a time when people forgive their enemies, help the poor and cleanse their houses and consciences for a good start to a new year. It’s also a time of feasting and dance.

This morning, Navruz celebrations will be in full swing in Samarkand, with  dancing, food and drink stalls and street celebrations. Although it will be quite crowded in places (with locals mainly), just wandering among all this is a lovely way to experience the atmosphere of Navruz. You will also have a chance to see some of the sites of Samarkand this morning, such as the famous Registan Square, and the Gur-e-Emir, where the mighty Timur lies interred under the largest piece of jade in the world.

Supper will be at a local restaurant, where you’ll enjoy a special Navruz menu and a talk from a local history expert about the Sogdians and Tamerlane.

This morning, after breakfast, we’ll drive to a  village near Samarkand to spend time with a family as they celebrate Novruz festival. You’ll arrive in time for the ladies to open their pots of sumalak, a Navruz dish made from germinated wheat that’s made by all the ladies of a mahalla,  or neighbourhood. It’s said that with the first taste of sumalak you should make a wish and that after this you’ll be endowed with special powers for the year to come…. You’ll then spend the day partaking in the village Navruz celebrations and having lunch with a family. This will be a  lovely chance to enjoy both the traditions and hospitality of Uzbekistan, and get a ‘behind closed doors’ insight into this ancient Zoroastrian festival.

Another tradition that happens around Navruz is kupkari, the famous Central Asian version of polo which involves a goat carcass, up to a hundred horses and some seriously impressive horsemanship. Kupkari games always happen around Navruz and, if we’re lucky, we’ll have the chance to watch one of these stunning matches today.

Today you’ll be visiting a beautiful mountain village about an hour south of Samarkand to spend a few hours walking in the mountains and having lunch with a charming family. This region was once key to the ancient Silk Road, being located directly between Bactria and Sogdiana (the old name for Samarkand). Today it’s an area of beautiful walks, caves, forests and archaeological sites.

After lunch you’ll return to Samarkand in time to catch the high-speed train to Tashkent. You’ll be in the same 4* hotel tonight, and enjoy a final supper at one of the capital’s finest restaurants.

After breakfast we’ll transfer you to the airport in time for your flight home. The direct Uzbekistan Airways flight departs for London Heathrow at 13.45, or there are various options with Turkish Airlines, Air Astana, Fly Dubai and more.