Silk Road & Yurt Camp: 7 Days

Transfer from Tashkent airport to your hotel. If time allows, a gentle start with the Museum of Applied Arts and its textiles and ceramics, then a ride on the Tashkent Metro, famous for its decorated stations.

The Afrosiyob high-speed train to Samarkand (about 2 hours), or a private car if better. Begin with Registan Square and its three madrasas, then the Gur-e-Amir Mausoleum, resting place of Amir Timur. Evening free.

A full day: the Ulugbek Observatory, the tiled street of tombs at Shah-i-Zinda, the Bibi-Khanym Mosque and Siyob Bazaar next to it. On request, add a traditional paper workshop and a silk carpet workshop, and in the evening a dinner with live music.

Drive north to Aydarkul Lake for a picnic or a walk along the shore, then on into the Kyzylkum Desert to a traditional yurt camp. A camel ride can be added. Dinner at the camp and an evening around the campfire, often with Kazakh or Uzbek folk songs.

An early start. Stop at the Chashma spring in Nurata, a revered pilgrimage site, then at a ceramics workshop in Gijduvan to see the potters at work. Lunch in Gijduvan and on to Bukhara, with a relaxed evening walk in the old town or tea in a teahouse.

A full day in Bukhara: Lyab-i Hauz and its madrasas, the Po-i-Kalyan complex with the Kalyan Minaret and the Mir-i-Arab Madrasa, the Ark fortress and the four towers of Chor Minor. In the evening, a folk dance and music show in an old madrasa can be added.

A free morning in Bukhara and lunch, then the train to Tashkent. On arrival, dinner at a local restaurant and the transfer to the airport.