Marco Polo in Silk Road Uzbekistan Tour

Arrive in the Urgench airport in the morning. Meet your driver and transfer to Khiva (35km), an open-air museum city and UNESCO World Heritage Site. Check-in at noon. Your local guide will meet you at hotel and start walking tour of Khiva (Ichan-Kala Fortress):

• Begin your excursion from Ota Darvoza gate of Itchan Kala;
• Continue to Kalta Minor Tower, once destined to be one of the tallest minarets in Central Asia
• Next sight is Kunya-Ark Fortress, the inner citadel;
• Muhammad Amin-Khan and Muhammad Rahim-Khan Madrasah;
• Juma Mosque, built with 212 wooden columns and a minaret 32.5 m high;
• Tash-Hauli Palace (Stone Courtyard Palace);
• Minaret and madrasah of Islam Khodja, the vizier of the last khan;
• Necropolis of Pahlavan Mahmud, the ancient religious center of Ichan Kala.

Tour duration: 6 hours. Overnight in Khiva.

After breakfast and hotel checkout, begin your drive from Khiva to Bukhara (480km, 7h). Travel across the desert along the ancient caravan route. Enjoy views of the Amu Darya River and the endless dunes of Kyzylkum. Arrive in Bukhara, the city that Marco Polo’s family described as a perfect jewel surrounded by tall towers and blue domes. Check in to the hotel and enjoy a free evening in the Old City, the picturesque heart of Bukhara. Nodir Devon Begi evening folk-show includes local dances, colorful costumes, a traditional band and dinner. Overnight in Bukhara.

After breakfast, explore Bukhara on a walking tour with your local guide. Enjoy your private tour of the Old City’s most impressive sights:

• Lyabi-Hauz ensemble, holding the largest artificial reservoir of medieval Bukhara (14th-17th centuries). This ensemble includes some of the largest madrasahs in the city: the Khanaka Madrasah, Kukeldash Madrasah and Nadir Divan Beghi Madrasah (all 16th century);
• Magoki-Attori the oldest mosque in Bukhara (12th century);
• Trade Domes - experience the same markets where silk, spices, and ceramics were traded in Marco Polo’s time;
• Poi Kalyan Ensemble (12th-16th centuries), consisting of the Kalyan Minaret, Kalyan Mosque, Amir-Alimkhan Madrasah and Miri-Arab Madrasah;
• Ulugbek Madrasah (15th century) and Abdulazizkhan Madrasah (17th century), relatively untouched yet impressive religious schools;
• Ark Fortress the ancient center of Bukharan statehood and currently home to a small museum;
• Bolo-Khauz Complex, consisting of an artfully decorated 18th century mosque, a minaret and reservoirs that once provided water for the entire city;
• Samanids Mausoleum (9th-10th centuries), believed to be the most ancient brick building in Central Asia.

Tour duration: 6-7 hours. Overnight in Bukhara.

After breakfast at the hotel. Check out and drive to Samarkand via Gijduvon (50 km, 1hr), a small town whose traditional crafts and ceramics have been sought after in Central Asia for centuries due to their quality and colorful, decorative style. Continue driving to Samarkand (240 km, 3-4h). Along the way, stop by the Rabat-i-Malik Caravanserai ruins and Sardoba, an ancient water reservoir in Navoi. Arrive in Samarkand, one of the world’s oldest cities and another jewel of Marco Polo’s journey. Check in to the hotel and have a free time. Overnight in Samarkand.

Breakfast at the hotel and begin private tour of Samarkand with local guide to the following sites:

• Visit to the excavation site and museum of the ancient city Afrasiab;
• Shakhi-Zinda, a burial complex built between the 9th-14th centuries. Climb the blue-domed path and explore more than 20 small mausoleums that line the broad alleyway;
• Gur Emir, the imposing burial site of Tamerlane and Mirzo Ulugbek;
• Siab Bazaar, a multi-level complex where you can shop for souvenirs and sample sweets, fruits and Samarkand’s famous bread;
• Registan Square, the commercial center of Samarkand for centuries and Samarkand’s most famous site today. The square includes three madrasahs: Ulugbek Madrasah (15th century), Sher-Dor Madrasah (17th century) and Tilla-Kori Madrasah (17th century).

Tour duration: 6 hours. Overnight in Samarkand.

After breakfast, transfer to train station to take the morning train to Tashkent (320 km). You’ll be met at the Tashkent station and taken to the hotel. Check-in at noon. Free time. Overnight in Tashkent.

Optional private Tashkent city tour: Excursion to the Old City, including the Khazret-Imam Architectural Complex - ancient manuscripts & Islamic scholarship (15th -16th century). Visit to Chorsu Bazaar, a large selection of traditional Uzbek ceramics, jewelry, handbags, garments and more - Silk Road market experience. Tour of the Uzbekistan History Museum, a four-story museum with over a quarter million exhibits - archaeology & history of Central Asia. Drive through Amir Timur Square and Independence Square. Tour of the Applied Arts Museum, an informative collection of Uzbekistan’s finest handicrafts housed in an ornately decorated villa - craftsmanship Marco Polo admired. Tour duration: 5-6 hours.

Transfer to the airport for departure. End of the tour following Marco Polo’s footsteps across Uzbekistan.