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Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Wed 14 Oct — Tashkent: Arrival + Hammam
Land in the morning. Head to Chorsu Bazaar for first impressions — samsa, bread from the tandoor, spices. Then the best possible jet-lag treatment: Eski Hammom, Tashkent’s top-rated bathhouse (5.0 on Google, English-speaking staff, open 24hrs). Book a slot in advance. By evening you’ll feel reborn.
Thu 15 Oct — Chimgan Mountains & Charvak Lake
Day trip by taxi or marshrutka (~1.5hrs). First stop: the impossibly turquoise Charvak Reservoir, a glacial lake ringed by the Tian Shan foothills — short stroll along the shore, boat trips available. Then up the Chimgan Ropeway into the mountains — no walking required, the cable car does the work. October means golden foliage, clear skies, and almost no one else there. Return Tashkent by evening.
Thu 15 Oct night — Night train Tashkent → Urgench
The overnight train departs late evening and arrives around 7–9am — no wasted time, and sleeping in a coupé through the flat Uzbek steppe has its own strange appeal. Book platzkart (open sleeper) for the authentic version, or kupe (4-berth compartment) for comfort.
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Khiva, Uzbekistan
Fri 16 Oct — Arrive Khiva, Itchan Kala
Check in to a guesthouse inside the walled city. Spend the day at your own pace — the Kalta Minor Minaret, the Juma Mosque’s forest of 213 carved wooden pillars, and the Islam Khoja Minaret (climb it for views across the desert). Khiva at dusk and after dark, when the tour groups leave, is something else entirely.
Sat 17 Oct — Khiva: Rooftops + Madrassa Hammam 🛁
Climb the Islam Khoja Minaret at dawn. Later, the Orient Star hotel — a 19th-century madrassa converted into a hotel inside the walls — operates a hammam open to non-guests. Vaulted brick ceilings, total atmospheric oddity. It’s not the most technically refined hammam on the trip but the setting is genuinely unique. Afternoon: Tash Hauli Palace, then wander until dinner.
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Sarmishsoy, Uzbekistan
Sun 18 Oct — Train Khiva (Urgench) → Navoi → Sarmish Say Petroglyphs ⭐
This is the wild card of the itinerary. Take the morning train towards Navoi, then arrange a car to Sarmish Say — a red sandstone canyon in the Nurata foothills containing over 4,000 Bronze Age petroglyphs: hunting scenes, ibexes, ritual figures carved into rock up to 3,000 years ago. The main glyphs are within 300 metres of the car park, so no serious walking required. Barely any tourists come here. Rated 4.8 on Google with 26 reviews — almost all from serious travellers who consider it a highlight of the country. Stay the night in Navoi or continue by taxi towards the desert.
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Aydar Lake, Uzbekistan
Mon 19 Oct — Aydarkul Lake, Kyzylkum Desert 🌵
One of the most surreal landscapes in Central Asia. Aydarkul is a vast inland sea that exists entirely by accident — created when Soviet irrigation canals overflowed in the 1960s and flooded the desert. It’s now a lake the size of a small country, surrounded by sand dunes, inhabited by flamingos and wild horses. Stay one night at a yurt camp on the shore. Camel ride at sunset, campfire, Kazakh folk music, and stargazing with zero light pollution. Book Sarmish Say and Ayardul lake via Ruslan at Riad Nur & Tours in Nurata — consistently the best-reviewed operator for this whole desert circuit.
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Bukhara, Uzbekistan
Tue 20 Oct — Desert → Train → Bukhara
Morning in the desert, then a shared taxi or arranged transfer to Bukhara (~3hrs, or train via Navoi). Arrive afternoon. Drop bags and immediately visit the Ismail Samani Mausoleum — 10th century, Central Asia’s oldest Islamic building, in low afternoon light the brickwork geometry is extraordinary. Evening at Lyab-i Hauz pond — the social heart of the old city. Teahouse, plov, watch the world go by.
Wed 21 Oct — Bukhara Old City + Hammam Shahriston 🛁
Morning: the Ark Citadel and the often-overlooked Bolo Hauz Mosque directly opposite (20 wooden columns reflected in a pond). Afternoon: Hammam Shahriston — Bukhara’s best-rated hammam ($40, ~1hr: hot stones, body scrub, massage, ginger and honey treatment, spiced tea). Reviewers consistently describe it as the best experience of their entire Uzbekistan trip. Book ahead.
Thu 22 Oct — Bukhara: Summer Palace + Trading Domes ⭐
Morning taxi to the Sitori-i-Mokhi Khosa — the last Emir’s Summer Palace, 5km north of the old city. A genuinely peculiar building: Russian Imperial ballrooms, Persian tiled courtyards, mirrored halls, and peacocks wandering the grounds. Barely visited, no crowds. Back in town, spend the afternoon in Bukhara’s 16th-century covered trading domes — the Toki Zargaron (jewellers) and Toki Sarrafon (money-changers) are still functioning craft markets.
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Samarkand, Uzbekistan
Fri 23 Oct — Afrosiyob Fast Train → Samarkand
The high-speed train takes 1h40m. Arrive and go straight to the Gur-i Amir (Tamerlane’s mausoleum) at dusk — the ribbed turquoise dome and jade interior hit differently in the last light. Then Shah-i-Zinda in the same evening — a processional avenue of 11th–15th century mausoleums tiled in the finest cobalt and turquoise in the Islamic world. Go when the coaches have left.
Sat 24 Oct — Samarkand: The Registan
Arrive at 8am sharp before the crowds. Spend a full morning with the three Timurid madrasas. Return in the late afternoon for the golden-hour light — it’s completely different. The evening son et lumière show is worth it. Afternoon: Ulugh Beg’s Observatory — the 15th-century underground marble sextant used to map 1,000 stars. A short but fascinating visit.
Sun 25 Oct — Samarkand: Bibi-Khanym, Siab Bazaar & Final Morning
Last full day. Morning at Bibi-Khanym Mosque and the adjacent Siab Bazaar — the most authentic market in Samarkand, full of spices, non bread and pomegranates. Afternoon free for ceramics workshops or a second wander through Shah-i-Zinda.
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Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Mon 26 Oct — Fast Train Back to Tashkent (2hrs)
Last evening in Tashkent — best restaurant scene in the country. The Plov Centre (enormous outdoor plov restaurant, locals only, lunch-only) or one of the new generation of Tashkent restaurants in the Yunusabad district.
Tue 27 Oct — Fly Home