ON THE TRAIL OF MARCO POLO

Trip Description

Accomodation

Stay program

• day 1

  Paris - Istanbul - Urgench

  

  Flight to Tashkent with an airline. Dinner and overnight on board.

• day 2

  Ourguentch - Khiva

  

  Arrival in Urgench at 07:00 by Turkish Airlines flight and welcome by your French-speaking guide outside the airport. Transfer to Khiva and check-in at the hotel. Breakfast. REST IN THE HOTEL UNTIL NOON TO RELAX. Lunch at your leisure. Guided tour through the entrance gate of the fortress "Ata Darvaza" (Itchan Qala – inner city). The architectural monuments of the fort were built during the 10th-18th centuries and are preserved in good condition to this day. You will successively visit the truncated minaret Kalta Minar, the Mohamed Aminkhan madrasa, the king's seat and the old palace Kounya Ark, the Mohamed Rahimkhan madrasa, the mausoleum of Saïd Alouddin, the mausoleum of Pahlavan Mahmud, and the Islamkhodja minaret. Dinner at your leisure. Overnight at the hotel.

• day 3

  Khiva - Touprakala - Ayazkala - Khiva

  

  Breakfast. Drive through the Kyzyl Kum desert towards the ancient fortresses of Khorezm. Around Ayazkala, archaeologists have actually discovered the remains of more than 40 citadel-cities, but only the remains of the two best-preserved cities are visited. Lunch at your leisure. After crossing the Amu Darya, you will successively discover the fortresses of Kyzylkala, Toprakala, seat of the dynasties of Khorezm, then Ayazkala with its two ruined fortresses. Return to Khiva. Dinner at your leisure. Overnight at the hotel.

• day 4

  KHIVA

  

  Breakfast. Continuation of visits to the Jouma Mosque, the Caravanserai, the Toch Khavli Palace and the Khan's Harem. Free lunch. Guided tours of the Nouroullaboy complex, the summer palace of the last king of Khiva, the Qibla Toza Bog Palace, then a walk around the old city's ramparts by bike or on foot, climb up the ramparts for a panoramic view of the city. Free dinner. Overnight at the hotel.

• day 5

  KHIVA-BUKHARA

  

  Breakfast. Drive to Bukhara. The road passes through the Kyzyl-Kum desert and you travel between sand dunes. In the past, caravans heading west passed through this part of the Silk Road, which connected the western cities to Bukhara. Lunch at leisure. Arrival and check-in at the hotel. Guided tour of the Labi Khahouz complex, which includes three immense madrasas: khanakha and Nadir Devonbegui madrasa, Koukeldach madrasa. Dinner at leisure. Overnight at the hotel.

• day 6

  BUKHARA

  

  Breakfast. You will start the guided tour with the mausoleum of Ismail Samani, the city's vegetable and dried fruit market, then you will see the mausoleum of Chachma Ayoub, one of the most venerated monuments in the city. Next, you will visit Reghistan Square for a tour of the Ark Citadel, the oldest building in Bukhara, as well as the Bolo Khaouz Mosque, built in the 18th century. Lunch at leisure. Then, guided tour of the Ulugh Beg Madrasa (1417), built by the astronomer prince of Samarkand, and the Abdul Aziz Khan Madrasa (1654), which faces the former. You will also discover the Magoki-Attari Mosque, in the heart of the city, and admire the Poyi Kalyan complex, the Mir Arab Madrasa (1535) and the Great Mosque, built in 1514. Dinner at leisure. Overnight at the hotel.

• day 7

  BOUKHARA - Discovery of the outer city

  

  Breakfast. Guided tour of the outskirts of the city of Bukhara. You will go to the Bakhouddin Naqshbandi complex, who was the great Sufi of Central Asia, to the summer palace of the Emir of Bukhara - Sitoraï Mohi-Khossa, as well as to the small Chor Minor madrasa (1807) with its four minarets topped with turquoise blue domes. Free lunch. In the afternoon, visit to the Bukhara embroidery workshop and the synagogue, then free time for personal discovery. Optional: dinner with a show of dances, traditional songs, and fashion show in the Nadir Devanbegui madrasa. Overnight at the hotel.

• day 8

  BOUKHARA-NOURATA-YANGUIGAZGAN

  

  Breakfast. Drive to Nourata. On the way, you visit the water reservoir (Sardoba) and the ruins of the 12th-century caravanserai, Rabbati Malik, as well as the rock engravings located right by the roadside. Arrival in Nourata. Free lunch. Guided tour of the city of Nourata where you will find the ruins of an ancient fortress built at the time of the Greek conquest (Alexander the Great). You will also visit the Nourata complex, which includes two mosques, a sacred and healing spring whose water is very rich in various natural minerals. You continue on the road to the village of Yanguigazgan, the village of Kazakh shepherds. Drive to Yanguigazgan. Arrival and accommodation under the yurt. Possibility of a walk in the desert and a camel ride. Dinner accompanied by vodka and songs from a Kazakh shepherd, and overnight under the yurt.

• day 9

  YANGUIGAZGAN-AYDARKUL-HAYAT

  

  Breakfast. Then, drive to Lake Aydarkul. You take a short walk along the lake, with the possibility of swimming. On the way, visit the two-thousand-year-old fir tree in Mojroum. Walk at the foot of the mountains and in the forest. Lunch with a local family. Drive to the village of Hayat, a beautiful village located at the foot of the Nurata mountain range. Arrival and accommodation with a local family. Walk in the village. Dinner and overnight with a local family.

• day 10

  HAYAT - Discovery of the life of the villagers

  

  Breakfast. Hike (5-6 hours of walking without difficulties, 200-300 m of elevation gain), possibility to visit a typical village market. Picnic on the pass. Arrival at the pass from where you can observe the panorama of the village (2000 m altitude), the highest point of the Nurata mountains, and you may see mouflons. You will discover the ancient Tajik village in the Karisay valley. Return to the village. Dinner and overnight with a local family.

• day 11

  HAYAT-SAMARCANDE

  

  Breakfast. Continue trekking on the mountains. This morning, you will head towards Hayatbochi peak, where you can observe mouflons and mountain birds. On the way, you will cross the forest. 2200 m altitude. Arrival and picnic at the summit. Then, you will discover a beautiful landscape, then return to the village of Hayat. Road to Samarkand. Arrival and check-in at the hotel. Dinner at your leisure. Overnight at the hotel.

• day 12

  SAMARKAND

  

  Breakfast. Guided tour of Samarkand: you will start your visit with the Gur Emir mausoleum and the Registan ensemble with the Ulugh Beg madrasa (15th century), the Sher Dor madrasa (17th century), and the Tillya Kari madrasa (17th century). Lunch at your leisure. The guided tours continue with the Bibi Khanoum mosque and the Shakhi Zinda necropolis, where each mausoleum is covered with a fully decorated turquoise blue dome, dating from the 11th – 15th centuries. Dinner at your leisure. Overnight at the hotel.

• day 13

  SAMARKAND-SHAKHRISABZ-SAMARKAND

  

  Breakfast. Departure for Chakrisabz, the birthplace of Tamerlane. Guided tour of the Dorout Tilovat complex, which consists of the mausoleums of Chamsiddin Koulol and Gumbazi Saidon, the Kok Gumbaz mosque, as well as the second Dorus Siyadat complex, including the Hazrati Imam mosque and the mausoleum of Jahangir Sultan, the eldest son of Timur. Lunch at leisure. This afternoon, you will discover the most beautiful landscape in the country by crossing the Pamir mountains, with a stop to take beautiful photos. Return to Samarkand. Optional: musical show and presentation of historical costumes in Samarkand. Dinner at leisure. Overnight at the hotel.

• day 14

  SAMARKAND-TASHKENT

  

  Breakfast. Guided tour with the Samarkand parchment workshop (produced in the ancestral way from mulberry bark), the silk carpet factory, and the Ulugh Beg observatory. Lunch at leisure. Guided tour of the Afrosiab museum with its frescoes dating from the 7th and 8th centuries, and the churches: Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Armenian. Then, free time for personal discovery. Transfer to the station for the "Afrosiyob" high-speed train at 17:00 or 18:00, arrival in Tashkent at 19:10 or 20:10, welcome by your driver. Dinner at leisure. Transfer to the hotel. Overnight at the hotel.

• day 15

  TASHKENT-PARIS

  

  Breakfast. Then, transfer to the international airport for the flight to Paris with an airline company. Formalities and customs control.