Authentic immersion on the Silk Road in 15 days.

Departure to Tashkent from CDG airport. Dinner and overnight on board. Flights at your expense.

Reception at the airport by your French-speaking guide then transfer to your hotel, installation and rest.
A walking tour will allow you to familiarize yourself with the Uzbek capital. You will first stroll through the old quarters of Tashkent and see some examples of oriental architecture. The Barakhan Medersa, built in the 16th century, is a fine example of local craftsmanship.  The ancient book of the Qur'an written on the initiative of the Arab Khalifa Usman is a true religious heritage of the Muslim world that you will see during your walk.  You will have the opportunity to walk through the large Chorsu market founded in the 11th century and see the locals coming to shop. You will then take the most beautiful metro of the city with its differently decorated stations.  You will also see the new city founded at the end of the 19th century by the Russians and discover the Independence Square, the square of Timur the Great and beautiful contemporary buildings.  You will have dinner in a local restaurant and spend the night in Tashkent. 

Breakfast at the hotel and you will leave for the Ferghana valley. To get there, you will cross the most beautiful pass of the country at an altitude of about 4000m.  You will pass through two tunnels to avoid climbing to the top of the pass.  You will be fascinated by the sublime mountain scenery before descending into the green oasis of Ferghana. The first stop will be in the city of Kokand which was the capital of the Kokand Khanate. Visit its palace with its huge garden where you will meet locals coming for a walk.  Your route will take you to Richtan, a city very famous for its ceramics schools and you will discover one of the ceramics workshops.  Returning to your vehicle, you will head towards the town of Ferghana and drive through green areas occupied by thousands of fruit trees.  On arrival, check into your hotel and take your first stroll through the city. Dinner and overnight at the hotel.

You will take the road to Marguilan, a town located next to Ferghana and an important center of this valley. You will visit the workshop ''Yodgorlik'' which exploits the silk cocoon according to the ancestral process.  You will see different stages of silk making before it becomes the Atlas fabric. You will then walk around the city and visit the Friday mosque and the fruit market.  You will taste these delicious fruits coming from different parts of the Ferghana valley.  Then transfer to the city of Andijan, the birthplace of the founder of the Mughal dynasty in India. You will have a walk in a beautiful garden named in honor of this historical figure and located at the foot of beautiful mountains. In the late afternoon, return to Ferghana for a second night.

Breakfast at the hotel and you will be driven to Chust, a town located at the end of the Ferghana valley and very famous for its knives.  You will visit the market of the city where you will meet several craftsmen continuing the manufacture of these objects.  You will have lunch in a local restaurant before taking the road to Tashkent.  After crossing the pass, you will arrive in the city and take a walk depending on the time available. At the end of the day you will be transferred to the train station and take the night train to Urgench, a local experience.  There will be 4 of you in each compartment and you will have bunk beds. You will have dinner on board and spend the night on the train.

Arrival in Khiva and transfer to your hotel. Once settled and rested in your hotel, you will leave to the discovery of the mythical city of Khiva, first important stage of the Silk Road which is also named open-air museum city thanks to its historical perfume kept until our days. You will discover the historical monuments, mainly medersas (old Koranic school), mosques (place of prayer of the faithful), caravanserais (lodgings of the Caravaneers merchants), minarets (tower of surveillances, being used to launch the call to the prayer) etc... At the end of the day, you will go up on the ramparts of the walled city from where you will have a beautiful view on the inner city and a beautiful sunset on the monuments. You will have dinner in a beautiful setting, next to a minaret that pierces the sky. You will spend the night at the hotel. A walk through the winding streets of Khiva is recommended to see its illuminated monuments before going back to your hotel.

Your humble organizer suggests you to get up early to feast your eyes on the sunrise over the fortified walls of Khiva.  In the morning you will continue your discoveries of Khiva city and visit some beautiful monuments such as Tash Khauli Palace, Nurullabay Palace and others. At noon you will taste a regional culinary specialty called Shivit Oshi (local green spaghetti with dill). In the afternoon, you will leave in direction of the north of the country to discover the desert region which had sheltered about fifty fortresses at the time. You will cross the Amudarya river which used to feed the Aral Sea. You will visit the fortress Toprak Kala and Kizil Kala and arrive at Ayaz Kala at the end of the day. Around this fortress a yurt camp will welcome you for the night.  You will have a sublime view on the ruins of the fortress from your yurt camp.  You will walk around the camp and the fortress and enjoy a peaceful tranquility and a beautiful sunset over the sand dunes. Dinner and overnight stay in the nomadic yurt.

After breakfast, we will depart by bus to Bukhara, the second most important city on the Silk Road, which is located in the middle of the desert steppe. To get there, you will cross the great Kizilkoum (red sand) desert that dominates much of Uzbekistan.  This journey will make you think of the courtly caravaneers who used to cross it for several weeks.  You will also travel along the Amudarya River, the widest river that until recently was navigable.  It will be possible to make some photo stops along the way. At the end of the day, you will arrive in Bukhara and stay in a charming guesthouse located in the heart of the old city. There is also the possibility to take a walk before dinner at a local restaurant. You will spend the night at the hotel.

In the morning, after breakfast, you will go on foot to discover Bukhara the Noble.  You will start by visiting the Ark fortress which was inhabited by all the Emirs of the city. The Bala Khauz mosque is still in use and frequented by locals. The Bukhara market is very lively and will give you the opportunity to see another example of the local functioning. You will walk through several historical monuments, pass through the old quarters of the city, see craftsmen practicing their ancestral trade like miniature painting, puppet manipulator etc.. At the end of the afternoon, you will have free time to wander around at your leisure. In the evening, you will attend a folkloric show in the courtyard of an old medersa before going to dinner at the inhabitant. You will return to your hotel for a second night.

After breakfast, you take the road again and go down to the south of the country. You will cross the immense steppe where you will see herds of sheep, cows or sometimes dromedaries. You will arrive in Shakhrisabz for lunch and the afternoon will be devoted to the discovery of the native city of Timur the Great. Three large groups of historical monuments built by the great conqueror dominate a large part of the old city. Newlyweds come to be photographed in front of these sublime and green landscapes of this city of the south of Uzbekistan.  At the end of the afternoon, you will continue your journey to the Hissar Mountains where you will spend two nights in a mountain village. On arrival, you will settle down in a guest house and the introduction will be made with the host family. You will then go for a short walk before having dinner with the host family. Exchange and discussion about the daily life with the family members. Overnight stay with the host family.

On this 11th day of your trip, you will discover the daily activities of the mountain villagers. The villagers are used to get up early and take care of their herds, garden or do other rural activities. You will make an easy walk of 4-5 km through the mountains and enjoy the beautiful scenery.  Uzbek mountains are very different from those in France. The nature changes according to the four seasons of the year.  You will return to the guesthouse and have the afternoon to rest. You can share some gardening or cooking activities with your host family according to your wishes.  Dinner and night at the host family's house.

After sharing an unforgettable moment with the host family, you will continue your journey to Samarkand. A third important city of the Silk Road which was a land of meetings, exchanges and also conquests. Samarkand is surrounded by mountain ranges which influence its favorable climate all year round.  You will cross one of these mountain ranges to get to Samarkand and arrive in town for lunch. In the afternoon you will check into the hotel located next to the historical center of the city and start your sightseeing. The great square of Registan is considered as the monumental pearl of the mythical city. The three imposing medersas of Registan make the square gigantic.  The place where great events were once held has now become a tourist center of the country. You will stroll around the square before having dinner in a local restaurant. You will spend the night at the hotel.

The day will be devoted to the discovery of the legendary city of Samarkand. The necropolis of Shakhi Zinda is a beautiful ensemble of Muslim architecture and its mausoleums are covered with turquoise colors that imitate the blue of the sky. You will also stop at the Afrosiyob museum which houses frescoes from the 7th century AD, a beautiful testimony of the Sogdian life before the Islamization of Samarkand. The most precise age of Samarkand was identified by a team of French-Uzbek archaeologists and you will see a beautiful collection of this archaeological research in this museum. At the end of the afternoon, you will discover the Ulughbek observatory built in the 15th century by the great astronomer and grandson of Timur the Great. A huge sextant was built at that time and you will see ruins of it preserved until today. After a day rich in discoveries, you will walk in the market of Samarkand as beautiful as those of Tashkent and Bukhara.  You will have dinner in a local restaurant and spend the night at the hotel.

You will continue your discovery of Samarkand and visit the silk paper workshop. The silk paper is a heritage of the Silk Road and arrived in Samarkand from the 8th century.  The ancestral process is still going on today despite the evolution of cellulose paper. You will discover that the mulberry tree is a tree of paradise giving as much fruit to man.  You finish your discoveries by visiting the mausoleum of Timur the Great, a Timurid masterpiece that shows different oriental architectural influences.  You will have a few hours to stroll around the city one last time before being transferred to the Samarkand train station where you will take the fast train to Tashkent. After 2 hours of travel, you will arrive in the capital of Uzbekistan. You will have dinner in a local restaurant and check into the hotel for the night.  

You will be transferred to Tashkent International Airport according to your return flight schedule.