Tours of Uzbekistan

Get beyond the tourist façade of the countries you visit. Focus on the local culture, past and present, and discover the lifeblood of any country – its people. Discovery and culture tours uncover different ways of life, and offer the opportunity to meet and sometimes stay with local people or tribal groups. Our discovery tours explore cultural sites – both ancient and modern – and help you learn about the people and their culture. Visit the remote tribes of Ethiopia’s Rift Valley, live the nomad life in desert camps or meet the local people of the high Andean altiplano in Peru. There’s no better way to get to the true heart of a country than through its people.

Golden Road To Samarkand

Tour Map of Golden Road To Samarkand

Join us on the ancient Silk Road as we travel through this remote Central Asian landscape. Highlights include the walled city of Khiva, where we discover a maze of twisted alleyways, medieval mosques and tombs. Following the old caravan route south, we see the fine Islamic architecture of Bokhara and Samarkand. Along the way we will experience the nomadic lifestyle and stay in traditional felt yurts.

Great value, reasonable prices, quality experiences. Comfortable and varied tourist-class accommodations chosen for location and character. Mix of public and private transport for the best overall experience. All the top highlights included, plus plenty of time to explore on your own.

The trips we've build our reputation on. Designed for maximum variety, these trips are geared towards travellers searching for a healthy mix of active exploration, uncommon landscapes, amazing wildlife and local cultures.

Best of Tajikistan & Uzbekistan

Tour Map of Best of Tajikistan & Uzbekistan

Get yourself to two incredible (and often overlooked) destinations: Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. This 15-day combo trip brings together the best highlights of these two cultures for first-time visitors. Stay at unique Tajik homestays and roam the stunning countryside before heading to the cultural centre of Samarkand. Spend a night in a traditional desert yurt and discover a part of the world few others get to see. A tour for all kinds of adventurers.

Great value, reasonable prices, quality experiences. Comfortable and varied tourist-class accommodations chosen for location and character. Mix of public and private transport for the best overall experience. All the top highlights included, plus plenty of time to explore on your own.

The trips we've build our reputation on. Designed for maximum variety, these trips are geared towards travellers searching for a healthy mix of active exploration, uncommon landscapes, amazing wildlife and local cultures.

Best of Uzbekistan

Tour Map of Best of Uzbekistan

While it doesn't get a lot of attention, Uzbekistan is a life-changing destination for all who are smart enough to visit. These ten days will take you through some of the greatest cultural highlights the country has to offer. Marvel at the gorgeous mosques in Samarkand, experience a one-night stay in a traditional desert yurt, and immerse yourself in the diverse culture of ancient Bukhara. Uzbekistan is a must-see for any seasoned (or first-time) traveller.

Our Discovery collection draws together the best of our holidays that focus on the culture of a destination, as well as on visiting iconic sights and embracing local traditions. Some of these Discovery holidays will also have an element of activity, combining sightseeing with short walks, for example. Others might have a multi-activity holiday format, including biking and/or rafting, for instance, and these holidays are specifically designed for the adrenaline seeker! Also within our discovery collection are those of our holidays with a wildlife emphasis, photographic workshops, and polar cruise holidays. Never too physically demanding, these are predominantly touring holidays and their grade (usually towards the lower end of our 1 to 12 scale) reflects, in part, the remoteness of the area visited and the conditions likely to be encountered. Our Discovery holidays allow the discerning traveller to get right to the heart of many of the world's most stimulating destinations.

Samarkand and the Silk Road

Situated at the heart of Central Asia, the republic of Uzbekistan has a richness of history matched by few places on earth. A succession of conquering forces, from Alexander the Great to Ghengis Khan and his descendants, have left their mark on the region's culture and architecture. Starting out in Khiva and journeying on to the magical Silk Road oasis of Bukhara, which flourished in the 9th and 10th centuries, we also travel to Samarkand, one of the undoubted wonders of the world, with its mosaic-clad and turquoise-tiled monuments. To allow us a better understanding of the region, we hike and ride camels across the steppes and into the high valleys of Zarafshan, where we have the opportunity to meet the Uzbek shepherds and farmers of this rarely-visited part of the great Pamir mountain range. With a unique blend of sightseeing and moderate day-hiking, this is a superb adventure holiday at the crossroads of Asia.

Uzbekistan - Jewel of the Silk Road

Tour Map of Uzbekistan - Jewel of the Silk Road

Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva: names that conjure in the mind images of Eastern exoticism, the colourful world of the ‘Arabian Nights’, of caravans crossing the great Red Desert bringing silks, spices, jewels and other precious goods from China to the bazaars of the Near East and the marketplaces of Europe. On this 12-day journey through Uzbekistan, you’ll follow the route of the famous Silk Road, exploring these fabulous cities, with their highly ornate mosques, madrasahs and palaces, as well as the modern capital, Tashkent. You’ll also see one of the world’s best collections of Soviet art in Nukus, the desert landscapes of remote Karakalpakstan, and the grand tombs of the Biblical prophet Daniel and the medieval warrior-emperor, Tamerlane. Join us in Uzbekistan and embark on the adventure of a lifetime!

Uzbekistan: Samarkand and the Aral Sea

Tour Map of Uzbekistan: Samarkand and the Aral Sea

The wilds of Central Asia are amongst some of the most mysterious and fascinating regions anywhere on earth. These are lands that still stir the imagination, where glittering palaces of turquoise and gold emerge like shimmering mirages from the desert plains and the call to prayer transports us back to a time of merchant caravans and nomadic invaders. This incredible journey takes us across landscapes that once thundered beneath the hooves of the Mongol hordes and where Islamic culture and learning reached the zenith of its crowning glory. From the vibrant city of Tashkent we journey into the surreal landscapes of the Aral Sea, entering a world that few have ever seen and one that fewer will ever see again. We’ll cross the sea bed, following desert tracks that take us past marooned fishing boats and blighted landscapes, to the dying waters of a once great sea. In marked contrast, the second part of our odyssey takes us back to a time when human enterprise left the desert landscapes littered with beacons of human enlightenment. We’ll visit the glittering cities of Khiva, Bukhara and Samarkand, stunning reminders of a golden period of Muslim culture and home to some of the most impressive monuments to Islamic art and architecture in the world. This is an incredible journey of discovery, where the sublime and the surreal meet across the desert plains of Central Asia.